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By Chris Oddo/ Sunday, January 26, 2014
After his improbable run to the Australian Open title, Stan
Wawrinka is the first Swiss man to rank ahead of Roger
Federer since 2001.
Photo Source: Corleve
Stan Wawrinka will become the first
Swiss man to be ranked ahead of Roger Federer
in thirteen years on Monday when the ATP releases its new
rankings for the week.
Wawrinka, who defeated Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s
Australian Open men’s singles final, will climb to No. 3 in
the world. Federer, who fell in the semifinals to Nadal in
Australia, drops to No. 8.
Nadal Hurts Back During Australian
Open Final, Gets Booed
Wawrinka, who became the first Swiss player to surpass
Federer’s result at a Grand Slam since 2002 when he reached the
semifinals at the 2013 U.S. Open, is now the first Swiss player
to progress further than Federer at the Australian Open also.
Federer, 32 and coming off his best tournament in quite some
time, is not taking it hard. In fact he’s been downright
supportive of Wawrinka, posting tweets in praise of his
28-year-old compatriot and nicknaming Wawrinka “The
Stanimal.”
“I mean, he played so well,” Federer said of Wawrinka’s
performance against Novak Djokovic earlier in
the week in Melbourne. “Not just now against Novak, but he’s
done it so well in this tournament. He won Chennai. Great
season last year. He’s really also getting the respect he
deserves in his country now and also on the tennis tour. It’s
nice seeing it turning around for him.”
Federer said that he and his wife Mirka had their own personal
cheering section set up while watching him play Djokovic in the
quarterfinals. “At the end I was standing up, hands in the air
like him,” said Federer. “That’s what it was, you know… I
high five with Mirka. So it was good fun last night. We watched
the entire fifth set together… It was amazing.”
The praise is not lost on Wawrinka, who has long been seen as a
highly talented player that lacks the confidence to make the
jump to elite status. Perhaps Federer’s unabashed support
played a role in his rise to Grand Slam glory this week?
Either way, Wawrinka’s happy to have Federer’s support, and he
is quick to point out that the admiration is mutual.
“Roger is a good friend,” Wawrinka told the press after his
victory over Nadal on Sunday night. “He’s for me the best
player ever. He’s been there since so many years. He was
struggling a little bit last year, but except that he’s an
amazing player, amazing friend, because he always wants the
best for me.
“He’s always texting me. Even if he lost, like in the US Open,
he was the first person to text me before the match or after
the match.”
Though Federer didn’t tweet about “The Stanimal”
during Sunday’s final, Wawrinka says that he was one of the
first people he spoke to after the match.
“Yeah, I didn’t call so many person, but my wife, my daughter,
my sister, and Roger called me,” Wawrinka said. “So, yeah, was
nice for me. I know that he’s really, really happy for me. He
always wanted the best for me.”
Wawrinka became the first player to win a Grand Slam title
while playing in his first final since Juan Martin del
Potro won the U.S. Open in 2009. He also became the
player with the second-most appearances at the Grand Slam level
to finally break through, winning the title in his 36th career
Grand Slam. Only Goran Ivanisevic, who needed
48 Slams to win his first at Wimbledon, needed more.
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