Stan Wawrinka and Viktorija Golubic both suffered first-round eliminations at the US Open. image: keystone/watson
After Dominic Stricker and Viktorija Golubic, Stan Wawrinka was also eliminated in the first round of the US Open. A situation symptomatic of the current problems of Swiss tennis.
28.08.2024, 16:5728.08.2024, 17:24
Stefan Wyss / ch media
“It sucked, it sucked and it sucked!” Stan Wawrinka was very disappointed with himself after his defeat in three sets in the first round of the US Open against Mattia Bellucci on Wednesday, as he made known in an interview with RTS. He had no chance against the Italian qualifier (4-6, 6-7, 3-6). The analysis is as short as it is damning:
Wawrinka served poorly (barely 50% of first serves) and did not return well either (only one break).
Stan Wawrinka was distraught after his first-round exit from the US Open. Image: epa
The Vaudois’ record this year on the ATP circuit? Only five victories, for twelve defeats. In the ranking, he will no longer appear in the top 200. Which, for a 39-year-old tennis player, inevitably leads to the following question:
How much longer will he do this to himself?
Especially since he doesn’t have entries for all tournaments: at this US Open or in October in Basel, he benefits from invitations (wild cards). It’s not like that everywhere. In the future, “Stan The Man” will therefore have to go through the qualifications more and more often if he wants to reach the main draw.
So one might ask: was this his last match in New York? Or his last match in a Grand Slam tournament? Or even his last match altogether? The former world number 3 did not give a clear answer after his elimination. “I don’t know,” he brushed off. It was the same at Roland Garros this year or at the Olympic Games.
Stricker was also a sad sight to see.
But in New York, the three-time Grand Slam champion was a little more vague than in his previous outings. He spoke less about the hope of returning to the legendary tennis venues. He did, however, speak of his need to take a few days to think about what comes next.
The Vaudois also admits that he still enjoys training, that he wants to surpass himself so that the results improve again. But he concedes:
“I’m 39 years old, every day could be my last on the circuit”
Stan Wawrinka is not the only Swiss player to have suffered a major disappointment at Flushing Meadows this year. Dominic Stricker was also eliminated in the first round on Monday. A year after his epic run to the round of 16 of the same US Open and after six difficult months marked by major back problems, the 22-year-old from Emmental was also knocked out by an opponent outside the top 100.
Dominic Stricker is going through a difficult time. Image: KEYSTONE
And his performance irritated: bad body language and little fighting spirit. His entourage was stunned, so much so that his coach, Dieter Kindlmann, said:
“I feel like he has lost the pleasure of playing tennis”
After this flop, Stricker is now only 330th in the ATP rankings. In other words: the great hope of Swiss men’s tennis, who we imagined might one day follow in the footsteps of Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, is now only the Swiss number 8.
A sad first since Wimbledon 1995
In New York, our three national representatives failed in the first round (Viktorija Golubic was also eliminated in her first round). This had already happened four years ago, but at that time, no Swiss men had participated in the tournament, partly due to the pandemic.
We must therefore go back to 1995 to find a Grand Slam tournament without Swiss representatives in the second round.
That year, Marc Rosset, Jakob Hlasek and Martina Hingis were all eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon.
Viktorija Golubic lost 6-0, 6-3 to Paula Badosa at the US Open. Image: keystone
But the situation was different in the mid-1990s. Child prodigy Hingis was at the very beginning of a promising career and Rosset was a top-10 player, but not a grass-court specialist. Unlike 1995, the 2024 US Open results (unfortunately) reflect the situation of the local scene: Our country now has only one representative in the world top 100, men and women combined, in the person of Viktorija Golubic (WTA 73).
This proud tennis nation, which has thrived for more than 30 years on the success of stars such as Federer, Wawrinka, Martina Hingis, Patty Schnyder, Jakob Hlasek and Marc Rosset, must probably prepare for years of drought.
Especially since we do not know when and with what level Belinda Bencic will return from her maternity leave.
French adaptation: Yoann Graber
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