“You start asking yourself questions”

The disappointment is written all over Stan Wawrinka’s face as he makes the obligatory walk in front of the microphones on a warm New York night. The three-time Grand Slam champion had no chance in his first round match against Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci (ATP 101). This raises a whole series of questions.

Was the match on an atmospheric Court 17 full of loud fans Wawrinka’s last appearance at the US Open? Maybe even at a Grand Slam tournament? “You always ask the same question,” says 39-year-old Vaud. Not to be confused. He knows the business. Given his advanced age for a top athlete and lack of success, the question is logical. “And I always give the same answer. I don’t know about it.”

Dilemma

Wawrinka is in a dilemma. He still enjoys the sport and the spectators like to see him. But just five wins this year and falling to 225th in the world rankings after the US Open meet his expectations. At the French Open, where the crowds were particularly strong, the Romand emphasized that he would like to be there again next year.

But he also made it clear that although he didn’t pay too much attention to the ranking, he had to go up again. “At some point the results have to be right again.”

A vicious circle

At the moment the opposite is happening – even if, according to his own assessment, he is playing well in training. However, Wawrinka cannot implement this in the matches. “If you don’t win those crucial points, you start asking yourself questions,” said the 2016 US Open champion, “You look for your match and then often, like today, you can’t find the right solution. A kind of vicious circle arises. The longer success comes, the more doubts grow and the more difficult it is to play these important points freely and optimistically.

Wawrinka will sit down with his team in the next few days and discuss next steps. For example, he could not yet say whether the Davis Cup against Peru in Biel in two weeks would be an issue. Basically there is only one thing: get the most out of the training and start winning again. The oldest player on the ATP Tour doesn’t have much time left at the moment.

If the wins don’t come back soon, it could be over at the end of the season. Even if the desire to continue the profession remains unbroken.