The People's Champion: Riding high, Wawrinka transitions from clay to grass

LONDON—Tuesday was quite the day to have a ticket at the Queen’s Club in southwest London.

The sun was out, with the high temperature hovering around 75 degrees Fahrenheit—pleasant for fans and players alike. On display on center court were two members of the Big Four, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, plus Stan Wawrinka, U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic and last year’s tournament winner, Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian trailed Sam Querrey by a set and a break, yet somewhat predictably finished off the American, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

While Nadal relinquished a break-of-serve lead himself, deep in the third set of his 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov—his killer instinct didn’t make the trip from Stuttgart—Wawrinka unexpectedly breezed past Nick Kyrgios.

Heading into the eye-catching first-rounder, if someone would have told you it would last just 49 minutes and be settled by one break per set, picking the Aussie would have made perfect sense. Kyrgios has, after all, already ousted Nadal and Roger Federer in his young, eventful career. And as Nadal learned last year at Wimbledon, when Kyrgios’ serve is working—especially on grass—manufacturing a break is difficult.

Further, no one would have begrudged Wawrinka a hangover after his recent exertions on clay at the French Open.

But it was the Swiss who progressed against an under-the-weather Kyrgios, 6-3, 6-4, lucky pajamas—or shorts—in tow.

“I’m playing well, obviously, and I’m happy with the way I played for the first match on grass,” Wawrinka said.

It’s hard to believe that five years ago, Wawrinka’s preparation for Wimbledon entailed only playing a Challenger, on clay, in Switzerland.

A little before that time, comparing Wawrinka to, oh, let’s say, Fernando Verdasco was appropriate. Both had (and still have) powerful games from the baseline that can render opponents rudderless, but were often let down by poor decision making and other mental faux pas.

Verdasco made his Grand Slam breakthrough earlier than the Swiss, at the 2009 Australian Open, yet has hardly built on the momentum. He is now drifting, albeit comfortably, having rested between the mid-20s and early 40s in the rankings for most of the last two years.

As for Wawrinka, the good work he put in with one Swede, Peter Lundgren, escalated a notch when forming a partnership with another, Magnus Norman. Indeed, he is a different character to the one who lost to Denis Istomin in five sets in the first round at Wimbledon in 2010.

Now having joined the likes of Murray, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov as a two-time Grand Slam champion, Wawrinka made a transformation many thought wasn’t possible. Wawrinka’s agent, Lawrence Frankopan, said his client isn’t content to stop there, either.

“He’s working harder than ever, especially after winning last week,” said Frankopan. “I think he’s come to terms with the fact that he can win on any surface. Even on grass.

“We’re really excited. How much is enough? We want more.”

Wawrinka arrived in London on Saturday and had his first practice later that day. Taking an extended break, as he did after winning the Australian Open in 2014, was out of the question this time.

“I have to realize what I did, but I’m controlling more what I’m doing, because I had the experience from the first [Slam win],” Wawrinka said. “And also, because I don’t really have a choice, because the grass court is here. So I have to put my focus already on the next tournament, here at Queen’s.

“I have to focus on tennis again. Maybe the little mistake I did after Australia is I took six weeks off tennis [tournaments]. That was maybe a little bit too long, so that’s something completely different now.”

Different, too, is the recognition and reception he receives from fans and other onlookers. An indication of his popularity back home at the moment, the respected Swiss tennis journalist Rene Stauffer is in London following Wawrinka, instead of trailing Roger Federer at Halle’s grass-court event.

Wawrinka’s deal with underwear and swimwear manufacturer D. Hedral was announced during the French Open, and Frankopan said other potential backers came calling.

“Rarely in any sport do you get people calling you [cold], but at the end of the day people are interested to align themselves, especially now with him having won two Grand Slams,” said Frankopan. “He’s a hot commodity now and a really exciting one.

“The other players are very much their own brands; Stan is something that I don’t think really exists out there. I think he’s the people’s champion. He’s someone very approachable, he’s empathetic. People maybe see themselves in him.”

But Wawrinka, a semifinalist at Queen’s Club last year and quarterfinalist at Wimbledon, still isn’t afraid to speak his mind. On Tuesday, he wasn’t about to let Kyrgios off the hook after the 20-year-old said he felt ill and didn’t want to think about tennis “for a week or so.”

“When I read before the match, he was ready, excited for the challenge,” said Wawrinka. “And now he was sick. I think he’s saying a lot of things every day, so it’s quite interesting for journalists to hear that.

“I’m sure he’s not going to switch off. I’m sure he will be ready for Wimbledon, because if he [switches] off two weeks of tennis, then he can go home and not play Wimbledon.”

Barring an unforeseen development, Wawrinka will be at Wimbledon. And regardless of what else happens at Queen’s Club this week, ruling him out as a contender might be a mistake.

Ravi Ubha (@RaviUbha) is a freelance journalist and broadcaster who has written for ESPN, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.