2018 ATP Preview: No. 9, Stan Wawrinka

As a preview of 2018, Baseline is taking a look at all the Top 10 finishers, from the ATP and WTA.

See No. 10 here.

9

Though Stan Wawrinka missed the back end of 2017 with a knee injury, he was a solid contender for the first six months.

He came close to winning two big titles this year--Indian Wells and Roland Garros--but couldn't keep up with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the finals. And, if one more set had gone his way against Federer in Melbourne, he would have made the final there as well.

Moment of the Year

Two Slam champions Wawrinka was able to get the better of were Marin Cilic and Andy Murray, whom he beat in the quarters and semis of the French. He breadsticked Murray, the top seed, in the fifth set of a marathon match that took 4 hours and 34 minutes.

Hot Shot of the Year

One-handed backhands often get criticized for not being great at returning serves, but this one in Indian Wells against Philipp Kohlschreiber worked out just fine.

Outlook for 2018

The Swiss is back hitting balls, and he hasn't given any indication that his recovery isn't going well. Given his work ethic and professionalism, it's fair for fans to expect him to be competing for big titles again very soon. There are some questions, however, about how Wawrinka will be affected by his split with coach Magnus Norman, who took him from being a semi-elite player to one with as many Grand Slams as Andy Murray.