Over the years, Stan Wawrinka’s affinity with Chennai has blossomed into a beautiful love affair. And the Swiss has many reasons to stay committed to the relationship.
Over the years, Stan Wawrinka’s affinity with Chennai has blossomed into a beautiful love affair. And the Swiss has many reasons to stay committed to the relationship. Making his eighth successive appearance here at the ATP Chennai Open, which will celebrate its 20 years of existence in the city from Monday, the world no. 4 will be hoping to replicate what he achieved in the last two seasons: begin the year with a bang and go on to win a grand slam.
The 30-year-old Wawrinka’s first major success, at the Australian Open in 2014, came on the back of his triumph in Chennai, and last year, he added the French Open crown to his collection following his title in the Tamil Nadu capital.
Standing between Wawrinka and his quest for a hat-trick, a feat no one has achieved in the history of the tournament, is a giant obstacle in the second-seeded Kevin Anderson. The 6’8” South African is also high on confidence as he comes off a spectacular season that saw him win his third ATP title at Winston-Salem and stretching Novak Djokovic to a thrilling five-setter in Wimbledon before beating Andy Murray in the fourth round at the US Open.
But for the world no. 12, Chennai is an unfamiliar territory. The 250-point event will also rekindle rivalry between Anderson and Wawrinka. Their current head-to-head is locked at 4-4.
“Fortunately, the way I play tennis now, I don’t have to spend too much time analysing or worrying about my opponents. I typically try to focus on my own game. If I do that and execute the plans, I know I can beat anyone,” said the big-serving Anderson.
Frenchman Benoit Paire, who was awarded the 2015 ATP comeback player of the year, Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Luxe-mburg’s Gilles Muller, Vasek Pospisil of Canada and Croatian teen Borna Coric are the other seeded players.
However, nobody knows the conditions here better than Wawrinka who has a 19-4 win record. In his seven previous appearances, he has failed to make the final only twice. So, Wawrinka has every reason to believe his fourth Chennai crown, third in a row, is just round the corner.
By beating Roger Federer and Djokovic at last year’s French Open, Wawrinka showed what his trademark single-handed backhand is capable of. “My goal for 2016 is to maintain my consistency in grand slam events,” he said.
