"I still have this fire in me" says Stan Wawrinka after winning in Rome

Wednesday, 11 May 2022 at 08:30

Updated at Saturday, 07 December 2024 at 22:02

byErik Virostko

Last year, Stan Wawrinka won his last match at the Australian Open, but that all changed when he triumphed at the 2022 Italian Open to win his first match in 15 months.

Wawrinka won his first match of the season at the 2022 Italian Open, defeating Reilly Opelka 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, bringing him his first ATP victory in a year and three months.

The Swiss player had a rough start, falling behind 3-6, 2-4, and 40-AD. However, he was able to use all of his previous experience from the clay courts in Rome to defeat the tall American in three sets.

He expressed his delight at the victory after the match, especially since he waited for this victory for so long.

“I think in general I was feeling good on the court. Physically I was feeling great. For sure when you don't win a match in more than a year, you start to think about it more than you should and not focus on the right things."

"In general I think it was a great match, great battle. I stayed positive. I started to feel much better with my tennis by the end of the second set, and [in] the third set. I'm really happy with this victory."

“You just have to stay positive and try to fight. If you get a bit lucky, if you show him that you're going to stay there, you are going to get some chances. I got some chances, I played better, and he started to miss a few.”

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Wawrinka knows that time is not on his side anymore, and with every day, it will be more difficult to stay competitive, However, he still has the desire to play, which is carrying him also through this difficult period.

"After two surgeries, at my age I could easily have stopped playing because my career is way better than what I expected when I was young. But I still have this fire in me. I still believe that I can play great tennis. I still believe that I make some big results, maybe not now, but in a few months."

"There is no shortcut. I needed to do that time on the court and off the court. It was a long time I was out. I gained some weight, it was tough. With foot surgery you can't do much. I needed a lot of effort to be back, but already in the last few weeks since [Monte Carlo] it is much better."