Stan Wawrinka is taking part in the Olympic Games for the third time in the late fall of his career. Winning the doubles tournament in 2008 with Roger Federer was a milestone with a big impact for the Vaud native.
23.07.2024, 09:29
23.07.2024, 14:38
SDA
After 2008 and 2012, Stan Wawrinka is returning to the Olympic Games as a three-time Grand Slam winner. In Gstaad, where he has been preparing for the tournament in Paris, the 39-year-old from Lausanne spoke to Keystone-SDA about his memories of past Games.
Stan Wawrinka, many people still remember the jubilant scenes in Beijing 2008 when Roger Federer warmed up to you because you were so "on fire". What are your memories?
"The Olympic memories are absolutely some of the best of my career. I mean, the Olympics aren't just about tennis, they're about sport in general. You also watch other sports, which is a real pleasure."
What does this gold medal mean to you?
"It remains one of the biggest titles of my career. Every title is important in its own way, but an Olympic medal, as I said, goes beyond tennis. It's not just tennis fans watching, it's everyone interested in sport. So this win was super important for me."
What significance did it have for your future career?
"Every experience and every victory has an impact in its own way. To celebrate such a victory so early in my career naturally gave me confidence. Sharing those memories together with Roger (Federer) has brought us a close relationship for the rest of our careers, including the Davis Cup and other things. So yeah, no matter how you look at it, it's given me a lot."
It created a special bond between you and Federer?
"Of course it creates a special bond, with Seve (Severin Lüthi, Federer's former coach and Davis Cup captain), of course with Roger. When you spend ten days together, fighting for each other, you naturally bond."
In 2012, you were the Swiss flag bearer.
"That was a huge honor, of course. To be the flag bearer of an entire delegation with so many champions is an incredible experience."
When Marc Rosset became Olympic champion in Barcelona in 1992, you were seven years old."
(laughs) "Still very young."
Do you still have memories of that?
"No, not from that time. I hadn't started playing tennis yet, that wasn't until I was eight. I later saw pictures of it and spoke to Marc about it. He told me lots of anecdotes about it. It's brilliant for a country like Switzerland to have an Olympic champion like Marc Rosset."
Starting tennis at the age of eight is very late in this day and age. You grew up on a farm and your parents looked after disadvantaged children. That's not necessarily a competitive environment that seems predestined for a professional sporting career. Was that more of an advantage or a disadvantage for you?
"That's the beauty of tennis. There is no one ideal path. Everyone creates their own path, everyone finds out for themselves what suits them best. There are different techniques, different coaches. In the end, there is no magic recipe, otherwise everyone would do it that way. I'm very happy with my youth and how I grew up, how I developed my character, what I achieved in tennis. Much more than I could have imagined."
Has it also helped to keep your feet on the ground?
"Yes, but that's the case for everyone. In tennis, we also see that with Roger, Rafa (Nadal), Novak (Djokovic) or now with Alcaraz or Sinner. They are tremendous champions, more so than I was or am, and yet they remain incredibly human off the court."
What is your strongest Olympic memory?
"That's the week in Beijing. The time in Swiss House, in the Olympic Village, alongside all the other athletes and especially the coaches. I was still very young. It was a huge opportunity for me to spend so much time with these people, discussing things with them, playing cards, laughing together."
Did you miss the 2016 and 2021 Games, partly because you were celebrating such great success then?
"In such a long career, you don't always have the same priorities, of course. Especially in tennis, you have to make decisions that aren't always easy. Davis Cup, Olympic Games, Grand Slams, Masters 1000, you can't play everything if you want to get to the top. It was complicated and I would have liked to have had the experiences in Brazil and Tokyo, but I don't regret any of my decisions."
If you hadn't decided not to play Rio, you might not have won the US Open right afterwards.
"Voilà. But you never know."
Does it matter that the Games are being held in Paris this year?
"Of course it does. It's at Roland Garros, it's on clay. That also makes it easier in terms of the calendar."
Will you be wearing special pants again like when you won the French Open in 2015?
(laughs) At the Olympic Games, it's Switzerland's colors, so you don't have a choice. As far as I know, the shirt either has to be red or have the name of the country on the back."
What ambitions do you have for Paris after a difficult year so far?
"I just want to give it my all. I want to benefit as much as possible from this Olympic experience, as it will probably be my last Games. So the ambition is not to set myself any limits and to do the best I can."
Probably the last Games? So 2028 is not out of the question?
(laughs out loud) "That's far too far away to think about."
But the motivation is obviously still there?
"I hope to get back to a ranking (currently 109) that is more in line with my expectations, but of course, I really enjoy this life on the tennis tour. Five years ago, I would never have thought I'd still be here. But the passion is still there. Being a professional tennis player has been my happiness, my dream since I was young, so I want to benefit from it for as long as possible."
Do you have any idea what you would have become if you hadn't been a tennis pro?
"No. I was lucky enough to be able to focus on tennis from an early age."
What was your dream job at the age of seven?
"I was doing very well on our farm. I worked with my father when I could. I didn't really think any further than that."
