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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 13, 2014Stan WawrinkaLONDON, ENGLAND S. WAWRINKA/M. Matosevic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How pleased are you with that victory and your form? STAN WAWRINKA: Really, really happy. I played well. It was a good match. Again, I was serving well and really big, being aggressive. Not easy at the beginning to return, but then I find my way. He's tough player to play. He beat Jo yesterday. He's really tough and difficult to play on grass. But I'm happy with my form, and I'm happy to get through and to get the chance to play one more match tomorrow. Q. Can it sometimes be a bigger test against someone like that who is in form and has already knocked out a couple of seeds, and then, as a result, does it make it even more... STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, every match is really good, especially when you beat a strong player. I think he's a dangerous player. Today was a tougher match than yesterday. I think I was playing better, serving better. In general, I'm happy with my game. I'm practicing well every day, trying to win as much as I can here. So far it's been great. Q. In terms of Grand Slams this season, obviously you have had two very extreme results in Australia and in Paris. What are your sort of expectations for Wimbledon? STAN WAWRINKA: I know I can do really well, but it's always tough Grand Slam to play. First one is never easy, first few days there. You can see there is always some big surprise. So you need to be ready for that. So far the most important for me is to be ready mentally, practicing well. I still have more than one week to get ready for Wimbledon. I want to go as far as I can here, to enjoy, to play well, and then to practice well the next week to be ready for Wimbledon. But my game is there. I know that if I play my best tennis I can be really dangerous there. But I'm going to start first focus here and then we will see, have time to think about Wimbledon. Q. You mentioned upsets in the first few days. Do you think that happens more at Wimbledon or just at every slam? STAN WAWRINKA: Normally that's happen more at Wimbledon, but you can see this year the French Open you had few upsets also. So now I think you need to be ready for everything, for sure. You still have the Big 4 as the favorite for Wimbledon, but we'll see. It's going to be interesting slam, I'm sure. Q. Yours is one of three single‑handed backhands in the semis. Yours is regarded perhaps as one of the best. How on earth did you choose to play that way when you began? STAN WAWRINKA: I change when I was 11 years old. I was playing with two hands, and I change to one‑hand backhand with my first coach, Dimitri, who asked me to try. He thought that was more natural for me to play one‑hand backhand. That's how I start, actually. Since the beginning it was always a natural shot. I had to practice a lot. Every day I'm still trying to improve shots from that side, but it's been a really important shot in my game. Q. Was that the last time you made such a major change to any of your strokes? STAN WAWRINKA: Yes. Yes, in my game, yes. Q. Not tempted to try anything, any big changes now? STAN WAWRINKA: No big change. Small change. I think at that level small change make big difference. That's what I did last year. I was adapting few things in my game, changing. A few things ‑‑no big change but few little ones, and it's been a big success for me. Now I'm better player. I'm more confident. I'm better in the ranking. I won three tournaments this year. So at that level, a small change can make a big difference. Q. Is there anything specifically you did last year that's helped you ‑‑you say the little things, but... STAN WAWRINKA: First I hired a good coach, Magnus Norman. Then it was small little change on my game like forehand, the way I'm playing, the way I did with the confidence on the court and the way I'm playing against the top guys. And again, it's little thing, but at the end the result is big. Q. Andy Murray was saying yesterday that this time last year his run here and then an extended time into preparation for Wimbledon really paid big dividends. I'm guessing you're hoping that you could have something similar, the fact that you've had ‑‑if you have had a run of matches and you're feeling confident, hopefully that will pay off, won't it? STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, I hope so. This year is completely different than last year for me. I had more time after French Open to rest and to get ready. I asked to work out here to have more matches and also a lot of practice before Wimbledon. So I hope it's going to be a good Wimbledon for me, but so far I'm playing good here. I want to finish it well. I'm sure I have the potential to win it, but it's going to be tough match tomorrow against Grigor. Q. You talk about the Big 4. You're obviously ranked 3 in the world. We all talk about the differences between that. Do you sort of look at trying to crack into those four, or is that something we just talk about and that doesn't really worry you? STAN WAWRINKA: No, I think the Big 4 will always be the Big 4, even if they will maybe never be 1, 2, 3, 4 in the ranking. They will always be the Big 4 because they have been winning every single tournament since more than eight years, more or less. So it's been impressive for what they did. They were playing all the semifinals in all the Grand Slams, so that's why everybody call them the Big 4. Doesn't change. Ranking doesn't change. What they did the last three years, it was impressive. Q. I think you played with Grigor in the doubles. Did that give you any tips of how you might play him tactically? STAN WAWRINKA: As much as you can get, but we did some practice together, so I think we know each game pretty well. For me it's more about focus on my game, to be aggressive, to serve well. I need to push him, try to put him on the defense. But he's been playing well, especially on the grass. He's serving well. He's adapting. His game is perfect for grass. It's going to be tough one, but we'll see. I'm ready for it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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