Stan Wawrinka relishes beating Novak for French Open title

Reigning French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka said staying mentally strong is the only way to keep pace with the top pros such as world no. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Wawrinka, who stunned the Serbian at the Roland Garros to win his second career slam, said it was the biggest victory of his career.

“Novak is an unbelievable player, he has played so strong during the whole year and deserves to be number 1. Beating him in the final meant a lot to me, it made me very proud. I played amazing tennis on that day and managed to find a solution against him,” Wawrinka said in a release. “I’ve played several tough matches against Novak in Grand Slams recently. I know that I have my chance if I play my very best tennis. I’ve beaten him before and you have to remain mentally strong when you face him and especially in such an important match,” Wawrinka added.

The Swiss world number four is a two-time defending champion at next week’s Chennai Open and he was eyeing a hat-trick of titles.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming to Chennai. The tournament is a nice way to start the season, the fans are great and I like the atmosphere in the stadium. Of course I would love to defend my title, but I will have to go match by match,” he said.

Talking about his coach Magnus Norman, Wawrinka said, “I really enjoy his vision of the game; the way he communicates. He’s very natural and he was a great player himself so he knows how it feels to step on a crowded center court or to be in a Grand Slam final.”

“I saw how he worked with Robin Soderling and had a feeling that he could be the right coach for me. He’s also great working with the other members of my team like my fitness coach Pierre Paganini or Severin Luthi, our Davis Cup captain who has been helping me a lot as well.”

Wawrinka said his aim for the new season was to continue his good run and go deep at the Slams. “And hopefully I get a great start into the season in Chennai again. I’m somebody who really likes to work hard,” he said.