“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
A more appropriate quote there could not be for a man on the fringes of tennis’ echelon. These are the words inked into the left forearm of Stan Wawrinka.
They have been there for all three of his grand slam victories, a stoic companion whispering before every point, “Try again, Stan.”
After his triumph yesterday in New York, Wawrinka’s record against the Big Four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray is still not pretty viewing.
Federer: 3 wins to 18 losses.
Nadal: 3 wins to 15 losses.
Djokovic: 5 wins to 19 losses.
Murray: 7 wins to 9 losses.
Prior to his breakthrough at the 2014 Australian Open, the ‘failures’ were plenty.
14 losses in a row to Djokovic. 12 losses in a row to Nadal.
Yet in one tournament he came out and stood toe-to-toe with both, bludgeoning them with a backhand as brutal as it is beautiful. He didn’t crack this time – he didn’t break and wilt under the pressure. He rose. He triumphed.
For all his inconsistency and wavering throughout the season, Wawrinka has found a way to rise when it matters the most, and that’s what tennis is all about. You can’t simply win points – you must win the right points. You must rise for the big points.
To play well you must swing fast, you must move fast, you must be free. You must play with conviction. What a paradox it is, that our natural reactions to pressure result in a mentality of “I must not lose”, rather than “I want to win”.
The best players of the last five years have all been “I won’t lose” experts. Nadal, Murray and Djokovic all pit their athleticism and determination before an opponent and say: “Try and break me down.” Risks are calculated, and over time their styles suffocate opponents into too many errors.
They play deep, counter-attacking tennis. They temper opponent’s shots from behind the baseline, and wait until safe to move forward for an attack. Modern tennis.
If that was modern, Wawrinka is possibly the first look at postmodern.
He stands deep, yes, but there is nothing defensive about it. He is the first player I’ve seen dominate the greatest defensive players we’ve ever seen from behind the baseline.
Great attacking players have all relied on the fundamental element of taking the ball early, inside the baseline, to rob opponents of time. McEnroe, Sampras, Agassi, Federer and Rafter all did it by the textbook.
Throw it out. Wawrinka just hits the damn ball harder, and doesn’t miss.
Wawrinka returns poorly, partly due to his one-hand backhand, and so chips returns into court in a harmless manner, but it’s the only shot you’ll get to breath on in the rally.
From behind the baseline he unloads everything God gave him – legs, hips, shoulders and wrist, to hit a ball heavier off both wings than we’ve likely ever seen.
But this isn’t even the impressive part.
It’s one thing to have the shots in the bag – it’s another to trust them when everything’s on the line. Djokovic may perhaps rue that he does play so calculated, for his lack of risk-taking in the final certainly allowed Wawrinka to find his fifth gear and floor it fearlessly.
For whatever reason, Stan the Man finds, and trusts completely, his game the further he digs himself into a tournament.
11 consecutive finals wins says it all.
He may lose first round in a small tournament, he may miss backhands wildly and fail to play anywhere near his best. He really does live and die by that sword of a backhand.
Never mind, he says. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Fail better he certainly did.
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