Stan's One Moment in Time

What a transformation a year makes! In 2013 in Melbourne, the ever-talented Stan Wawrinka pushed two-time defending champion and world No.1 Novak Djokovic to the limits in an epic encounter that finished 10-8 in the fifth for the Serb. The loss broke Stan's heart, but as they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That's exactly what happened to the Swiss, who found inspiration in the defeat to produce a breakthrough season. He reached his second Masters 1000 final, in Madrid, the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, the semifinals at Flushing Meadows, as well as the semifinals at the ATP Masters Cup in London. 

Funny enough, that loss to Djokovic also increased Stan's self-belief. He emerged tougher both physically and most important, mentally after last year's Australian Open. Although throughout the upcoming months he would frequently lose battles with the elite, Wawrinka slowly gained confidence and began to unleash his game.

Stan started 2014 with a title in Chennai, one of his favourite ATP stops. Continuing the solid form Down Under, the Swiss barely broke a sweat in his first two matches, seeing off injured Kazakh Andrey Golubev and Columbian Alejandro Falla. He didn't even take the court for this third round encounter, as his opponent, Canadian Vasek Popsipil, withdrew injured. Fresh and eager to advance deep into the tournament, the Swiss overcame a stiff resilience from Spaniard Tommy Robredo to set up a mouth-watering clash with now three-time defending champion, Novak Djokovic.

This time around, the Swiss made things right. He hanged in there when Djokovic leveled at two-sets apiece and broke his opponent for the decisive break at 8-7 in the decider to emerge victorious. This was a well-deserved revenge for Wawrinka who finally beat Novak in a Slam. Playing in his second Grand Slam semifinal, he then dominated Czech Tomas Berdych to win 6-3,6-7,7-6,7-6. 

In the final against Nadal, Stan was the underdog. Not only there's a considerable difference in ranking (Nadal is the current world No.1), but he lost all twelve meetings with Rafa. Throwing caution to the wind the Swiss played his finest tennis for a set and a half. Midway through the second act, Nadal injured his back and required medical intervention. Although he lost that set too, the ferocious Spaniard came back strong in the third reducing the deficit. Wawrinka remained mentally strong. He served to perfection, and although he gifted away what looked like a decisive break, he continued to push Nadal breaking again to seal victory with a huge forehand down the line. “I still think that I'm dreaming,” said the stunned Swiss. “It's a strange feeling. I saw so many finals. I always try to watch the final of Grand Slam because that's where the best player is playing. Before today, for me, wasn't a dream. I never expected to play a final. 

“It’s quite crazy what's happening right now. I never expected to win a Grand Slam. I never dreamed about that because, for me, I was not good enough to beat those guys.” Wawrinka becomes the first player since Sergi Bruguera in 1993 who defeats both world No.1 and No.2 to win a major. 

The victory takes him to a career-high No.3 when the rankings will be released on Monday. He will also become the new Swiss No.1, finally stepping out of the shadow of good friend and compatriot, the all-time great, Roger Federer. “To win a Slam, to be No. 3, both is a big surprise. I saw Roger winning so many Grand Slams in the past, so now it's my turn to win one. If you look the 10 past years, except del Potro, it's only the top four guys who have won all the Grand Slams,” said a thrilled Wawrinka. 

I honestly hope this huge triumph for Stanislas will open the door to all the talented players who cannot quite cope mentally with the likes of Nadal or Djokovic. Congrats, Stan! #youcandoit #letsbeatNadal #letsbeatDjokovic

Wawrinka announced himself as a contestant for the title following a magnificent victory over three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. The triumph marked a much-deserved revenge following the heart-breaking loss to the Serb last year.

The Swiss booked his place in his maiden Grand Slam final by beating Czech Tomas Berdych 6-3,6-7,7-6,7-6 in the semis.

Facing an injured Rafael Nadal for the title, Stan remained mentally strong. He played aggressive tennis to overcome the Spaniard 6-3,6-2,3-6,6-3.

Here it is: Stan Wawrinka crowned himself a Grand Slam champion, becoming the second Swiss to achieve the feat after his good friend, Roger Federer. Stan will also get to a career-high No.3 on Monday.

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Red-Hot Stan Proves He Is The MAN

Although he lost the semifinal clash with Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka proved at this year's Flushing Meadows that he has reached a new, brighter stage in his career. The Swiss, who in the past always lacked the mental toughness to pull the trigger and win the big matches, defeated a slew of worthy opponents to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal.

Wawrinka was all fired up since the beginning of the tournament, and although he did not benefit from an easy draw, he showed his enormous talent, as well as him much improved mental strength, to achieve this incredible result. Following two straight-sets victories over Radek Stepanek, respectively Ivo Karlovic, the Swiss held his nerve to close out a hard-fought 6-3,6-2,6-7,7-6 triumph over former Australian Open finalist, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. The win gave him wings, and he went on to dismiss last year's semifinalist, Czech Tomas Berdych, 3-6,6-1,7-6,6-2 to book his place in his first New York quarterfinal. Having fallen two previous times in the last eight of a major, Wawrinka was determined to change his fortune. Facing an out-of-sorts Andy Murray, he put forth a stunning display to shock the defending champion 6-4,6-3,6-2. 

In the semifinal against Djokovic, Stan started aggressively, building a two-sets-to-one lead. He could have even close it out in three sets, but the Serb is a fighter and he refused to conceal the match. He fought hard, and eventually took full advantage of his tired opponent to run away with an epic 2-6,7-6,3-6,6-3,6-4 triumph. Despite the loss, Stan remained upbeat about his deep US Open run. "The only thing that I can see, that's everything I'm doing outside the match, on the practice courts, on my life in general, is the good things and I'm on the right way. I just need to continue to practise hard and to try to get more victories like I did these two weeks."

"It was a great tournament for me," he added. "Tough match, tough loss. I gave everything. I fought until the end. With this crowd, it was an amazing experience."

So far 2013 is proving to be the best year of Stan's career. He started the season by pushing eventual champion, Novak Djokovic, 12-10 in the decider in Melbourne, he then won his fourth ATP title in Oeiras, reached his second Masters 1000 final in Madrid, and made the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time. On top of that, he has re-established his presence inside the top 10 and has now made his maiden Grand Slam semifinal. "After the match in the Australian Open a lot of people were thinking it's going to be tough for me to lose that kind of match, but in the end I took all the positives from the match and I'm here now playing the semi-final. Today I lost again, but I'm back in the Top 10 and I'm playing my best tennis. I need to do the same."

If he can continue playing at this level, Stan has a chance of making the transition from a dangerous opponent to one of the leading figures in men's tennis. 

Stan held his nerve to beat fan-favourite, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, 6-3,6-2,6-7,7-6 in the third round.

The Swiss continued his great run, ousting last year semifinalist, Czech Tomas Berdych, 3-6,6-1,7-6,6-2 to book his place in the quarterfinals, his third quarterfinal at a major.

The most impressive victory came in the last eight, where Wawrinka stunned defending champion, Andy Murray, 6-4,6-3,6-2 to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal.

Stan came close to beating world No.1, Novak Djokovic, but he ran out of steam in the end, falling to the Serb in another epic battled. 

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Tsonga Redeems with Home Win

He probably did not have the start of the season he was hoping for, but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made a menace in front of a cheering crowd to capture his 10th career title in Marseille. 

Instead of defending his Doha title, Tsonga started the year in Perth where he represented his country in the Hopman Cup. Consequently, his first tournament of 2013 was the Australian Open where he went on to reach the quarterfinals. Although he pushed all time great, Roger Federer, to his limit before losing a marathon match, the Frenchman's overall performance was clearly below par. His lack of focus became obvious during a stunning first round defeat in Rotterdam, where he succumbed 7-6 in the decider to unknown Dutchman, Igor Sijsling. 

Jo always performs best on home soil however, so he was eager to get back to winning ways in Marseille, a tournament he won once before, in 2009. He was slow off the blocks though and although he survived Russian Nikolay Davydenko, he ran into deep troubles against the hungry-for-success Aussie, Bernard Tomic, in the quarterfinals. Tomic won the first set and benefitted from 5 chances to close out the match, but Tsonga refused to give in, sealing an epic victory 12-10 in the third set tiebreak. The win provided a huge confidence boost and he went on to crush compatriot Gilles Simon to make the final. Facing Czech Tomas Berdych for the title was no easy task for Jo, as he needed to overcome a negative head-to-head record against an opponent who won three of their past four encounters. With the odds against him, he dropped the first set and looked looked to be headed for a straight sets defeat as Berdych created numerous chances on his serve. The Czech had break point at 5 all and then match point in the tiebreak, but Tsonga found the strength to get himself out of troubles, eventually levelling the dispute. In the decider, he broke at the second time of asking, building an untouchable advantage. He went on to hold serve for the rest of the match to complete a come-from-behind 3-6,7-6,6-4 victory. 

"I only focused on survival," he confessed during the press conference. "Nothing was going my way. He played far better than me in the first part of the match. He was serving well and my position on the court was bad. But I deserve credit because I never gave up. A lot of players would have done so."

Hopefully this win will give him confidence for the season ahead, especially as he is trying to recapture some of his wow factor. After his sensational run to the Australian Open final in 2008, when he announced himself as the next big tennis player, the Frenchman failed to really deliver. Although he enjoyed some pretty consistent results in the Slams, the exuberant Frenchman did not reach another final. A slightly more worrying aspect for him is that although he initially seemed to possess an advantage over the likes of Djokovic,  Murray, or Nadal, he watched as their careers took off while his stagnated. Since 2008, Novak won six Slams, Nadal eight, while Murray became a Grand Slam champion after his success at the Flushing Meadows last year. If he can close the gap on these players, Tsonga has a pretty strong chance of becoming France's long-awaited Grand Slam winner. You go Jo!

Exuberant Jo delighted the Marseille crowd coming from behind to win his 10th career title. He saved a match point before eventually subduing Czech nemesis, Tomas Berdych, 3-6,7-6,6-4.

photos: Yohan Brandt

The Czech A-Teams

Although the Czech Republic has given so many great tennis champions in previous years, recently the country failed to produced the same amount of talent. Martina Navratilova, Iva Lendl,  Hana Mandlikova or Jana Novotna are all legends of the game, but after their retirement, their place was hard to fill.

However with Kvitova's stunning triumph at Wimbledon and Berdych's sudden glimpses of magic, the nation finally got something to cheer about. The duo showed their class in the beginning of the season, teaming up to win the mixed-doubles event in Perth. They were imperious in winning the Hopman Cup, disposing of the Frenchmen Marion Bartoli and Richard Gasquet in the final.

The successes kept on coming for the Czech, as Kvitova and co. successfully defended their Fed Cup title. It was Safarova though who clinched the final victory over Serbia, as she defeated both former number 1s, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, to bring in two vital points. 

Inspired by their female counterparts performance, the Czech squad lead by Berdych was determined to end Spain's reign in the Davis Cup and collect the country's first trophy as an independent nation. To help their cause, Corretja's team was deprived of its main superstar, Nadal continuing to be sidelined by the knee injury that forced him to miss the second half of the season. However, with Ferrer in hot form and Almagro as the supporting actor, the Spaniards were not to be dismissed easily.

Day 1 saw the two nations tied at 1-1, with Berdych beating Almagro in a five set thriller, while Ferrer cruised passed Stepanek. The doubles match proved vital in determining the winner. Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez were starting as hot favourites having just claimed the ATP World Tour Championships in London, but old fox Stepanek was yet to say his last word. He and Berdych produced a superb performance to recover from the loss of the opening set to stun the Spaniards 3-6,7-5,7-5,6-3. Stepanek was top notch on Sunday too, scoring the decisive point with a four set victory over Nicolas Almagro.

With Berdych losing in straight sets to Ferrer it was up to Radek to clinch the win and his older compatriot did not waste the opportunity. "I was dreaming about it my whole life and now we're standing here as Davis Cup champions, it's amazing," Stepanek said. "I had a lot of chances in the second set. I was playing very aggressive today; I wanted to be the one who was more active. Even though I lost the third set, I had no doubt about my tactics. I came on the court with a mindset that I had to stay calm, hungry and concentrated. That's what I did tremendously well today."

Having won all the team trophies in 2012, the Czech Republic has established itself as the dominant force in the world.

Radek Stepanek, Tomas Berdych, Ivo Minar and Lukas Rosol respectively, won Czech Republic's first Davis Cup trophy since the country's independence. They beat Spain 3-2 in front of a magnified crowd in Prague.

Earlier this month, Lucie Safarova, Petra Kvitova and doubles specialists, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, won the Fed Cup final against Serbia. Former world number 1s, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, were unable to cope with an inspired Safarova, who brought in two decisive points. 

At the start of the season, Petra Kvitova teamed up with Tomas Berdych to win the Hopman Cup in a final against Marion Bartoli and Richard Gasquet of France.

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Federer Conquers 'Blue' Madrid

The tough opener against inspired young Canadian Milos Raonic provided Federer with the perfect training ahead of a busy week at the controversial Mutua Madrid Open. While his opponents failed to adjust to the unusual surface losing earlier than expected, Roger remained clear-headed and focus ensuring a smooth passage into Sunday's big finale. 

Nadal's rare loss on his beloved clay followed by Djokovic's defeat to Janko Tipsarevic left Federer as the clear favorite to win the title and the Swiss made sure not to waste the opportunity. He easily dismissed Frenchman Richard Gasquet, Spaniard David Ferrer and Serbian Tipsarevic to set up a clash with Czech Tomas Berdych. 
After a series of losses in their first encounters, Berdych managed to turn the tables on the Swiss maestro winning three of their last five matches, most notably the 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinal. Although there were few who doubted Federer, it was the Czech who started off stronger sealing a superb first set in which he played unbelievable tennis. Roger did what he does best though. He stuck in there and found a way to break his opponent's game. He broke early in the second act, but got pegged back when serving out the set. He eventually pushed the match into a decider by breaking Tomas' at 6-5 with some inspired shots. The third set followed the same scenario. After some tense moments, Federer rose to a 5-3 advantage. He failed to serve out the match though, allowing Tomas to start hoping again. Berdych's renaissance was short-lived though, Federer sealing the victory at his fourth attempt.
The triumph marks the Swiss' 20th Masters 1000 crown, equalling thus Rafael Nadal's record. Also, courtesy of this win, Roger is set to regain the number 2 spot passing arch-rival Nadal in Monday's rankings. He is now very well poised to challenge Djokovic's reign. His first shot at closing the gap will be the Rome Masters where both Nadal and Djokovic have some big points to defend having disputed last year's final.
We have thus come to the end of what has been a heated week of tennis. Although Djokovic and Nadal threaten not to return next year and the tournament consultant, Ion Tiriac, was booed during the awards ceremony, organizers are not giving in on the blue clay. They recently announced that the surface is gonna be kept for a least another year, although improvements will be made. As things stand at the moment, it looks like the story will not reach its conclusion anytime soon.

Steered by his recent success over Federer, Berdych managed to trouble the Swiss throughout the encounter, but he eventually came out short losing a nail-biter 6-3,5-7,5-7.

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