by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Here are three things we can take away from Stan Wawrinka’s 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic in the 2015 Roland Garros final.
Wawrinka is a legit Grand Slam champion
While Wawrinka is officially part of the Grand Slam tournament champion club with his win at the 2014 Australian Open, some critics could look at that win with an asterisk as Rafael Nadal injured his back in the final and was nowhere near top form. There hasn’t been much talk of Wawrinka’s Australian win being tainted – certainly getting to the final was without an asterisk beating Djokovic in the quarterfinals and Tomas Berdych in the semifinals – but Wawrinka’s 2015 Roland Garros victory was immensely rewarding and impressive. He moved out of the shadow of his fellow Swiss Roger Federer in a straight-set quarterfinal, then battled through a four-hour, four-setter against France’s own Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 90-degree Paris heat in the semifinal. The fact that Wawrinka blasted 60 winners on a slow red clay court against world No. 1 Djokovic, regarded as the best defender in tennis today, if not in history, is an amazing testament to his quality of play. “I played the match of my life,” Stan said. Now, Wawrinka will not be seen as a one-Slam wonder. In fact, his two major titles is the same amount won by Andy Murray, which begs the question whether men’s tennis should refer to a “Big Five” instead of a “Big Four” – Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal.
Is Wawrinka worthy of the International Tennis Hall of Fame?
Stan has won two majors, a Davis Cup title for Switzerland, an Olympic Gold in doubles, 10 career titles and has ranked as high as No. 3 in the world. These are impressive credentials, with a few years for Stan to improve his statistics. However, the International Tennis Hall of Fame voters have been inconsistent further making this uncertain. Wawrinka has won more major titles than recent Hall of Famer inductees Michael Chang (1 major, 34 titles, high ranking of No. 2), Yannick Noah (1 major, 23 titles, high ranking of No. 3) and Manuel Orantes (1 major, 32 titles, high ranking of No. 2). Yevgeny Kafelnikov has been overlooked twice while on the ballot, despite winning two majors, Olympic Gold in singles and ranking No. 1 in the world. He is the first Russian to win a major and rank No. 1, so if doesn’t get in, would Wawrinka with less of a resume? The jury is still out on this status. Winning another major, achieving the No. 1 ranking or winning about 10 more titles would seal his place.
Roland Garros is Novak Djokovic’s Holy Grail
Just like Wimbledon was for Ivan Lendl and Ken Rosewall and the French was for John McEnroe, the French Open might be one major that eludes Djokovic. With a win over Wawrinka, Djokovic would have joined an elite club of men (Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal) who have won a career Grand Slam and he would be in the discussion of being in the elite top of the greatest players of all time. It’s easy to say that Djokovic is too good not to win at Roland Garros, but you never know when your last shot may come. Players like Roger Federer and Andre Agassi were able to seize upon their single opportunities and win titles at the French and one thinks that perhaps playing the No. 9-ranked player in the world in the final just may have been that singular opportunity for Djokovic. The eight-time major champion is now 0-3 in French finals – losing to the “King of Clay” Rafa Nadal in the 2012 and 2014 finals. The way Djokovic has been dominating men’s tennis this season, one may look at this being his lone loss at a Grand Slam tournament this year, missing out on capturing the Grand Slam sweep of all four majors in a calendar year, only achieved by Budge (1938) and Laver (1962, 1969)
