A magical Swiss Olympic moment: Stan Wawrinka wins gold together with Roger Federer (right) in 2008.Image: Getty Images AsiaPac

Interview

In the late autumn of his career, Stan Wawrinka is taking part in the Olympic Games for the third time. Winning the doubles tournament in 2008 with Roger Federer is a milestone with great impact for the Vaud native.

marcel hauck / keystone-sda

After 2008 and 2012, Stan Wawrinka returns to the Olympic Games as a three-time Grand Slam winner. In Gstaad, where he prepared for the tournament in Paris, the 39-year-old from Lausanne spoke about his memories of past games.

Stan Wawrinka, many people still remember the scenes of celebration in Beijing in 2008, when Roger Federer warmed himself up against you because you were so “on fire”. What are your memories?
Stan Wawrinka: The Olympic memories are some of the best of my career. The Olympics are not just about tennis, it’s about sport in general. You get to watch other sports too. It’s a real pleasure.

What does this gold medal mean to you?
This remains one of the biggest titles of my career. Every title is important in its own way, but an Olympic medal, as I said, goes beyond tennis. It’s not just tennis fans who watch, but everyone who’s interested in sports. So this victory was super important for me.

Federer and Wawrinka are beaming with their medals.Image: AP

What significance did it have for your future career?
Every experience and every win has an impact in its own way. Celebrating a win like that so early in my career obviously gave me confidence. Sharing those memories with Roger (Federer) has given us a close bond for the rest of our careers, including Davis Cup and other things.

It created a special connection between you and Federer?
This of course creates a special bond with Seve (Severin Lüthi, Federer’s former coach and Davis Cup captain), and of course with Roger. When you spend ten days together, fighting for each other, it naturally creates a bond.

“Being the flag bearer of an entire delegation with so many champions is an incredible experience.”

In 2012 you were the Swiss flag bearer.
It was a huge honour. To be the flag bearer of an entire delegation with so many champions is an incredible experience.

When Marc Rosset became Olympic champion in Barcelona in 1992, you were seven years old.
(Laughs) Still very young.​

In London, Stan Wawrinka led the Swiss delegation.Image: AP

Do you still have memories of it?
No, not from that time. I hadn’t started playing tennis yet. I was only eight years old. Later I saw pictures of it and also talked to Marc about it. He told me a lot of anecdotes about it. It’s brilliant for a country like Switzerland to have an Olympic champion like Marc Rosset.

Starting tennis at the age of eight is very late in this day and age. You grew up on a farm, your parents looked after disadvantaged children. That is not exactly an environment that seems predestined for a professional sports career. Was that more of an advantage or a disadvantage for you?
That’s the beauty of tennis. There is no ideal path. Everyone creates their own path, everyone finds out what works best for them. There are different techniques, different coaches. In the end, there is no magic recipe, otherwise everyone would do it the same way. I am very happy with my youth and how I grew up, how my character developed, what I have achieved in tennis. It is much more than I could have imagined.

“Roger, Rafa and Novak are enormous champions and yet they remain incredibly human off the court.”

Did it also help to keep your feet on the ground?
Yes, but that’s the case with everyone. In tennis, we see that with Roger, Rafa (Nadal), Novak (Djokovic) or now Alcaraz or Sinner. They are enormous champions, more so than I was or am, and yet they remain incredibly human off the court.

Stan Wawrinka had some legendary duels with Novak Djokovic – like here in the final of the US Open 2016.Image: AP/AP READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

What is your strongest Olympic memory?
This is the week in Beijing. The time in the Swiss House, in the Olympic Village, alongside all the other athletes and especially the coaches. I was still very young. It was a huge opportunity for me to spend so much time with these people, to discuss things with them, to play cards, to laugh together.

You missed the 2016 and 2021 games – also because you celebrated such great successes then?
In such a long career, you obviously don’t always have the same priorities. In tennis in particular, you have to make decisions that aren’t always easy. Davis Cup, Olympic Games, Grand Slams, Masters 1000 – you can’t play everything if you want to get to the top. It was complicated, and I would have liked to have had the experiences in Brazil and Tokyo. But I don’t regret any of my decisions.

If you hadn’t skipped the Rio Games, you might not have won the US Open straight after.
Voilà. But you never know.

Does it matter that the games are taking place in Paris this year?
Of course. Tennis is played at Roland Garros, on clay. That also makes it easier in terms of the calendar.

“These are probably my last games. So the ambition is not to set any limits for myself and to get the best out of it.”

Will you wear special pants again like when you won the French Open in 2015?
(Laughs) At the Olympic Games, it’s the colours of Switzerland, so you have no choice. As far as I know, the shirt has to be either red or have the name of the country on the back.

What are your ambitions for Paris after what has been a difficult year so far?
I just want to give my maximum. I want to get as much out of this Olympic experience as possible, as these are probably my last Games. So the ambition is to set no limits for myself and to do the best I can.

We will not see Stan Wawrinka in such unusual trousers again in Paris.Image: EPA

Probably the last games? So 2028 is not out of the question?
(Laughs loudly) That’s way too far away to think about.​

But the motivation is obviously still there.
I hope to reach a ranking (currently 109) that is more in line with my expectations. But of course, I really like this life on the tennis tour. Five years ago I would never have thought I would still be here. But the passion is still there. Being a tennis professional is my happiness, my dream since I was young. So I want to benefit from it for as long as possible.

Do you have any idea what you would have become if you hadn’t been a professional tennis player?
No. I was lucky enough to be able to play tennis at an early age.

What was your dream job when you were seven?
I had a very good time on our farm. I worked with my father when I could. I didn’t really think about it any further than that.

Revenge against Kotov?

Stan Wawrinka will face Russian Pavel Kotov in his first round match. The two already met at the end of May at the French Open. Back then, Kotov won 7:6, 6:4, 1:6, 7:6. If Wawrinka manages to take revenge in Roland-Garros, the Chilean Nicolas Jarry, seeded number 16, and then Olympic champion Alexander Zverev would be his next possible opponents.

Viktorija Golubic, the only Swiss woman, will face Jessica Pegula, world number 5, in the opening match.

More about the Olympic Games:

2024-07-26 14:15:08
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