London: Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka decided to draw on the positives as he pondered his “best year ever” on the ATP World Tour. Beaten in straight sets by countryman Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London late on Saturday, Wawrinka sought to dwell on his successes in the season gone by.
“The year has been amazing again. I didn’t expect to play that well, to be here tonight, or being World No 4 while winning one Grand Slam and making the semi-final here again. I couldn’t expect more. I won two titles for the first time in my career, one French Open title beating No 1 player [Novak Djokovic], made two Grand Slam semi-finals [US Open and Australian Open] and the quarters at Wimbledon. I was quite consistent at the high level where I beat so many top players. The year has been an amazing one for me. The best year ever so far,” Wawrinka said.
Despite such a fantastic run, Wawrinka has struggled to find the key in getting the better of countryman Federer, especially on the hard surfaces. “There may be many reasons for this [not beating Federer]. There were a few matches in the past that I could have beaten him, but I was maybe a little too nervous. Last year I had the opportunity to take the match, but I didn’t. In general, his game is tough for me, for my game. I will say he has the perfect game against my game,” he said.
“He mixes things a lot. He serves well and he puts a lot of pressure by playing so fast. Today, it’s not that I played bad. I’m not tough enough mentally with myself and one or two points changed everything,” he added.
