Wawrinka Feeling Ready For Wimbledon Run

For whatever reason, Stan Wawrinka has struggled to bring his best tennis to Wimbledon. The Swiss star has fallen in the first round in two of the past four years and has never advanced farther than the quarter-finals at the All England Club.

But Wawrinka, who will be making his 12^th appearance at the Grand Slam, thinks this year could be different. He’s spent the past few weeks working with 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek. The Lausanne native also will draw from quarter-final runs the past two seasons at SW19.

“I feel quite good. Had a lot of time on the grass. Quite happy with the way I’m playing so far. I think I’m ready for the tournament,” Wawrinka said during his pre-tournament press conference.

The Swiss No. 2 has been close to breaking into the final four at Wimbledon. In 2014, he fell to seven-time champion Roger Federer in four sets. Last year, Wawrinka was a set away from reaching the semi-finals before Frenchman Richard Gasquet came back and won 11-9 in the fifth set.

“I think the last few years I started to play my best tennis on grass,” Wawrinka said. “I know I can play my best game. Hopefully I can do something big this year.”

Wawrinka’s grass-court season got off to a slow start earlier this month with a straight-sets defeat to Fernando Verdasco at The Queen’s Club in London. But the first-round exit also gave the 31 year old plenty of time to work with Krajicek and full-time coach Magnus Norman on the practice courts.

Wawrinka, who’s been working with Krajicek since 10 June, said the relationship has been going well so far. “Richard has a lot of experience as a player. He won here. He used to be an amazing tennis player, really aggressive on the court, serve and volley a lot,” Wawrinka said. “We also had quite a lot of talk [about] the way you can play on grass, many little things, the tactic, what’s good to do on grass, how you need to be ready mentally and always tough.”

Wawrinka, the fourth seed, will open against 18-year-old Taylor Fritz, a member of the Next Generation who will be making his Wimbledon main draw debut. The American pushed Federer to three sets before losing on the grass in Stuttgart.

If Wawrinka advances, he could face Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who plays Frenchman Stephane Robert in the first round. “I think it’s really good for him and for tennis that he’s back on the tour,” Wawrinka said of del Potro, who reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart. “He’s going to be dangerous. He played a great tournament in Stuttgart on grass. If he’s fit, he’s a tough player to beat.”