Wawrinka: 'It's All Positive'

Although Stan Wawrinka was unable to defend his Roland Garros title, he still views his two weeks here as a success.

The Swiss star lost in four sets to No. 2 seed Andy Murray in their semi-final on Friday, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Although Wawrinka fought back to take the third set, he struggled to find answers for an opponent he said produced a level of tennis not seen before in their previous meetings.

“I think that Andy played so well today. He was the strongest on the court. It’s as simple as that,” said Wawrinka. “When you play someone at such a level, what can you do? He knew how to be very aggressive from the very first shots and put pressure on me when I thought I had opportunities to seize.”

Wawrinka’s showing this tournament is his second-best result at Roland Garros in 12 appearances. Having been a set away from defeat in his opening round against Lukas Rosol, he said that getting to the final four was an achievement in itself.

“I’m disappointed, of course, because I have lost the semi-final. There were only two matches to reach the end of a Grand Slam. I know that,” said Wawrinka. “But I can always take some distance and say, ‘Okay, it’s an excellent tournament. It’s a semi-final. I lost to Murray, who is No. 2 in the world.’ It’s all positive.”

Wawrinka will kick off his grass court season in two weeks at the ATP World Tour event in London. Like the rest of the tennis world, he’ll also be keeping an eye on Sunday’s final at Roland Garros between Novak Djokovic and Murray.

“[Andy] defeated him in Rome and it was really a tight score in Madrid. He’s finding solutions now,” said Wawrinka. “But I have the impression that Novak is where Novak wants to be. When he’s at his best, he can beat anybody.”