Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka was once in conservation with his best friend Benoit Paire via Instagram LIVE. Therein Swiss star Wawrinka praised the liege lords of the sport, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and mentioned its impossible to beat them on their preferred surfaces.
“Rafa on clay is probably the toughest singles feat in tennis. You cannot defeat prime Federer on grass, and you might have a chance to lose 6-4. But not 6-2 like against Rafa in the Roland Garros final. He destroyed me that day,” Stan Wawrinka told Paire.
Playing Rafa on clay is the biggest challenge for all the professionals on the men’s tour. Nevertheless, there’re players with multiple wins over Nadal on clay, and Wawrinka had the chance to beat him once on clay during Rome Masters 2015.
However, none of the ATP men have multiple victories over Rafa at Roland Garros. In 2017, Wawrinka entered the French Open tournament as the defending champion. He was absolutely geared up for his title defense and made a deep run into the Major by reaching the finals for the second consecutive time. But the unrivaled king of the Parisian clay, Nadal dismantled the Swiss 6-2 6-3 6-1 in the championship match.
“Roger Federer is the best player ever” – Stan Wawrinka
Earlier in a LIVE session with Chris Evert, Wawrinka stated Roger Federer to be the best player in the sport of tennis. “Roger Federer is the best player ever so far.
He’s been winning everything, beating everybody. He’s better than the other players and better than me. His game is a completely different style. He puts you under pressure all the time, he’s so aggressive, changes the pace a lot,” Wawrinka said.
Wawrinka is one of the gifted players on the ATP Tour who plays his best tennis in big matches and against the best players. He’s the only professional in the tennis history to defeat Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in a single tournament and then welcomed a Slam.
