Tennis is accustomed to talk of the Big Four in the men’s game, but the cast list in that troupe of players is changing. Having grabbed two Slams from the last six contested, Stan Wawrinka has surely earned his place in the leading quartet here, and he kicked off his Wimbledon with a win over the world No.45 Joao Sousa.
His 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory was not a vintage display, but the fact is that it did not need to be. Sousa could barely steal a point on his opponent’s first serve, and when he had a chance to level the match at one set all, his game imploded.
Actually it turns out Wawrinka is unconcerned by membership of the Big Four. Others may debate it, but asked by this reporter about his place in that elite, he amiably declared he does not count himself as one of them.
“No,” he smiled. “There is only four guys. Why am I one of them? The four are already taken. I don’t have the same result as them. I’m not as strong as them. The Big Four are not about what happened this year. It’s what happened in the past ten years. That’s why they’re much better than everybody. I personally really don’t care. They deserve to be the Big Four and they always will be. That’s how I see it.”
Ah well. Here’s another statistic then, one which may appeal to those who like their tennis facts from the left field – Sousa is fluent in more languages (six) than any other player, male or female, on Tour.
But on the Centre Court in this first round match, as in his previous two career meetings against Wawrinka (one of which was spookily in last year’s first round at this same venue), Sousa’s tennis vocabulary was insufficient to take even a set from the Swiss. The scoreline spelled out the story of the match – a good test for the Roland Garros champion, who was usefully stretched by the exercise but never really strained.
“You can feel better having been tested that bit, come through, kept your composure,” remarked the three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe on BBC Television. “Stan is in some rarefied air with the second Slam at the French. He’s in the mix here. It’s an excellent draw for him.
“This is a very promising tournament for him. He’s a Hall Of Fame player now, with two singles Slam titles and a Davis Cup – he was a big part of that win. Beating the No.1 and No.2 seeds at the French [Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer] is a strong way to show your stuff. He has to be feeling pretty good.”
In his 11th Wimbledon, Wawrinka does indeed seem an intriguing contender here as never before. Certainly he is injury-free, confirming as much at his post-match press conference in answer to speculation by the 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek that he might be carrying a thigh problem. On this opening day of The Championships, it was just 22 days since his extraordinary win over Djokovic in the final at Roland Garros, and it has given him an air of nonchalance. To win one Slam title is of course a huge achievement, but winning two really places a player in a different league.
He's in the mix here. It's an excellent draw for him.
A year ago he came here with the Australian title to his name, but also a bewildering first-round defeat at the French Open. This time around he can still feel the Coupe des Mousquetaires in his grasp on Court Philippe Chatrier; and, as McEnroe noted in part, actually both Wawrinka’s Slams were won by dint of beating the top two seeds. There is no arguing with that quality of victory.
At 30, he was the oldest winner at Roland Garros in 25 years, and he is one of a record 37 men in the main draw at The Championships to have passed the landmark birthday. Maturity has its advantages, clearly. At Wimbledon 2015, it feels as if Wawrinka has nothing to prove, and is all the more potent for it.
