Wawrinka confident of good show
Stanislas Wawrinka
Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka will start as favourite at the Chennai Open and is confident of a “good show” at the ATP event that gets under way from December 31.
“I feel the tournament provides me with a great platform to set off. I adore the spectators and preparing for Chennai has a very relaxing feeling to it. Support from the crowd is probably the main reason I come back,” said the world no. 17 Wawrinka.
Though there are higher ranked players in the draw, Wawrinka is definitely the one to watch out for.
“I worked very hard during the off-season and hope to be in the best form possible. My focus will be to do better than the year before and on staying healthy and happy in the seasons to come,” he said.
The 27-year-old summarised the year as one of the best in career. He put up a solid performance in Cincinnati against world no. 2 Roger Federer and looking to build on that momentum in 2013.
Though many would think that his greatest achievement until now has been his gold medal victory for Switzerland in the men’s doubles event at the Beijing Olympics partnering multiple Grand Slam winning compatriot Federer, but he feels the best is yet to come.
Deriving pleasure from his game makes a lot of sense to the Swiss who does not worry about aspects like the nature of the playing surface at a tournament. “I don’t think about it too much. I just try to get on with it and enjoy my tennis,” he said.
Wawrinka began playing tennis at the age of eight and was coached by Dimitri Zavialoff since then before the pair split up after Wimbledon in June 2010. “Life goes on when you change coaches. I have had to grow up and I’m excited about the future,” he said.
In his free time, the right-hander loves to play table tennis, listen to music and use his playstation and given a chance, would love to play the role of Batman.
It is not surprising that five visits to Chennai have taught him a thing or two about India — tandoori chicken has become his favourite Indian dish.
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