‘Everything Goes Into a Spin’ – Stan Wawrinka’s Immense Frustration Over Losing Self-Confidence at French Open 2022

Stan Wawrinka was at the peak of his career when he fell into the embrace of injuries. He claimed three Grand slam victories and had a run till the finals of the French Open between the years 2014 and 2017. After competing in the finals of the French Open against Rafael Nadal, Stan stepped into the greens of Wimbledon, where he incurred an injury to his knee. The knee injury pestered him enough to take a break from tennis and undergo two surgeries.

Thereafter, he made a comeback, but an injury to his foot fractioned his tours as he underwent two surgeries in 2021. Further in the year 2022, he appeared for the first time at Challenger Marbella and currently is testing his luck in the clay-court season. On Monday, he played his first round of the French Open. Where, along with his defeat, his behavior also brought him under the microscope.

Stan Wawrinka speaks about losing his temper

The three-time Grand Slam champion while playing against the French wildcard Corentin Moutet lost control of his temper. He started shouting and kicked the billboard when the match started to slip out of his hands. Thereafter, in the post-match conference, when the media asked him if his anger was related to his lost form, he said, “No, the frustration does not come from comparisons with “before”. I am aware of my limits. And I live in the present, with my current possibilities. I never say to myself: ‘Before I made these shots before I did this or that.’ I’m just frustrated with the situation.”

 Further, he confessed, “I am aware that with my means, I can do better. I know that some things go wrong because the head thinks too much. Because the body hesitates too. Once you lose what little self-confidence you have, on a day like this, everything goes into a spin.”

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The former World No.3 lost his sea to the second round of the tournament in a four-set long match. Initially, it looked like Wawrinka had a grip on the match, as he claimed the first set 6-2. However, everything went south after his defeat by 3-6  in the second set. As he never came back in the game after that set and lost the following two sets by 6 (2)- 7 (7) and 3-6.

Stan argues over the temperature of water

Wawrinka, while in the match, found himself tangled in an argument with the match umpire over the temperature of the water bottles. He was visibly irked about the ‘freezing cold’ water being served to him. As he marched towards the umpire and said, “So you call someone. It has been three changeovers. I asked you for some water that is not fricking freezing. Because it is not good. You are at the French Open and you cannot get normal water! You think it is normal?”

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His actions garnered mixed reactions from the audience. Many condemned him for acting out over such a minor issue. While others argued that the cold water is hard for the body to work with.