French Open 2015 Review

"Still feels like a dream! So happy!"

These are the words of a champion that nobody predicted at the start of this year's French Open, but Stan Wawrinka has denied all odds and claimed his second Grand Slam title by defeating World No.1 Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.The Swiss champion now joins the elite list of players that have won more than one Grand Slam title and if Stan can replicate his form over the last fortnight into the remainder of the season and beyond, who knows, maybe there will be more slam titles that he can add to his collection.

Stan's performance against Djokovic was perfect in every sense of the word, the power that the Swiss utilizes is breath-taking and his around the net-post backhand winner will be replayed for many years to come. What was very noticeable during the match however was that Wawrinka was going for broke, he was playing dangerously but also conservatively when he needed too. Although his power-play produced 60 winners on the day, it was his base-line game that was getting Djokovic flustered and in the end was what won him the match. Novak is renowned for playing along the base-line and waiting for his opponent to produce an error or for one of his astute drop shots to catch them off guard. But Stan just wasn't backing down and it was Novak who was creating errors from the base-line and his normally reliable drop-shot just wasn't causing Wawrinka any issues, in fact it seemed that the drop-shots were a last ditch attempt to save the match from falling away.

Consistency has been a major thorn on Wawrinka's side throughout his career however and after winning his first major last year at the Australian Open he was dumped out in the first round of the French Open. But what Stan has shown is that when he is on fire, he is unstoppable and his last two Grand Slam titles have been won because of his style of play. Yes when he is sloppy he can lose badly and when Novak performs badly he usually still finds a way to win and maybe that is why the Serb has more slam titles to his name, but Stan just comes across as the type of player that everyday amateurs should perhaps try to emulate.In the era of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and even Murray, at 30 years-old Wawrinka has shown that only steely determination can propel you to the top and his performance in not only the final but the tournament as a whole we have witnessed a humble competitor whose attacking prowess has flattened all the competition that has stood in his way. I mean what coach who is bringing up an amateur player is going to refrain from at least putting a bit of Stan in their player. Wawrinka has a game that can be taught, practiced upon and perfected. But you don't learn it overnight and he surely hasn't learnt it over the last couple of years since his partnership with Swedish coach Magnus Norman either. The successful coach truthfully stated:


"I think a lot more of the credit of a player doing well at professional stages should go to the development coaches that have been working with the player in younger years. Coaches that have created the fundamentals of the player at a time when the spotlight is PERHAPS years away. Coaches that have been there early in the mornings, late at night and weekends doing all the hard work. I can't accept taking credit for that. The coaches that should have a majority of the credit after a win like that should be THOSE development coaches. Have I done a good job with Stan? Yes I'm very proud of what we have achieved together over two years. But that would not have been possible without all the fundamental work that has already been made. The work that I'm doing is a continuation of what's already been done". 

Blinded by all that cloud of red clay that has engulfed in the direction of Stan Wawrinka, there is a sudden realization now that Djokovic may never win Roland Garros. This was a fantastic opportunity to claim the slam that still eludes him, but as every year comes around the competition gets stronger and surely the Serbian will be feeling the pressure of joining the elite list of players to have won all four Grand Slam events. Novak is at a point in his career where time is not on his side, his game doesn't need redevelopment and when he gets into a Grand Slam final he needs to win because eventually there will come a time like it has to Nadal and Federer that reaching a slam final will not happen and you do look back on missed opportunities. But in Paris one thing is for sure, there was nothing Novak could have done to stem the flow of winners by Stan and just like his losses to Nadal in previous finals; he simply was beaten by the better player.

After sustaining his record of 15 matches unbeaten on a clay-court for Andy Murray, the Scot fell in the semi-finals in an enthralling match against eventual runner-up Novak Djokovic. Although he lost the match in five sets, it was the way he came back from two sets down to force a decider that was admirable from the two-time Grand Slam winner. Murray was in the ascendency going into the final set, but yet again like in previous meetings against the Serbian, Novak finds another level and Murray's level drops which followed with a 6-1 final set. Andy can take a lot of positives from this match as it was a marked improvement to his loss to Novak in Australia this year and heading into the grass-court season he should be looking at ways to outlast players like Djokovic in the closing stages of a match because he did have the Serb at the end of his racquet at numerous times during the match but failed to sustain the same level during the last set.

Meanwhile, Nadal's reign as French Open champion was always going to come to an end at some point but surprisingly it wasn't against the eventual champion. In fact, the only two times the Spaniard has lost in Paris (Soderling, 2009 & Djokovic, 2015) the winner has failed to capitalize on defeating the king of clay. Another fact is that both winners against Nadal have lost to a Swiss in the final (Federer, 2009 & Wawrinka, 2015). Nevertheless it seemed inevitable that this was the year that Nadal was going to lose for the second time and he was comprehensively beaten by Djokovic in straight sets with the Serb not really letting Nadal settle into the match at all. Disappointingly for Nadal fans is that it is hard to see how the Spaniard can bounce back from his latest defeat and like stated in previous blog posts, unless he changes elements of his game or brings in a new coach it seems unlikely that Nadal will be challenging for Grand Slam titles anymore.

It is always nice to give a mention to a player who made an impact at a Grand Slam and is maybe somebody to watch out for in the future. This year's French Open saw 19 year-old Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis reach the third round in Paris where he was halted by Djokovic in straight sets. But the manner of the 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 loss shown what a talent Kokkinakis really is, and although Novak was never really troubled, the 19 year-old held his own out on Court Philippe Chatrier with the right blend of offense and defence play. He also came back from two sets down to defeat compatriot Bernard Tomic in the previous round which showed that he can also outlast opponents when needed and sustain a good level throughout a long match. So watch out for the Australian at Wimbledon as he is sure to gain some new fans.

With Rafa relinquishing his crown to Novak Djokovic, most people thought that Novak would be this year's clay-court king. But nobody envisioned that it would in fact be Stanislas Wawrinka who would instead be Paris champion and claim a second Grand Slam title. The 2015 Roland Garros tournament will be remembered for many years to come and the final will be looked back on to show old and new audiences alike how best to win a tennis match.