Stan Wawrinka has arrived at the cusp of an almighty achievement.
A win over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon would mean he has defeated the game’s dominant player at every Grand Slam tournament. So far, Roger Federer is the only one to have done so.
Wawrinka made this a possibility by beating 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Thursday at the All England Club. It is the furthest he has progressed at Wimbledon since 2015, and at any major in more than three years.
After clinching a four-set victory over the Argentine, Wawrinka remained on court for an interview, where he was told he would face Djokovic, and that they had played 26 times.
“Don’t tell me the (head-to-head) score,” he interrupted the interviewer with a smile, before adding: “I will enjoy if I don’t get killed.”
The reason for that response? Wawrinka clearly knows where he sits in that head-to-head series, one Djokovic leads 20-6.
The overall tally is actually 22-6, including Challenger and qualifying matches. Curiously, these are not considered in the official head-to-head.
Either way, it paints a picture of Djokovic’s dominance. It was no different in their most recent meeting at the 2022 Rome Masters; Djokovic allowed Wawrinka just four games.
That was just over a year ago, when Wawrinka was the world No.361 using a protected ranking for entry. It was just his third tournament after missing an entire year due to foot surgery. And that was the third surgery on his foot, after two knee surgeries.
He has since rebounded to 88th.
It might still appear a mismatch when the 38-year-old lines up against Djokovic, who has not lost at a major tournament in more than a year.
Yet what makes this intriguing is how the dynamic of their match-up shifts at Grand Slams.
In the past decade, it is Wawrinka who has dominated; he has won four of their past five Slam meetings.
Most famously, he denied Djokovic in the finals of Roland Garros in 2015 and the 2016 US Open. He also upset Djokovic in an extraordinary Australian Open 2014 quarterfinal, en route to his first major singles title.
“He took away two Grand Slams from me. That's the role he played, beating me in two Grand Slam finals,” Djokovic smiled, when asked how Wawrinka had impacted his career.
“(But) I like Stan a lot. He's a great person. Inspirational what he's doing at his age. He's almost 40 years old and he still keeps going strong. That's something that not many people can do.
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“After several surgeries of his knees, he keeps going strong… That's why I think it's something that is very admirable and impressive that after the physical difficulties he has been through in the last five, six, seven years, he still refuses to give up.
“One of the nicest one-handed backhands that I have ever played against, ever seen. Very powerful player. Very strong. Very complete. He can play equally well on all surfaces.
“I hope we get to play against each other because we haven't faced (off) in quite some time.”
Djokovic got his wish.
Having lost his past three Grand Slam matches to Wawrinka, he will be more motivated than ever to buck that trend. And as the owner of an all-time men’s record of 23 major singles titles, he is well positioned to do so.
He and Wawrinka will play on Centre Court, where Djokovic is undefeated in 41 matches across the past decade. He has also won his past 30 matches at Wimbledon, where he is targeting a fifth straight title.
Djokovic is also eyeing a calendar Grand Slam. So far he is 16-0 at the majors in 2023.
If Wawrinka was to win, on this surface, at this point in his career, it could be considered among his greatest achievements.
But he is realistic ahead of their first Grand Slam meeting in almost four years.
“(Back then) it was a part of my career that I was playing such a good level that I knew when I was entering on court against Novak in Grand Slam I was able to beat him. I have a powerful game from baseline, forehand, backhand, and I was physically ready to compete with him. I had some amazing match, was probably two best match of my career in French Open and US Open (finals),” Wawrinka recalled.
“But right now it's been a long time I didn't play at that level.
“Have you seen him play? Give me one weakness. I think he's been an amazing player to play. He's the perfect player. Everything is so clean. He play the perfect shot in the right moment.
“I'm playing better each match, and as I say, I think it's an honour to play Novak here. I was missing that on my career to play him in the Grand Slam in Wimbledon.
“Hopefully I can make a competitive match, but if you look at recent results, I don't really stand a chance.”