Stan Wawrinka (Photo : Getty Images)
Stan Wawrinka has no intention breaking the order in tennis and the Big 4 in particular. However, the Swiss stressed that even though he's not considered a member of the fabled circle of men's tennis players in this era, he knows he's capable of beating Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal , Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic at any given day.
"I've been in the top 4 or 3 for two years now, I've won two Grand Slams, during that time Nadal has won one, Federer and Murray none and Djokovic has cleaned up the rest. My place is there, but I've no intention of messing with that particular legend. I'm not one of the Big Four. But I know that I can beat any one of them at the big tournaments. I know that for a fact, because I've already done it," Wawrinka told Tennis Now.
Wawrinka, who just celebrated his 31st birthday recently, cleared that he's not downplaying the achievements accomplished by each member of the Big 4 as he believes it is all part of the shared history, something that cannot be ever rewritten.
On the other hand, he insisted that he's not worrying himself too much about being considered alongside Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic. As a matter of fact, he already knows his place in history as the man who beat all three of them.
"It's not an inferiority complex - I just know my place. I'm No. 4 in the world, so obviously one of those four has gone down in the rankings.," Wawrinka told the official Roland Garros website via Tennis Now. "But they got that nickname based on what they had achieved. It's part of their shared history and you can't rewrite history. I'm not trying to be part of the group.
Throughout his career, Wawrinka collected three wins against Nadal, three against Federer, seven against Murray and four against Djokovic, including a stunning win in the final of last year's French Open that prevented the Serb to complete a career Grand Slam.
Coming off a second round loss to Andre Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-3 at Miami Open, Wawrinka will nevertheless enter the European clay-court season as one of the favorites. Roughly two months from now, the Swiss will be defending his French Open crown against the very same group of players and the rest of men's tennis.
