Who Stan Wawrinka called the ‘best player ever’ after he won his first Grand Slam title in 2014

Stan Wawrinka has called time on his glittering tennis career at the age of 41.

Wawrinka leaves the sport at his home tournament in Basel, where he was beaten by Jiri Lehecka in his opening match. And he bows out as a multiple Grand Slam champion, with the first of his three titles having arrived at the Australian Open in 2014.

The Swiss ATP icon defeated Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal in their Melbourne final that year, but it was another player from the Big Three that Wawrinka labelled the “best player ever” in the immediate aftermath of that memorable match.

Stan Wawrinka called Roger Federer the ‘best player ever’ in 2014

Speaking to the media in January 2014 after his unforgettable victory over Nadal, Wawrinka was tasked with discussing what the support from Roger Federer meant to him, and indeed if he had heard from his compatriot since his maiden Grand Slam title.

“Yeah, Roger is a good friend,” he responded. “He’s for me the best player ever. He’s been there for so many years. He was struggling a little bit last year, but except that he’s an amazing player, amazing friend, because he always wants the best for me.

“He’s always texting me. Even if he lost, like in the US Open, he was the first person to text me before the match or after the match. Yeah, I didn’t call so many people, but my wife, my daughter, my sister, and Roger called me. So, yeah, was nice for me. I know that he’s really, really happy for me. He always wanted the best for me.”

It was a lovely update from Wawrinka, who has of course encountered his fellow Swiss ace Federer many times throughout the years, on and off the court. In fact, they met 26 times on the ATP Tour, with Federer winning 23 of those matches.

Stan Wawrinka left surprised after winning his first Grand Slam title

Like most players, Wawrinka often found it difficult to get one over the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic. He ends his career with a 3-19 record against the Spaniard and a 6-21 record against the Serbian.

But he was able to edge past Nadal in Melbourne for a maiden major triumph, before doing the same to Djokovic in the finals of the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open. But doing his best to summarise that first Grand Slam success, he said: “To be honest, I don’t realise. I still think that I’m dreaming.

“It’s a strange feeling, you know. I saw so many finals. I always try to watch the finals of Grand Slams because that’s where the best players are playing. Before today for me wasn’t a dream. I never expected to play a final. I never expected to win a Grand Slam. And right now I just did it. And especially the way I was playing all the tournament, it’s for me a big surprise to play that well.

“To beat Rafa today, even if he was injured, I think I played my best first set during the match; I was ready to play four hours or five to beat Novak in the quarter, to beat [Tomas] Berdych in the semis. That shows me I’m doing the right thing for many years. That if you practice well, if you work hard, you will always have a chance to be in a great position to play your best tennis.”

Wawrinka defeated Nadal 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 in the 2014 Australian Open final, before 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 and 6–7(1–7), 6–4, 7–5, 6–3 victories over Djokovic in Paris and New York respectively. He was then beaten 2–6, 3–6, 1–6 by the Spaniard in the final of the 2017 French Open.