Stan Wawrinka can complete the career Grand Slam by winning Wimbledon.
While he greatly values all three major titles he's won, Wawrinka insists completing the career Slam is not his top priority.
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“A career Grand Slam is not a goal at the moment,” Wawrinka told media at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships today. “It is already an amazing thing for me to have won three Grand Slams. Each one of these are so very special for me.
“Every year I am trying my best at Wimbledon and during the grass court season. But I have never played grass as good as the rest of the surfaces. I am still pushing for finding my best game on that surface, so we will see this year.”
Wawrinka’s best Wimbledon results are consecutive quarterfinal appearances in 2014 and 2015. Last year, the Swiss fell to Juan Martin del Potro in the Wimbledon second round—the seventh time he failed to survive the second round in 12 SW19 appearances.
The reigning US Open champion, who was forced out of Rotterdam with a knee injury earlier this month, returns to action in Dubai next week.
The second-seeded Wawrinka opens against Damir Dzumhur in the first round.
The third-ranked Wawrinka reached successive semifinals in Brisbane, bowing to Kei Nishikori, and the Australian Open, losing to friend and sometime doubles partner Roger Federer.
“I am going to see how I am going to feel and then take it match by match,” Wawrinka told the media in Dubai. “Right now I am happy to be back after spending a lot of time out of competition. This was not the best, but I needed to take time to recover and feel better physically.
“After one month you’ve got to see how you can reach a high level again. In general, the tennis has been good tennis in the last few days. I started tennis only last week. I took the time I needed to take to get back and hopefully I can stay healthy for the rest of the year.”
Photo credit: ITF/Davis Cup