Total trust is a primary reason Stan Wawrinka is ready to rise.
A pair of left knee surgeries in 2017 followed by injury-induced inactivity caused Wawrinka's ranking to drop to No. 261—his lowest mark in 15 years—last June.
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The 68th-ranked Swiss, who knocked off buddy Benoit Paire and will face Milos Raonic for a spot in the Rotterdam quarterfinals, says trust is key.
"It's the fact I can trust my knees again after almost one year and a half coming back from my surgery," Wawrinka told the ABN AMRO WTT YouTube channel. "I'm happy with all the work I've done that I can trust my body on the court."
Four years ago, Wawrinka knocked off Raonic and Tomas Berdych in succession to capture the Rotterdam title.
His meeting with Raonic is a rematch of last month's Australian Open second round where the Canadian prevailed in four tie break sets.
The winner of the Raonic-Wawrinka match will meet either wild card Berdych or 10th-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve