By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, January 24, 2017
"He's always been a believer that he can do it. It shows how far you can go," said Roger Federer of Stan Wawrinka.
Photo credit: ITF/Davis Cup
Before they became a golden duo, good friends Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka spent time pushing each other’s buttons.
Back then, phone calls between the Swiss Davis Cup teammates were tactical talks with Wawrinka often absorbing information and acting on advice from his friend.
Watch: Wawrinka and Tsonga Jaw At Each Other During Quarterfinals
“I remember giving Stan a lot of advice on how he should play certain guys,” Federer said. “What I like with Stan is if I would tell him something, I felt like he was able to do it. That showed me that he's a great player, that he's got a mind of somebody who understands what I'm trying to explain him.
“Some players, you tell them something, they've just got no clue what to do, what it means. Stan had that early on, so I think he was a great learner.”
Knowledge is power.
Two guys who know just about everything about each other will try to leverage their insight when they square off in the Australian Open semifinals.
“It's always been different in my career when I played against Roger,” Wawrinka said. “When I step on the court, it's always something special because he's the best player because of everything he's done in his career, because the way he's playing, because he's Swiss, because he's a really close friend, because of everything we've been together, Davis Cup, Olympics. It's always something special.”
The 35-year-old Federer has often played spectacular tennis against his former sparring partner. Federer has won 18 of their 21 meetings, including a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1, thrashing in their last major meeting in the 2015 US Open semifinals.
“I think in the beginning, he was really struggling on faster courts,” Federer said of Wawrinka. “I played him in Rotterdam and other places. You could sense in his footwork, the way he was returning, that he was uncomfortable on them.
“That's why it was incredible for me to see that his first Grand Slam he was going to win was the Australian Open. If I would have called any Grand Slam for him to win it was always going to be the French, because he moved so effortless on clay. That's his base. That's his DNA really.”
Reigning US Open champion Wawrinka is aiming for his second straight Grand Slam title—and his second Australian Open crown in the past four years.
Four-time Australian Open champion Federer is driven by the dream of winning his first Grand Slam title since he ruled the 2012 Wimbledon.
The friends and frequent practice partners have produced some of their most rousing career moments together.
Wawrinka and Federer joined forces to capture the Olympic gold medal in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and reunited leading Switzerland to the 2014 Davis Cup championship.
The shadow Federer sometimes casts over his doubles partner makes the fourth-ranked Swiss smile these days.
While some may continue to define Stan by his relationship to Roger elite opponents know Wawrinka stands alone as a major threat.
"He loves to play in the big matches. He comes up with his best game," six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic said of Wawrinka. "He's so solid from both corners. He's got a good slice and amazing one-handed backhand, all corners. Big serve. Moves well.
"He's a very complete player. Sometimes if he feels right he doesn't miss much and makes a lot of winners and it's hard to play him."
Pointing an index finger to his temple is a trademark Wawrinka gesture used to underscore a shrewd decision.
Reflecting on his rivalry with Federer, Wawrinka believes he is a better player now than he was losing five of his last six meetings with Federer.
“For sure now I'm more confident with myself,” Wawrinka said. “When I step on the court, doesn't matter who I play, I know what I have to do if I want to win. For sure, against Roger, it's always special because he's so good. He's the best player of all time. He has answer for everything. But I managed to beat him in a Grand Slam, so we'll see.
“Most important is that I step on the court and I play my best tennis.”
The faster track of Rod Laver Arena has benefited Federer, who has played dynamic all-court tennis dispatching Top 10 opponents Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori in succession before sweeping 50th-ranked serve-and-volleyer Mischa Zverev to reach his 13th Australian Open semifinal in the last 14 years.
Federer’s ability to take the ball early has seen him break serve a tournament-best 27 times in five matches.
Wawrinka wore kinesiology tape on his right leg in his rugged quarterfinal win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but insists "it's nothing important."
The maturation of Wawrinka’s mental game and his evolution into an all-surface threat is clear to his friend Federer.
"I think he's done incredibly well on all the other surfaces, including grass actually, also indoors, hard and fast," Federer said of Wawrinka. "He's become such a good player, I super respect that, that the guy is able to transform his game around like that, in his footwork, in his mind, also in his game plan.
"That's his transformation, and I like what I saw. He's always been a believer that he can do it. It shows how far you can go."
Wawrinka takes pride in the ties that bind him with Federer.
Setting friendship aside to focus on semifinal solutions is his plan for the rematch.