By Erik Gudris | Thursday, March 6, 2014

 

In one his first interviews since winning the Australian Open back in January, Stanislas Wawrinka admits he never dreamed of winning a Grand Slam.

Photo Credit: Corleve

After a nearly a month and half absence, Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka is ready to return to the courts. The newly minted Grand Slam winner kept a low profile after his surprise win over Rafael Nadal in the men's final and has not played a tournament since.

Speaking to France's Le Figaro, Wawrinka said he once thought that special glory was only reserved for the game's elite.

"I never dreamed of winning a Grand Slam, so honestly, just after the final against Nadal. I did not feel capable of winning a Grand Slam. In recent years, this was reserved for Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Federer. To me, they were much stronger than others."

Wawrinka remains unbeaten this season after winning two titles (Chennai, Melbourne). The current world No. 3 now enters this week's BNP Paribas Open having not played since his historic win Down Under.

Many view Wawrinka's victory as significant in that it broke up the recent domination of the "Big Four" who won all the other Grand Slam titles stretching back to 2010. But the Swiss star doesn't expect more players to pull off surprise title runs at future majors.

"These four are not as dominant, but I remain convinced that Djokovic and Nadal will continue to win many titles. Opportunities for someone to win a Grand Slam this year or next year, there will be, but not that much."

Wawrinka attributes his recent success to hard work and discipline. Yet he is not aiming to win more Grand Slam titles like Roland Garros or the U.S. Open as part of his overall goals moving forward since he knows how difficult it can be to achieve.

Still, Wawrinka says winning Melbourne is a relief.

"This is just one chapter ends. Whatever happens, we can not remove that title. I always keep. This takes me a bit of pressure for the future. It's done! But I always want to go further, higher and I'm always looking for ways to give me more opportunities to grow."

Wawrinka is scheduled to compete later this week at Indian Wells in both singles and doubles.

Read the complete interview here.