By Chris Oddo | Saturday, March 22, 2014
Now that he's a Grand Slam champion does Stan Wawrinka dream of the No. 1 ranking? He's got another goal he'd like to take care of first, he says.
Photo Source/ Corleve
2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka fought through an up-and-down performance to defeat Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 at the Sony Open in Miami today. But naturally the questions at his post-match press conference drifted quickly away from his victory over to his expectations for the rest of the year now that he is a Grand Slam champion and No. 3 in the world.
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Wawrinka was asked about his goals for the rest of the season and it wasn't another Grand Slam or the No. 1 ranking that he spoke of first. It was Davis Cup.
“Well, there is one goal that I have since many years,” Wawrinka told reporters. “It's the Davis Cup. Now Roger is playing, so we know that we are a strong team to do something. We'll need to be careful, but we have a good chance to make a big result this year, and that's so far the most important.”
The 28-year-old has played in 20 ties for the Swiss team, playing in Davis Cup rubbers in each of the last eleven years (since 2004), but Wawrinka has never played in a World Group quarterfinal before. Now, with Roger Federer at his side, Wawrinka will get a chance to do that in a few weeks time when the Swiss take on Kazakhstan at home in April 4-6.
As far as the rest of the tournament in Miami, Wawrinka has a plan for that, too.
“I need to focus on what I did before to win the Australian Open. That means I need to focus with my coach, try to improve my game, try to be 100 percent every day on the court, try to always fight, always try to be at my best in every match. And if I do that, I know I'm going to have some great results this year.”
Wawrinka will face Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the third round at Miami. The next highest-seeded player in his quarter of the draw is Tomas Berdych, who defeated another Frenchman, Stephane Robert, to reach the third round on Saturday in Miami.