Wimbledon Track Record: Since 2009 Stanislas Wawrinka has failed to reach the 3rd Round of Wimbledon. His best Wimbledon showing was the 4th round in 2008 and again in 2009. Grass Court Game: Wawrinka is one of the most physically strong tennis players in the field and has a game that can and should produce results on a grass court. His deep groundstrokes and heavy serve should translate through the grass into easy winners and forced opponent errors. However his relatively poor performance at previous Wimbledon events perhaps reflects a mental frailty on a surface that rewards confident aggressive shot making and punishes anxious play. Unlike his favourite surface (clay and hard court), a grass court is a fast court that does not allow Wawrinka much time to set up for his shots. Movement is equally key on a grass court, and whilst a gifted mover Wawrinka seems to struggle navigating the slick lawns of SW19. Current Form: Wawrinka started 2014 in blistering form, beating the worlds two best players Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to win his maiden grandslam at the Australian Open. Following this Wawrinka has struggled to maintain the lights out tennis his displayed down under, losing to lesser ranked players at key Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. He seemed to tighten up his game in time for the second grandlsam of the year by beating fellow countryman Roger Federer to win the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo, only to be bundled out of the French Open in the 1st round. Overall Wawrinka's 2014 season thus far has been as equally brilliant as it has been disappointing. Wimbledon '14 Prediction: 4th Round Wawrinka has the game to navigate his way to his first Wimbledon Championship and as a grandslam champion has the mental strength to win 7 matches back to back. However his previous results at Wimbledon are poor by his standards, perhaps reflecting how difficult it is for a tennis player to transition from the slow high bouncing clay courts of Roland Garros to the lush low bouncing lawns of SW19. However if he can rekindle the form he exhibited at the Australian Open he will be very difficult to beat and will no doubt deal some significant damage to the Wimbledon draw. He is likely to falter in the first week, but if he can ride out the early rounds, expect Wawrinka to be among the favourites for the title.
