Stan Wawrinka says he makes Roger Federer nervous ahead of US Open semi-final
Saturday 12 September 2015 21:06, UK
Stan Wawrinka says he is one of the few players that makes Roger Federer nervous, ahead of their all-Swiss US Open semi-final.
Federer has been in dazzling form in New York and is yet to drop a set in five matches at Flushing Meadows, but lost resoundingly to Wawrinka in the French Open quarter-finals in June as his compatriot went on to beat Novak Djokovic and claim his second major title.
It marked a significant moment in the rivalry between to the two players - because for a long time it was not a rivalry at all, with Federer stringing together 11 straight wins against Wawrinka between 2009 and 2013.
More recently, however, Wawrinka has made in-roads, beating the world No 2 in Monte Carlo last year and taking him close at Wimbledon before finally winning easily at Roland Garros.
"I think now we are both nervous when we enter the court. Before, it was only me," Wawrinka said.
"I was nervous because I knew I wasn't at his level and now I think we can see that he is also nervous every time we play each other in the past few years.
"That's a big difference because that shows how much he knows that I can play at his level, how much he knows I can try to play my game and not just try to react about what he's doing."
The pair were also involved in a row at the ATP Tour Finals in London last year when Federer's wife Mirza heckled Wawrinka and called him a "cry baby" after a heated exchange at the end of their match.
That was quickly resolved as as the pair led Switzerland to Davis Cup glory one week later.
"Emotionally, it's not so hard for me," said Federer.
"But then of course subconsciously you know he knows what your preferences are, where you like to go, where you're probably going to go.
"Probably he feels the same way. That's the weird part. I feel we meet each other somewhere in our minds before the point is being played out. So that's odd sometimes."
"I'm always happy for him," added Wawrinka. "I'm his first fan for many years, I always watch his big matches and always happy with him, with all the titles he got.
"So tomorrow, it's always the same. We are really close friends. We always laugh together.
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"On Friday, we're going to laugh together in the locker because we have lockers next to each other before the match.
"We are going to go into the match trying to win. It doesn't matter how, but try to win. Then after the match it's back to normal."
