Stan Wawrinka has revealed that he believes playing alongside the Big Three for most of his career pushed him to improve as a player.
38-year-old Wawrinka has been competing at Grand Slams and on the
ATP Tour for almost two decades, meaning he has played right through the rise, the reign, and the dissolution of the legendary Big Three - made up of
Novak Djokovic,
Rafael Nadal, and Wawrinka's compatriot
Roger Federer.
Now, the Swiss player, who himself is a three-time Grand Slam champion, has opened up on how being a contemporary of the trio of tennis legends helped him to be a better player.
Wawrinka said he 'had no choice' but to improve
Wawrinka recently spoke of how the emergence and dominance of the Big Three meant he had to improve in order to try and keep up, highlighting how much Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer have influenced the sport.
"Being a contemporary of the Big 3 made me better. They pushed me to improve. I had no choice," he said.
Between them, the Big Three have 65 major singles titles, with Djokovic having won 23, which is the all-time record of men's singles major titles won by one player. Meanwhile, Nadal has 22 - including 14 French Open titles - and Federer has 20. All three men are considered to be among the greatest tennis players of all time.
Wawrinka says he still feels young
Moreover, Wawrinka spoke of his love for the sport and how it pushes him to continue despite the fact that he is not winning as much as he used to.
"I am 38 years old, but I feel young [...]. I am not winning as much as before, but that is not the only reason why I play tennis," he explained.
Wawrinka is currently competing at the
US Open, where he is set to face Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in the opening round.
