Stan Wawrinka Shares Whether He’ll Have Dream Match with Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros or Pete Sampras at Wimbledon

Stan Wawrinka wants to play Carlos Alcaraz before calling time on his career.

Stan Wawrinka Shares Whether He’ll Have Dream Match with Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros or Pete Sampras at Wimbledon

Carlos Alcaraz, Stan Wawrinka, Pete Sampras (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Scott Barclay, Relevant Tennis)

In Short
  • Stan Wawrinka is preparing for the Barcelona Open, facing Cameron Norrie in the main draw starting April 13.
  • Wawrinka expressed a desire to play against Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, citing admiration for him growing up.
  • The 41-year-old plans to retire after this season, with his final tournament scheduled in Athens.

Stan Wawrinka is gearing up for the Barcelona Open, the main draw of which is set to start on April 13. Wawrinka has a tough challenge in front of him in the form of Cameron Norrie.

But the Brit trails in his head-to-head matchups against Stan the Man. This will be their first meeting since 2023. Ahead of the match, Wawrinka sat for an interview with Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj during which he was asked about whether he would like to have a dream match against Carlos Alcaraz at Roland Garros or against Pete Sampras on the Wimbledon Center Court.

Yeah, I think Pete at Wimbledon Centre Court. I grew up watching him. I arrive a bit too late. He stopped just before. Lucky me, when I won my first Grand Slam in Australia, he was the one giving me the trophy. So that was for me something amazing, more than the trophy itself. I was looking at it like, ‘Wow, yes, I got it.’

Stan Wawrinka said

The 41-year-old will be retiring after this season and plans to play his final tournament in Athens, at the Hellenic Championship. Wawrinka has time and again said that he wants to face Alcaraz before hanging up his racket. He got an opportunity to play the seven-time Grand Slam champion at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Had he defeated Sebastian Baez in the first round, he would have faced the World No.1 in the second round. But the Swiss suffered a 7-5, 7-5 defeat at the hands of the Argentinian ace.

Fabio Fognini doesn’t think Jack Draper can challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Jack Draper has defeated both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Against the Italian, Draper is tied 1-1 in the head-to-head matchups. Against Alcaraz, he trails 2-4 in the head-to-head matchups. Many have backed Draper to challenge the dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner if he is fit. But retired player Fabio Fognini is of a different opinion.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, The Independent)

[Alexander] Zverev is world No. 3; he’s been at a high level for a long time, but against Jannik and Carlos, he always loses now. I like Draper, but I don’t know if he’ll return to being the player he was before the injury. [Lorenzo] Musetti just deserves compliments, because you don’t reach world No. 5 by chance. But he’s struggling to find his rhythm again after the injury in Australia.

Fabio Fognini told La Gazzetta dello Sport

It was Zverev whom Sinner dismantled in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters to reach the final of the tournament for the first time. It was Sinner’s eighth consecutive match victory over the three-time Grand Slam finalist.

The problem is that to challenge Jannik and Carlos, you need a consistency in performance and results that no one can manage to deliver: in a single tournament, they might even lose, but over the course of an entire season, they’re untouchable.

Fabio Fognini added

Before scheduling his first match of the season against Sinner, Alcaraz knocked out home favorite Valentin Vacherot, who was bidding to become the first man from Monaco to win this title. Both Sinner and Alcaraz lifted two titles each before arriving in The Principality.

The 22-year-old defeated Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final and Arthur Fils in the Qatar Open final. Sinner lost to Djokovic in the semifinals of the Melbourne Major and to Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals of the Doha event. But he beat Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final and Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final to become the eighth man to complete the Sunshine Double.

Also read: Stan Wawrinka Discusses the Future of One-Handed Backhands After his Imminent Retirement