Stan Wawrinka reveals he was actually frustrated to hear people speak about him and any Big Four member – even Andy Murray – in the same sentence.
During the Big Four era, the Swiss was the player who challenged them the best and managed to win three Grand Slams.
Although he is still active, all the chances are that he will finish with as many Slams as Murray.
And at one point, some started making arguments that Wawrinka’s career wasn’t any less than the Briton’s.
But the player himself never liked it.
Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray© YouTube screenshot
During his career, the British tennis legend made 11 Grand Slam finals – won back-to-back Olympic gold medals – won the ATP Finals – reached the world No. 1 ranking.
On the other side, the Swiss went 3-4 in his Major finals and his career-high ranking saw him ranked at No. 3 in the world.
Wawrinka: I got bothered when they put me close to Murray, it’s disrespectful
“No, it is the opposite. I got bothered when they called it the big five or things like that or they put me close to Andy, just because he had three Grand Slams and I won three Grand Slams,” the 39-year-old said on the Nothing Major Podcast.
“But he has like 45 Masters 1000 and has been in the top 10 for 20 years and top five the same.”
Since Wawrinka never liked the comparisons to Murray, you can only imagine how he then felt about being compared to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Whenever he heard those talks, the Swiss felt they were “disrespectful” toward the Big Four.
“For me, I am completely away from them. I am miles away from what they achieved. I think it’s a little bit disrespectful for them and especially for Andy because that’s the talk that came,” the former world No. 3 said.
Tennis World USA