Old friends Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka to meet in semifinal

MELBOURNE — When the official draws come out at the Grand Slams there’s a clamor to view them, digest them, and then work out what match pairings can be the most anticipated.

Of prominent interest for this Australian Open was the draw of 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. Being taken into account was that because of a knee injury this would be Federer’s first official tournament since he lost in the Wimbledon semifinals. And then there was the fact that at 35 years old Federer was one of the older guys in the draw.

The quick assessment: If the Swiss Master journeyed to the quarterfinals he’d likely face a test against the world No. 1 Andy Murray. Unheralded Mischa Zverev, however, had another idea entirely about how the draw would shake out. He decided to upset Murray in a breathtaking four-set, serve-and-volley exhibition in the fourth round, thereby lining himself up as Federer’s quarterfinal opponent.

Federer wasn’t about to go the way of Murray by becoming Zverev’s next seeded victim. As the 17th seed, Federer nailed down a solid 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 win to earn a spot in his 41st career Grand Slam semifinal. Prior to staring across the net from Zverev, Federer took down 10th seed Tomas Berdych in the third round and fifth seed Kei Nishikori in a stunning five sets in the fourth round.

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Now the road to possibly extending his record Grand Slam title tally to 18 goes through Switzerland’s current best and good friend, Stan Wawrinka, in the semifinals. Wawrinka ousted 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

“People were talking about a dream draw and I was wondering what people were talking about,” Federer said. “I didn’t see a dream draw. But here I am in the semifinals and going to play Stan.”

Back in the day, the 31-year-old Wawrinka always accepted second chair to Federer — he was the backup Swiss citizen of men’s tennis, the guy behind the best in the world. And to his credit he never balked about the pecking order.

Together, the two friends shared some incredible career moments in winning the 2008 Olympic gold medal in doubles, and in leading Switzerland to the Davis Cup title in 2014.

“It’s always been different in my career when I played against Roger,” Wawrinka said. “When I step on the court, it’s always something special because he’s the best player, because of everything  he’s done in his career, because the way he’s playing, because he’s Swiss, because he’s a really close friend, because of everything we’ve been together. It’s always something special.”

Nowadays, however, while Wawrinka remains respectful of Federer’s achievements, he deservedly sees himself differently. He knows he’s genuinely a force to be reckoned with on the tour, a top player to be feared by others.

Wawrinka is now the fourth-ranked player in the world. He is also a three-time Grand Slam champion having won one Grand Slam trophy each of the last three years. His first win at a major came here in Melbourne in 2014, the second at the 2015 French Open and the third at last year’s U.S. Open.

“Most important is that I try as much as I can to focus on myself, that I step on the court to try to win, to try to find a way how to win the match,” said Wawrinka, looking ahead to play Federer, who leads him 18-3 in their career meetings.

Federer chronicled some of his history and beliefs about Wawrinka, admitting to being impressed with how he’s transformed from a natural clay court player into a guy thriving on lightning fast courts such as those here at the Australian Open.

Federer also spoke about the times when Wawrinka would frequently call him for advice, asking how he should play against a certain opponent. These days those phone chats are a thing of the past as Wawrinka is no longer in need of his counsel.

“What I liked with Stan is if I would tell him something, I felt like he was able to do it,” Federer said. “That showed me that he’s a great player.

“Then the day came where he didn’t call me so much anymore,” he added. “He called me less and less. I also felt I didn’t tell him anymore because he created his knowledge, his base, had his team.”

As the all-Swiss semifinal approaches it can be said the two old friends might actually be on even footing, or maybe if the nod is to ranking, Wawrinka has the current edge.

But Federer doesn’t want to know anything about that.

Many fans refer to Wawrinka by saying, “Stan is the man.” Federer is clearly hoping that won’t be the case in the semifinals. As he left the court on Tuesday night, Federer semi-kidded about Wawrinka, saying,  “I’m happy for him, but he doesn’t need to go one step further.”