Stan Wawrinka plots weight reduction as he eyes Novak Djokovic battle

Stan Wawrinka has revealed that he’s planning to lose some weight in his continued comeback from foot surgical procedure. The former world No 3 went underneath the knife in 2021 and returned to the tour 14 months in the past. He has already returned to the world’s prime 100 however the three-time Major champion believes that weight reduction may very well be the important thing to staying aggressive with the highest gamers.

Wawrinka has been battling accidents lately, first coping with a knee subject six years in the past earlier than returning to the highest 15 in 2019. He has since been coping with a foot subject, present process double foot surgical procedure in 2021 and making his comeback final yr.

The 38-year-old has already earned two prime 10 victories and reentered the world’s prime 100 since his return however is now seeking to kick issues up a notch as he bids to compete with the “top players” once more. At his peak, Wawrinka defeated the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to win Grand Slam title.

Speaking to Tennis Channel, Wawrinka mentioned he thought shedding “one to two kilos” may make a giant distinction. “Right now I think the game is being played a bit faster,” the world No 84 defined. “When you get older, you need to do more to get less results. You need to practice more, you need to spend more time with the physio.”

After turning 38 final month, Wawrinka admitted that it took dedication to maintain making an attempt to compete at his age. He continued: “You really need to enjoy that if you don’t enjoy it there’s no chance you can keep playing. As I say, I’m trying to stay competitive with the top players.”

And a brief weight reduction journey may very well be the factor to assist him stick with the younger gamers coming by, as he has already notched wins over Holger Rune and Casper Ruud in the previous few months. “For that I need to try to practise as much as possible on my line, try to be as fast as possible and sometimes a bit hesitating and a bit slow with the way I’m moving,” he analysed.