‘Didn’t Dare to Dream’ – Golden Moment With Roger Federer Fondly Remembered by Stan Wawrinka in a Gratitude-Filled Message

It was the year 2008. Swiss tennis star Stan Wawrinka was slowly but steadily making a mark on the ATP Tour. However, that year proved to be a catalyst for his career growth. The 38-year-old participated at the Beijing Olympics and won a gold medal for his country along with Roger Federer in the men’s doubles. What made the victory even more special was the fact that the duo wasn’t expected to take home the gold in that event, being singles players primarily. Recently, Wawrinka cherished this special moment of his career while talking about his retirement.

A couple of years back, Wawrinka was hit hard by injuries. Nonetheless, he showed tremendous resilience to make a comeback and has achieved his best ranking in over two years, being in the 45th spot. Here’s what he said about his victory with Federer.

Stan Wawrinka reminisces about his victory with Roger Federer

The three-time Grand Slam champion is currently in his home country where he’s participating in the Swiss Indoors in Basel. During the pre-tournament interview, he opened up about his inevitable retirement while remembering his Olympic victory with Federer.

Talking about it, he said, “One of my best experiences was also the Olympic victory in 2008 in doubles [with Federer]. Being in the Olympic village with the Swiss delegation and then winning gold was a life experience. As a young player, I didn’t dare to dream about it. I dreamed of becoming a professional player, i.e. playing in the top 100. Then I could dream more step by step: Top 50, Top 20, Top 10.”

Despite the sweet success, Wawrinka didn’t have the easiest of times playing with Federer at the Beijing Olympic Games. He once revealed what made it tough playing alongside a legend like the Swiss maestro.

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Wawrinka felt immense pressure besides Federer

During an interview last year, the 38-year-old revealed that he was under tremendous pressure to play well with Federer. While the latter was already an established player back then, Wawrinka had just started playing consistently in 2008.

Opening up about his feelings while playing with Federer, Wawrinka said, “Of course, playing doubles with Roger Federer was also special. I was under pressure to play well because he had lost in singles. I struggled in the first two matches, but we still won because … you know, Roger is Roger.”

Coming on to Wawrinka’s Swiss Indoors participation, he’ll face the qualifier, Alexander Shevchenko, in the opening round. It’ll be interesting to see if Wawrinka can dig deep in his home tournament.

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