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Defending Champ Stan Wawrinka Under the Radar at 2016 French Open and That’s OK
- Updated: May 23, 2016
Stan Wawrinka avoided a historic upset at the 2016 French Open. Had he lost, Wawrinka would have been the first defending champion to go out in the first round. He also would have garnered more attention in a loss than he’s gotten in the days leading up to the French Open.
The forgotten champion, Wawrinka is flying under the radar at Roland Garros. For someone who plays better as the underdog, that’s a good thing.
Wawrinka came back from two sets down to defeat Lukas Rosol, 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Although a Rosol win would have been an upset, a Wawrinka loss wouldn’t have been so unexpected.
Of the 11 experts polled by ESPN, none picked Wawrinka to defend his title.
In a Sports Illustrated pre-tournament round table, reporter Jamie Lisanti predicted that “Weighed down by the pressure of a title defense, Stan Wawrinka will crash out early and his push into the Big Four conversation will have to wait, even with Federer’s absence.”
Sports Illustrated senior editor Richard Deitsch predicted Wawrinka would be out by the second round.
According to Odds Shark, Novak Djokovic is the favorite to win the French Open with -225 betting odds. Wawrinka received +1600 odds. That’s fourth behind Djokovic, Rafael Nadal (+350) and Andy Murray (+400).
Murray’s never won the French Open. He’s never even reached the finals. Yet oddsmakers consider him four times more likely to win the French Open than Wawrinka.
No respect for Stan the Man.
Heck, even Wawrinka seemed iffy about his chances at Roland Garros. Before the start of the tournament, Wawrinka told RolandGarros.com’s Ian Chadband, “At present, I’d say that Novak is the main favorite. It was the case last year, as well. I think to beat him, it’s going to be very difficult, and then there is (Andy) Murray and (Rafael) Nadal on an equal footing, and then I’m just after them.”
But former player and tennis analyst Tim Henman believes Wawrinka can defend his title. Henman points out that Wawrinka may not be as consistent as Murray or Djokovic. However, Wawrinka’s best is better …
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