Stan Wawrinka’s run at the Dubai Tennis Championships came to an end on Wednesday with his loss to Daniil Medvedev.
Medvedev won the match 6-2, 6-3 and will next face American Jenson Brooksby in the quarterfinals.
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Competing in his final season on the ATP Tour at age 40, Wawrinka took a moment after the match to thank the tournament staff for their efforts over the years.
By the time he steps away from tennis, Wawrinka will be remembered as one of the few who managed to break through in an era dominated by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
In a way, not much has changed. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now occupy similar positions at the top of men’s tennis.
Wawrinka advises players to focus on themselves to challenge Alcaraz and Sinner
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
After his loss, Wawrinka spoke to reporters and shared his thoughts on the current landscape: “I think right now Jannik and Carlos are at different levels. But there will be opportunities in the future. There will always be opportunities for players.”
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“For me, the most important thing is to look around you, what you can improve, how you are going to improve, what you can do better to improve your game physically, tennis-wise, and not look at who I need to beat this guy or who I need to beat this guy.”
“At the end of the day, you don’t play the best player in every game. So the most important thing is how you’re going to play the whole year, how you’re going to play the game when you’re not playing them because of most of the players.”
Alcaraz and Sinner have faced each other three times in major finals so far, and more clashes are expected as both continue their rise.
The duo has shared nine consecutive Grand Slam titles.
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