No longer hidden in the shadows, lean and mean Stan Wawrinka firmly established among the elite

As Stan Wawrinka was beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on June 5 to reach the French Open Final, a far bigger sporting story was breaking around the world.

The news that Sepp Blatter had resigned as Fifa president after 17 years in charge completely overshadowed what was taking place in Paris.

That has been a typical situation for Wawrinka.

Many Twitter users went to pains to point out that for much of his career Wawrinka had rarely been in the limelight, and it was unlikely to change despite the impressive effort it took to down Tsonga in front of his home crowd.

Two days later, it was the Swiss who had the last laugh, though, as he stunned world No 1 Novak Djokovic to win his first Roland Garros title and the second major of his career to follow his 2014 Australian Open win.

His good form continues at Wimbledon, where he defeated Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to move into the third round.

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But confronting the media as an established grand slam title-winner has helped dull what had become a tiresome ritual for Wawrinka, 30, in having to justify his place in the game.

If it is not questions about him being in compatriot Roger Federer’s shadow, then there are flippant inquiries about his choice of colourful shorts, or his weight.

The world No 4 is striking back spectacularly, and not just on the court.

Photos of him in an American sports magazine, which comes out next week, have already caused a stir in tennis circles, with an undressed Wawrinka looking every bit a supreme athlete.

“When I was younger, I was a little bit fat,” he said in the article. “I wasn’t like big-time fat, I was just overweight, maybe around when I was 13 or 14. At that time I wasn’t practising that much, tennis was just a hobby. But it wasn’t easy to feel that way.”

After beating Joao Sousa in Monday’s first-round match, he again praised his fitness coach Pierre Paganini, whom he has worked with for more than 10 years, for getting him in shape.

Wawrinka does not have the wiry build of a Djokovic or Andy Murray, but he was never fat. Yet, as the magazine photos show, he is an athlete in peak shape and, with that, has been playing the best tennis of his life.

Weight is not necessarily an obstacle to success in sport. There are many examples, from Babe Ruth to George Foreman and numerous British footballers.

But tennis is not a game for out-of-shape athletes. At 1.83 metres tall and 81 kilograms, Wawrinka is comparable to Federer at 1.85m and 85kg.

Wawrinka’s body strength remains one of his greatest assets, and he has gone on record several times recently to credit extra work on his back, abs and core for improved results.

Wawrinka has always maintained he is happy to remain in the shadow of the “Big Four” of Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Rafael Nadal, but that is becoming increasingly difficult thanks to his two major titles.

Glamorous photo shoots showing off his physique will not help, but he maintains that everything he does is geared towards career success.

“My body is for my tennis, it’s for my sport,” he said in the magazine.

“I’m not a model at all. I don’t work out to go to the beach, I work out to play well and to do well on the court.”

At Wimbledon, the only thing that is getting heavier by the match for Wawrinka is the weight of expectation.

akhaled@thenational.ae

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