'Stanimal' Wawrinka hungry for more titles ahead of ATP World Tour Finals
Australian Open champion Wawrinka aims to add showpiece in London to his growing list of crowns after a career best season
The man known as "Stanimal" will be eager to prey on his rivals when he turns up as a bonafide member of the grand slam winner's club at next week's ATP World Tour Finals.
Just how lethal Stanislas Wawrinka can be was clear for all to see when he ferociously clawed Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal into submission to win his debut grand slam title at January's Australian Open - becoming the first man in 21 years to beat the top two seeds at a major.
He followed that run by toppling his most "fearsome rival", Roger Federer, in the Monte Carlo Masters final. Since then, however, Wawrinka appears to have lost some of his killer instinct.
It's important to enjoy the fight on court, the way that you need to find solutions to win matches
But which version of the world number four will turn up in London? The player who can boast of being the only man in 2014 to have beaten each of the "Big Three" in tennis, or the player who failed to win a single match at three successive tournaments?
"I wouldn't change my year for anything in the world. I won a grand slam, I won a Masters 1000, made quarters at Wimbledon, made quarters at US Open, I'm number four in the world, so I'm really, really happy with the year that I've had," Wawrinka said.
"When you win a grand slam, you become a part of the history of tennis, I became a top four (player) in the world and it's now a different approach when you go to a tournament. People expect you to go further in the tournament and win more matches.
Being a grand slam champion has not changed the philosophy he has always lived by. A Samuel Beckett mantra inked in italics on his left forearm reads: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."
Rolling up the sleeves of his grey, hooded jacket to show off the tattoo, he added: "Australia was my first grand slam final and I did enjoy the battle against Rafa and the battle with myself, too.