It’s all the time poignant to see a veteran convey elder knowledge to the subsequent era. The first time Stan Wawrinka and Holger Rune met on tour, the 37-year-old triple-major champ supplied delicate tactical recommendation to the 19-year-old throughout their post-match handshake: “My advice to you is that you stop acting like a baby on court. OK?”
Rune beat Wawrinka in that three-setter in November and would go on to win the title in Paris by going punch-for-punch with Novak Djokovic. If Rune was a child emotionally—and there seems to be a physique of proof for that case—he was relatively superior technically.
Fast-forward 4 months and Rune is the No. 8 on the planet, whereas Wawrinka is No. 100, grinding out some positive matches in his twilight years. The two met once more Monday afternoon within the third spherical of Indian Wells, a rollicking beef-fueled affair. Midway via the second set, Rune gave the impression to be struggling together with his shoulder and referred to as for the physio. Wawrinka invited the chair ump to hit a couple of balls whereas he was ready; the ump declined. Wawrinka squandered a giant second-set tiebreak lead however held regular within the topsy-turvy third set to win 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5. It was Stan’s greatest win in months, and his first over a top-20 participant since final October.
Afterward on the internet, the 2 picked up the place they’d left off. Rune hoped for extra sage recommendation. “You’ve got nothing to say now?” he requested. “Huh?” mentioned Wawrinka. Rune repeated his query. “What do you want me to say?” Wawrinka replied.
What to do when fruitful in-person dialog is out of attain? Rune lashed out at GIF-reply guys and referred to as on the tour to assist fight his on-line haters.
He has unintentionally equipped himself probably the most helpful profession recommendation of all: Log off, sir!
