Andy Murray edged out Stan Wawrinka in their career head-to-head record (Image: Getty)
Stan Wawrinka admits he did not like being compared to and the rest of ‘The Big Four’ – but only because his career achievements do not stack up to theirs.
, and formed ‘The Big Three’, who hogged virtually every Grand Slam title between them during their prime years. Following his three major wins between 2012 and 2016, Murray was often lumped in to create a four. And some tagged Wawrinka onto the group to make it a ‘Big Five’.
On paper, Wawrinka’s big accomplishments are comparable to Murray’s. Both players boast three Grand Slam titles and both have Olympic medals. But the Swiss is adamant that being compared to the Scot is ‘disrespectful’ to his former rival.
“I got bothered when they called it ‘The Big Five’ or they put me close to ,” he told the podcast. “I’m miles away from what they achieved.
“I think it’s a little bit disrespectful to them, and especially to Andy. I achieved way more than I could have dreamed in my career but I’m so far away from what they’ve been doing.”
Although Murray and Wawrinka are level pegging on the Grand Slam front, and Murray is only slightly better in head-to-head terms with 13 wins to Wawrinka’s 10, there are points of difference on their respective tennis CVs.
Stan Wawrinka does not like being lumped in with the rest of ‘The Big Five’ (Image: Getty)
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Whereas Wawrinka, who is still playing at the age of 39, has won 16 career singles titles and reached an all-time high of third in the world rankings, Murray collected 46 titles and spent time at the very summit, ahead of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.
He also won back-to-back men’s singles gold medals at the Olympics in London and Rio de Janeiro, with Wawrinka taking doubles gold in Beijing. Although they were often close in the world rankings and enjoyed fierce battles on court, their competitive relationship ended on respectful terms.
That was evident after Wawrinka knocked Murray out of the French Open last year, which proved to be the Brit’s last Grand Slam appearance.
“He’s one of the hardest workers on tour,” said Wawrinka. “For more than 20 years, he always wanted to improve. He always improved his game. He achieved everything a player could achieve in tennis.”
Murray added: “We have obviously played each other and known each other for an extremely long time. I first played him back in 2005, and had some great matches with him. We spent a lot of time on the practice court and stuff with each other over the years.”