LONDON -- Fans of the men who make up the cozy quartet known as the Big Four must wish Stan Wawrinka would just go away.
Fade back into the pleasant Swiss countryside with its yodeling alpinists and Brown Swiss milk cows.
But it appears that Wawrinka isn't about to do that. He's doing his level best to help turn the "Big Four" concept into nothing more than a fiction that can't be shed. A handy marketing tool.
On Monday at Wimbledon, Wawrinka was acting up again. The fourth seed opened his campaign at the All England Club and dominated Portugal's Joao Sousa on Centre Court in under two hours, 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
When Wawrinka won the Australian Open in 2014, some skeptics scoffed that it was only because beaten finalist Rafael Nadal, a Big Four staple (and now the world's No. 10-ranked player), was struggling with a bad back. When Switzerland made the Davis Cup final last fall, everyone expected Big Four pooh-bah Roger Federer to carry the Swiss to the title. And just weeks ago in Paris, Novak Djokovic, the Big Four big dog, was universally expected to pulverize Wawrinka in the French Open final.
Well ... it was Wawrinka, not Federer, who led the Swiss to their historic first Davis Cup title; and Wawrinka who upset Djokovic and put Nadal's aching back at the Australian Open into a different perspective. Wawrinka has also had Andy Murray's recent number; he ousted the other Big Four star in their last meeting in the 2013 US Open quarterfinals.
You might think Wawrinka would be rankled by how difficult it has been to insert himself into the conversation of the game's top players, but he's realistic and respectful of what those marquee-name players have accomplished.
Wawrinka said in his pre-Wimbledon news conference that he did not consider himself part of the Big Four despite his ranking and having a record over the past 18 months that only world No. 1 Djokovic can match.
"If it's the Big Four, it's the four players. It's already taken," he said this past weekend. "It's not what happen in this year. It's what's happened the past 10 years. That's why they're much better than everybody."
It was nice of him to say, even if it's not entirely accurate; the only one who can still make that claim with any authority is Djokovic.
The earth tends to tremble and plaster tends to flake and fall from ceilings any time Wawrinka is afoot and swinging a racket nearby. But in years past, Wawrinka has struggled mightily on the slick, soft grass at the All England Club. Now he believes he's finally made his breakthrough. After winning just one match over the course of four years here, he reached the quarterfinals last year, losing to his close friend and eventual finalist, Federer.
Wawrinka is a slow learner, and quickness on the court has never been his strong suit. But he's a worker, and has studied the game.
"Until [I was] 19 years old, I played only clay-court tournaments, challengers, satellites, juniors," he said. "I never played on faster surfaces. I had the game where I was only feeling comfortable when I had time. I was a bit slow to move. I needed time in the game."
But, he explained, year after year, he addressed his shortcomings with the help of the physical trainer he shares with Federer, Pierre Paganini. First, he improved on hard courts. Then, his game matured on the somewhat faster indoor courts. Finally, he is finding solutions, enhancing his strengths and learning to protect his weaknesses on grass.
"I always try to improve my tennis," he said. "I always try to find a solution to play better."
Wawrinka is now 30. He isn't going to accumulate the record of a Federer or Nadal. He may not be one of the Big Four, but he's ranked No. 4 at the moment, and he'll take that any day.