Paris--Stan Wawrinka once seemed doomed to life as Roger Federer's warm-up act with the French Open finalist's self-esteem so low that he even lived in awe of the "mutants" who won Grand Slam titles.
But on Sunday, the 30-year-old Wawrinka has the chance to match Federer's best performance in Paris by winning Roland Garros and claim a second Grand Slam title in his last six outings at the majors.
That's two more than his more illustrious compatriot Federer whose last Grand Slam of his 17 was at Wimbledon in 2012.
However, despite his breakthrough to his first final in the French capital, the legacy and shadow of Federer is not far away.
"Great, the first question has Roger in it," said a world-weary Wawrinka when, in the aftermath of his semi-final win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the opening media question concerned his chance to follow Federer's 2009 Roland Garros win.
It's been a long road to the business end of the majors for the world number nine.
It took him 36 Grand Slam tournaments and nine years to make his first final which yielded his one major to date at the 2014 Australian Open.
During that same period, Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were carving up the silverware and the big money.
AFP
