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I feel great - Rejuvenated Wawrinka confident ahead of French Open

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Stan Wawrinka believes he has recaptured the form that saw him triumph at Roland Garros in 2015 ahead of this year's French Open campaign.

World number three Wawrinka saw off Mischa Zverev 4-6 6-3 6-3 to retain his crown at the Geneva Open, claiming his first title of 2017 in the process.

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The Swiss has struggled for much of the season and had failed to go beyond the third round in each of the last three tournaments prior to his triumph on home soil.

But he insists he is back to his best ahead of a tournament he won in 2015, a time when Wawrinka believes he played his finest tennis.

"Finishing each match, winning each match, and then coming here, I don't think I was really in the best shape when I started the tournament in Geneva, but coming here I feel great," Wawrinka said.

"I feel in good shape. The early season on clay was not good. It really had a negative impact on my confidence.

"Winning matches is great, but when you don't win matches it's very difficult to get the confidence.

"I think the 2015 French Open was probably the tournament I played the best tennis. I was really strong. I was feeling really good with my tennis.

"I think in Geneva I was finally able to find that confidence again."

Jozef Kovalik presents Wawrinka's first opponent at Roland Garros, and the 2016 US Open winner believes that his late arrival in Paris will have a positive effect on his form.

"This is the third year when I decided to play Geneva before the French Open," he added.

"The first year in Geneva I lost the quarter-finals, and I played two days after here and I won the tournament [in 2015].

"Since I play there, my focus is completely into this tournament, and I wait the last minute to really start to think about French Open.

"I don't really need to train here. Of course, I have to hit some balls, adapt to the surface to get ready, but I think that winning Geneva is just perfect."

One player not taking part at Roland Garros is Wawrinka's compatriot Roger Federer, who has elected to skip the clay season in order to focus on the grass and hard-court tournaments.

And, though Wawrinka understands Federer's decision, he doubts he will go to the same lengths to extend his playing career.

"I think the longer I play, the less I will play, but it's not the big tournaments that I will pull out from," he said.

 

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