Sinner vs. Wawrinka: head-to-head results

If I had a dime for every tennis rivalry that gripped me, then, well, I'd have a pretty weird way of making money. But Jannik Sinner and Stan Wawrinka? That’s a tale worth its weight in racquets and neon yellow balls.

Picture this: It's 2019, and we've got a seasoned warrior in Wawrinka, a Swiss precision artist, gunning for Grand Slam titles and on a mission to prove that he can stand tall among the big three - Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. And then there's Sinner, just making his baby steps on the ATP tour, a wildcard, a qualifier—call him what you want. We didn’t know it then, but the US Open would serve as the first battlefield of many.

Imagine watching The Godfather for the first time. You don’t know what you’re getting into. That’s how the 2019 US Open felt when Stan, then ranked 24, squared off with young-gun Sinner, barely holding on at rank 137. You'd expect Wawrinka to run roughshod, right? But, oh boy, the kid put up a fight. Sinner took a set, even pushed another into a tiebreak. You know how in Rocky, Stallone didn’t win, but he fought and stole our hearts? It was like that, only with tennis racquets and a lot less Sylvester Stallone. Wawrinka might've won the match, but Sinner proved he wasn’t there to just make up numbers.

Fast forward to October, in Antwerp. Sinner, still the underdog, meets Wawrinka, the 4th seed. Picture a sequel, this time with Sinner being hungrier. The young gun wasn’t on the ropes, but Stan was, well, Stan. He channeled his inner Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid and crane-kicked his way to a 6-3, 6-2 win. But remember, sequels are never the end, especially in tennis.

Now, by 2022, we've got ourselves a 'swap story'. Wimbledon. Grass. The tennis equivalent of a summer blockbuster. Sinner has now, almost impossibly, eclipsed Stan in rankings. Ranked 13 to Stan's 267, it's not just David vs. Goliath, it's David armed with a bazooka against a slingshot-wielding Goliath. The pressure's all on Sinner. And what does he do? He doesn't buckle. No, sir. Our boy Jannik delivers a four-set cinematic masterpiece. Stan took a set, reminiscent of a past great remembering his heyday, but Sinner controlled the narrative.

2023 was no different. In Rotterdam, Sinner and Wawrinka met yet again. The rankings are now even more skewed. You’d expect a bloodbath. But, lo and behold, Stan pulls off a PR, reminiscent of an aging Rocky coming out of retirement. But Sinner? He’s not messing around, smashing through with a decisive 6-1, 6-3 win. Wawrinka’s effort was commendable, like watching Michael Jordan with the Wizards. It wasn’t prime MJ, but every so often, he showed sparks of the old magic.

By the time they locked horns in Indian Wells, we had come full circle. Sinner was now a force, holding the 13th rank, while Stan was trying to reclaim past glory. The match, 6-1, 6-4, was like a Hollywood ending where the new guard ascends, while the old lion roars one last time.

So, where does this leave us?

It’s a rivalry that, on paper, Sinner dominated—winning 3 out of their 5 meetings. But the numbers don’t tell you about the heart, the grit, and the cinematic beauty of their face-offs. They don’t tell you about the changing of the guard, or the resolute defiance of an old warhorse against a rising star.

In the grand scheme of tennis history, this might not be Borg vs. McEnroe, but it's a compelling narrative that, like a classic Simmons rant, will take you on a journey with digressions, passionate outbursts, and a love for the game that transcends numbers.

And the moral of this winding tale? Always bet on passion, talent, and heart. Whether it's an old dog with new tricks or a young gun blazing his trail, the court tells a story that’s so much more than just sets and scores.