Swiss star Stanislas Wawrinka has taken the unusual step of requesting that his first name be officially known in the tennis world as just Stan from now on.
The shock winner of this year’s Australian Open has even gone as far as to inform the ATP Tour that that is how he should be referred to in their documents.
Asked ahead of the French Open, which starts in Paris on Sunday, why he had ditched the “islas”, he replied: “Because everybody called me Stan — no kidding.
“It’s just to simplify everything on the draw, my name during press conferences. That’s the only reason.
“Of course I’m Stan Wawrinka. That’s all right. Andy (Murray) did it as well. It’s to simplify the whole thing. That’s all. Nothing important.”
Wawrinka, the family name is of Polish descent, has Czech grandparents, while his father Wolfram is German and his mother Isabelle Swiss. He was born in the Swiss town of Lausanne, headquarters to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).