n 11 July, at Gstaad, Wawrinka progressed into his first ever career final, in

doubles, with Marc Rosset as his partner. The Swiss pair lost in the final to
Leander Paes and David Rikl. That year Wawrinka had his Davis Cup debut with the
Swiss National Team. Wawrinka lost his first match against Victor Hanescu in a dead
rubber. Switzerland won the tie 3�2 against Romania and progressed into the World
Group quarterfinals. He finished the year ranked No. 162 in the world rankings.

Wawrinka had his Grand Slam debut at the French Open. He won against 22nd seed and
Olympic Gold Medalist Nicol�s Mass� in the first round, in four sets. In the second
round, Wawrinka came from two sets down to defeat James Blake. His run ended in the
third round losing in four sets to the eventual runner-up Mariano Puerta.

After the French Open, Wawrinka had his first Wimbledon experience but lost in the
first round to Fabrice Santoro in four sets. Wawrinka had his first singles final
at the Swiss Open, but lost to Gast�n Gaudio.

At the US Open, Wawrinka defeated Rajeev Ram and Mariano Puerta in five sets before
losing in the third round to Nicol�s Mass�. By the end of 2005, he hovered just
inside the top 50.

In July, Wawrinka won his first ATP title, at the Croatia Open Umag, when his
opponent in the final, Novak Djokovic, retired through fatigue.[12]

In October, Wawrinka reached a then career-high ranking of No. 29.[13]

In the Australian Open, Wawrinka reached the third round and was beaten by second
seed Rafael Nadal, losing in straight sets. He showed some impressive backhand
skills, but was unable to deal with Nadal's heavy game.

He suffered a three-month setback, tearing a tendon in his right knee while

practicing for the Swiss Davis Cup team's tie against Spain in February.

In the French Open Wawrinka pushed seventh seed Ivan Ljubicic to four sets in the
second round. He also claimed wins over Guillermo Ca�as and Juan Ignacio Chela en
route to a meeting with Rafael Nadal in the final of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart
in July. Nadal defeated Wawrinka in straight sets.

In the US Open, Wawrinka reached the fourth round, a stage he had never reached
previously in a Grand Slam event, defeating 25th seed Marat Safin in straight sets
in the second round. In the fourth round, he was ousted by Juan Ignacio Chela in
five sets.

2008�2012: Top 10, first Masters final, Olympic Gold

By reaching the final of the Masters Series event in Rome, Wawrinka entered the top
10 for the first time. He lost in the final to Novak Djokovic, despite taking the
opening set.

In the Olympics, Wawrinka teamed with Roger Federer in men's doubles. They beat the
favoured Americans Bob and Mike Bryan in the semifinals in straight sets; then in
the final, defeated Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden in four sets to
win the gold medal.

Wawrinka reached the fourth round of the US Open, where British player Andy Murray
defeated him in straight sets.

Wawrinka lost to Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at the Miami Masters in Key
Biscayne. Nadal came from behind in both sets to beat Wawrinka in two tie-breaks.

At the Monte-Carlo Masters, Wawrinka defeated No. 2 Roger Federer in straight sets,
an upset which halted the chance of a fourth straight Nadal-Federer final in Monte
Carlo.

At the French Open Wawrinka defeated Nicolas Devilder in five sets and Nicol�s
Mass� in straight sets. He lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the third round in four
sets.

At Wimbledon, in the third round he defeated 21-year-old Jesse Levine, who had
upset Marat Safin in the first round.[14] The Sunday Times reviewed Wawrinka's
performance in the match by opining that he is "a strange player, clearly talented
but short of match fitness and as clumsy on court as Federer is graceful."[15]
Wawrinka was defeated by Andy Murray in five sets in the fourth round. The match
was also a debut usage of the new roof on Centre Court and was the latest match at
Wimbledon, lasting until 22:37 GMT.[16][17]

Wawrinka played in the Davis Cup tie with Italy and won in his first match against
Andreas Seppi in straight sets.[18]

Wawrinka started his 2010 season by reaching the final of the Chennai Open, losing
to Marin Cilic in two tie-breaks. This was Wawrinka's fifth consecutive loss in an
ATP final. He reached the third round at the Australian Open, losing to Cilic
again. Wawrinka returned to the ATP Tour at the Sony Ericsson Open after his wife
gave birth to their daughter. He defeated Kevin Anderson, before losing to Mikhail
Youzhny in the third round. He started his clay-court season in Casablanca at the
2010 Grand Prix Hassan II. After receiving a first-round bye, he defeated Slovakian
qualifier Martin Kli�an in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
wildcard Reda El Amrani in straight sets. In the semifinals, he defeate