Look up us in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

US or U.S. usually refers to the United States of America, a country in North America.

US, U.S. or us may also refer to:

Language[link]

• we, us is the objective case of we in English

Geography[link]

• Us, Val-d'Oise, France

Education[link]

• University of Salford, a university in the UK
• University of Salzburg, a university in Austria
• University of Seville, a university in Spain
• Université de Sherbrooke, a university in Canada
• University School, a private all-boys day school in Hunting Valley, Ohio, United States
• University of Sussex, a university in the UK

Music[link]

• Us (Peter Gabriel album)
• Us (Mull Historical Society album)
• Us (Brother Ali album)
• "Us" (Regina Spektor song)
• Us, a 1974 album by Maceo Parker
• "Us", a song by Ice Cube from Death Certificate
• "Us", a song by Céline Dion from Let's Talk About Love
• "US", a song by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks from Pig Lib
• Urban Symphony, an Estonian music group

Other uses[link]

• U.S., used in legal citations to refer to the United States Reports
• Union of Russia and Belarus
• US Airways' IATA designator
• Us Weekly, an American celebrity magazine
• Us (TV movie)
• .us, Internet TLD of the United States of America
• US, Ultrasonic, Ultrasound
• Urgences-Santé, an ambulance company in Montréal, Qc, Canada

See also[link]

• µs, microsecond
• United Services Club or US Club, a golf club in Mumbai
• United States (disambiguation)
• Uz (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor playing an electronic piano in 2006
Background information
Native name	Реги́нa Ильи́нична Спе́ктор
Born	(1980-02-18) February 18, 1980 (age 32) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Origin	New York, U.S.
Genres	Anti-folk, indie rock, baroque pop, blues, pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Piano, vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Sire/Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts	Sondre Lerche, Ben Folds, Kill Kenada, the Strokes, Dufus
Website	http://www.reginaspektor.com
Notable instruments
Steinway & Sons piano Epiphone Wildkat guitar Regina Spektor's Autograph

Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (Russian: Реги́нa Ильи́нична Спе́ктор, IPA: [rʲɪˈɡʲinə ˈspʲɛktər], English: /rɨˈdʒiːnə ˈspɛktər/; born February 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.

Early life[link]

Spektor was born in Moscow, Soviet Union in 1980 to a musical Russian Jewish family. Her father, Ilya Spektor, is a photographer and amateur violinist. Her mother, Bella Spektor, was a music professor in a Soviet college of music and now teaches at a public elementary school in Mount Vernon, New York.^[1] She has a brother Barry (Bear), who was featured in track 7, "* * *", or "Whisper", of her 2004 album, Soviet Kitsch.

She learned how to play piano by practising on a Petrof upright that was given to her mother by her grandfather.^[2] She was also exposed to the music of rock and roll bands such as The Beatles, Queen, and The Moody Blues by her father, who obtained such recordings in Eastern Europe and traded cassettes with friends in the Soviet Union.^[1] The family left the Soviet Union in 1989, when Regina was nine and a half, during the period of Perestroika, when Soviet citizens were permitted to emigrate. Regina had to leave her piano behind.^[3] The seriousness of her piano studies led her parents to consider not leaving the USSR, but they finally decided to emigrate, due to the ethnic and political discrimination that Jews faced.^[4] Spektor is fluent in Russian and reads Hebrew, and has since paid tribute to her Russian heritage, quoting the poem February by the Russian poet Boris Pasternak in her song Après Moi, and stating “I’m very connected to the language and the culture.”^[5]

Traveling first to Austria and then Italy, the family was admitted to the United States as refugees with the assistance of HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and settled in The Bronx, where Spektor graduated from the SAR Academy, a Jewish day middle school in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. She then attended high school for two years at the Frisch School, a yeshiva in Paramus, New Jersey, but transferred to a public school, Fair Lawn High School, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, where she finished the last two years of her high school education.^[6]

Career[link]

In New York, Spektor studied classical piano with Sonia Vargas, a professor at the Manhattan School of Music, until she was 17; Spektor's father had met Vargas through her husband, violinist Samuel Marder.^[7] Although the family had been unable to bring their piano from Russia, Spektor found a piano on which to play in the basement of her synagogue, and also practiced on tabletops and other hard surfaces.

Spektor was originally interested only in classical music, but later became interested in hip hop, rock and punk as well.^[1] Although she had always made up songs around the house, Spektor first became interested in more formal songwriting during a visit to Israel with the Nesiya Institute in her teenage years when she attracted attention from the other children on the trip for the songs she made up while hiking and realized she had an aptitude for songwriting.^[4]

Following this trip, she was exposed to the work of Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, and other singer-songwriters, which encouraged her belief that she could create her own songs.^[4] She wrote her first a cappella songs around the age of 16 and her first songs for voice and piano when she was nearly 18.^[1]

Spektor completed the four-year studio composition program of the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College within three years, graduating with honors in 2001. Around this time, she also worked briefly at a butterfly farm in Luck, Wisconsin,^[8] and studied in Tottenham, ( a suburb of London) for one semester ^[9].

She gradually achieved recognition through performances in the anti-folk scene in downtown New York City, often as a duo with drummer Anders Griffen, and most importantly at the East Village's Sidewalk Cafe, but also at the Living Room, Tonic, Fez, the Knitting Factory, and CB's Gallery.^{[citation needed]} She also performed at local colleges (such as Sarah Lawrence College) with other musicians, including the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. She sold self-published CDs at her performances during this period: 11:11 (2001) and Songs (2002). In 2004, she signed a contract with Warner Brothers' record label Sire Records to publish and distribute her third album Soviet Kitsch, originally self-released in 2003.

Spektor is married to Jack Dishel, guitarist with the band The Moldy Peaches.^[9]

Style[link]

Regina Spektor in concert, April 2007.

Spektor has said that she has created a great number of songs,^[10] but that she rarely writes any of them down. She has also stated that she never aspired to write songs herself, but songs seem to just flow to her.^[11] Spektor's songs are not usually autobiographical, but rather are based on scenarios and characters drawn from her imagination.^[4][12] Her songs show influences from folk,^[13][14] punk, rock, Jewish,^[12][15] Russian,^[12] hip hop,^[13][16][17] jazz,^[13][16] and classical music.^[12][16] Spektor has said that she works hard to ensure that each of her songs has its own musical style, rather than trying to develop a distinctive style for her music as a whole.^[11]

It doesn't feel natural for me to write some diary type song. I want to write a classic like Yesterday but weird songs about meatballs in refrigerators come into my head - I can't help it.^[18]

Spektor has a broad vocal range and uses the full extent of it. She also explores a variety of different and somewhat unorthodox vocal techniques, such as verses composed entirely of buzzing noises made with the lips and beatbox-style flourishes in the middle of ballads, and also makes use of such unusual musical techniques as using a drum stick to tap rhythms on the body of the piano or chair.^[4][19] Part of her style also results from the exaggeration of certain aspects of vocalization, most notably the glottal stop, which is prominent in the single "Fidelity". She also uses a strong New York accent on some words, which she has said is due to her love of New York and its culture.^[1]

Her lyrics are equally eclectic, often taking the form of abstract narratives or first-person character studies, similar to short stories or vignettes put to song.^[1][19] Spektor usually sings in English, though she sometimes includes a few words or verses of Latin, Russian, French, and other languages in her songs. She also plays with pronunciations, which she said on a NPR interview to be a remnant of her early years when she listened to pop in English without understanding the lyrics. Some of Spektor's lyrics include literary allusions,^[4] such as to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway in "Poor Little Rich Boy", The Little Prince in "Baobabs", Virginia Woolf and Margaret Atwood in "Paris", Ezra Pound and William Shakespeare in "Pound of Flesh", Shakespeare's Hamlet in "The Virgin Queen", Boris Pasternak in "Après Moi", Samson and Delilah in "Samson", and Oedipus the King in "Oedipus", Billie Holiday in "Lady" and Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome in "2.99 cent blues". She alludes to The Beatles and Paul McCartney in the song "Edit". She also used a line from Joni Mitchell's California in her song "The Devil Came to Bethlehem". Recurring themes and topics in Spektor's lyrics include love, death, religion (particularly Biblical and Jewish references), city life (particularly New York references), and certain key phrases have been known to recur in different songs by Spektor, such as references to gravediggers, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the name "Mary Ann". Spektor's use of satire is evident in "Wasteside," which refers to The Twelve Chairs, the classic satirical novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, and describes the town in which people are born, get their hair cut, and then are sent to the cemetery.

In Spektor's early albums, many of her tracks had a very dry vocal production, with very little reverb or delay added. However, Spektor's more recent albums, particularly Begin to Hope, have put more emphasis into song production and have relied more on traditional pop and rock instruments.^[3] Spektor says the records that most impact her are those of "bands whose music is really involved",^[20] specifically naming The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Radiohead, Tom Waits, and Frédéric Chopin as primary influences.^[20][21]

In her songs, "Eet", "Us" and "Après Moi" the titular sounds are used as the focal point throughout. (In "Dance Anthem of the 80's", the sound "eet" is also used often, on words such as "meat", "street", and "eat").

Performances[link]

Regina Spektor at her first performance in Tel Aviv, Israel on March 3, 2007

Spektor's first nationwide tour was accompanying The Strokes as the opening act on their 2003–2004 Room on Fire tour, during which she and the band performed and recorded "Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men". Kings of Leon were the second opening act on that tour, and they invited Regina to open for them on their own European tour right after The Strokes tour. In June 2005, Spektor was the opening act for the English piano rock band Keane on their North American tour, during which she performed at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2005.^[22] During her 2006 headlining tour in support of the Begin to Hope album, Spektor sold out a performance at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, and two shows at Town Hall Theater in New York City on September 27 and September 28, 2006.^[23]

Spektor has appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (once), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (three times), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (twice), Jimmy Kimmel Live (twice), Last Call with Carson Daly (five times), Late Show with David Letterman (twice), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (twice), CBS News Sunday Morning, Good Morning America (twice), Australia's Rove Live, and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (twice).^[24] On October 10, 2009 she performed on Saturday Night Live.

Since January 2005, Spektor has performed on a bright red Baldwin baby grand piano.^[25] At the present time she uses exclusively Steinway & Sons pianos. She plays a seafoam Epiphone Wildkat archtop hollow-body electric guitar.^[26]

Although she generally only performs original material, Spektor occasionally performs covers. Most famous of these covers were her performances of songs by Leonard Cohen and Madonna, for the 2nd Annual Jewish Music & Heritage Festival at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.^[4] In 2006 and 2007, Spektor embarked on a headlining tour of the U.S. and Europe, selling out numerous clubs and theaters. She covered John Lennon's "Real Love" at the performance arts center of her alma mater, State University of New York at Purchase, on March 28, 2007, at a benefit concert for the Conservatory of Music.^[27] In 2007, Spektor recorded "Real Love" for the Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur CD, which was released in June of that year. She recorded a version of the song for Triple J's Like a Version radio segment which was shown on jTV.

Regina Spektor performing in Brighton on October 26, 2006.

On March 8, 2007, Spektor appeared on the British ITV network's Loose Women, promoting and performing "Fidelity" live, and on April 20, 2007, she performed on the Late Show with David Letterman. On Saturday, April 28, 2007, she appeared at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. On Friday, May 18, 2007, she appeared on BBC1's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. On June 16, 2007, she performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and later performed at the 2007 Lollapalooza on August 4, 2007 and Virgin Festival on August 5, 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland. On September 16, 2007, she performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and recorded a set for the Austin City Limits TV show the following day. She performed acoustic at the Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 27 and October 28, 2007.

On November 14, 2007, at her concert at Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville, it was announced that Spektor collapsed during the sound check and was taken to a local emergency room. According to the statement given to the audience, Spektor was fine, but doctors said that she could not perform that night. It was later reported that the cause of the collapse was an inner ear infection which caused intense vertigo. The show was initially rescheduled for December 6, 2007,^[28] but the date was once again rescheduled, and the concert finally occurred on February 29, 2008.^[29] After her initial collapse in Nashville, she was able to perform in concerts at Mountain Stage on November 18, 2007,^{[30][citation needed]} and at Duke University on November 19, 2007.^[31]

In conjunction with the release of her 2009 album Far, Spektor was headlining at Serpentine Sessions, a series of concerts London's Hyde Park on June 29, 2009. Other European performances in 2009 include Glastonbury Festival, Hultsfred Festival, Oxegen 2009, T in the Park, Paradiso (Amsterdam), Latitude Festival, and Rock Werchter. Spektor has invited Brooklyn-based rock band Jupiter One to open concerts on her 2009 North American tour. As a part of that tour, on October 14, 2009 Spektor headlined a concert at the Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

On July 7, 2010, Regina performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland.^[32] Her cellist, Dan Cho, drowned the day before while swimming in Lake Geneva near the Chillon Castle.^[33][34] She was described as distraught, shaken, and in tears and took several breaks to regain her composure.^[35]

Media coverage[link]

Spektor performing at the Hammerstein Ballroom on October 16, 2007

Regina Spektor performing in the West London Synagogue, February 2007.

Since 2005, Spektor's music has been used in various television programs and commercials. In late 2005 "Us" (from Soviet Kitsch) was used in a commercial as part of the What Do You Want To Watch? series for the United Kingdom's British Sky Broadcasting. The advert features a clip from a documentary on skateboarder Danny Way. In the summer of 2006, a clip from "Us" was used for the teaser website for Microsoft's Zune project at ComingZune.com, as well as for a promotional campaign for MtvU. The same track is used by Dutch telecom company KPN in a commercial. "Somedays" was used in a 2005 episode of CSI: NY and "Samson" was used in a 2006 episode of the same series. "On the Radio" was used in an episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy. "Field Below" was used in a 2006 episode titled "The Last Word" of CBS's Criminal Minds. "Fidelity" has also been used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy titled "Six Days, Part 2", Veronica Mars titled "Wichita Linebacker", Brothers & Sisters titled "Sexual Politics", during the end credits of Love and Other Drugs, and in the Brazilian telenovela A Favorita. "Better" is currently being used in a commercial for XM Satellite Radio, an episode of "How I Met Your Mother", and the popular film My Sister's Keeper. Her song "Music Box" is currently being used in a commercial for JC Penney. Spektor also sang the title song "Little Boxes" of Showtime's television series Weeds in the episode "Mile Deep and a Foot Wide" (2006) and her "Ghost of Corporate Future" was used both at the beginning and end of the episode.^[36] On January 21, 2007, she was featured on CBS News Sunday Morning.^[11]

Spektor received increased attention in 2006 when her video for "Fidelity" was viewed over 200,000 times in two days on YouTube. On Sirius Radio's Left of Center channel, her single "Fidelity" was voted by listeners as the #1 song of 2006. Towards the end of 2006, VH1 showcased her as part of their "You Oughta Know: Artists on the Rise" featurettes: they played clips from the "Fidelity" music video and showed parts of an interview with Spektor during commercial breaks on the channel.^[37] Spektor's video for "Fidelity" reached #3 on VH1's Top 20 Countdown.^{[citation needed]}

Peter Gabriel recorded a version of "Après Moi" on his 2010 release Scratch My Back.

In Australia, Spektor's music has rapidly gained popularity in mainstream culture primarily due to Begin to Hope being played on the nation-wide radio station Triple J, where it eventually became a feature album. Prior to Begin to Hope, Spektor had only a small following in Australia in comparison to the US and Europe.

Spektor reached #33 on Blender magazine's top 100 of 2006 and was also listed as one of the "Hottest Women of...Rock!".^[38] "Fidelity" was also used in a 2007 television commercial in New Zealand advertising Yahoo!Xtra, a new partnership between Yahoo! and Telecom's Xtra ISP. Also in 2007, the mobile phone company Vodafone used her lyric, "Come into my world..." from the track, "Hotel Song" on Begin to Hope, in an extensive TV advertising campaign in the UK and Ireland.

On October 1, 2007, Spektor's new video for "Better" was released on VH1 and YouTube, where it was viewed more than 100,000 times within the first 24 hours. "Fidelity" was used in the trailer for the film 27 Dresses, released on October 3, 2007.^[39]

Her song "The Call" appeared prominently in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,^[40] as part of the film's finale sequence. Spektor's song "Better" was used in the movie My Sister's Keeper, loosely based on the novel of the same name by Jodi Picoult. A section of "That Time" was featured in the film In Bruges. Additionally, "Us" and "Hero" are both featured on the soundtrack for the film (500) Days of Summer. Spin magazine profiled Spektor in their July 2009 issue, where she discussed her just-released album Far. The story was released in their digital edition that month, as well.^[41] In August 2009, the song "Two Birds" was used in the 2009 Fall Campaign of the Polish TV station TVN. Also Regina's song "Eet" debuted on the show 90210 in April 2010.

On September 16, 2009, it was announced that Spektor would write the music for the musical Beauty, a modern adaptation of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, which is set to open during the 2011–12 Broadway season.^[42]

In May 2010, Spektor performed for President Obama and his wife Michelle along with hundreds of other guests at the White House reception in honor of Jewish Heritage Month. She sang "Us" and "The Sword & the Pen", receiving a standing ovation begun by Michelle Obama.

The song "Human of the Year" featured prominently in the trailer and first episode of the 2011 HBO series Enlightened.

The song "All the Rowboats" was featured on The CW's Ringer in March 2012.

The Song "Hotel Song" was featured in the opening of the movie Friends with Kids.

Philanthropy[link]

In 2007, she covered John Lennon's "Real Love" for Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The following year, she participated in Songs for Tibet, an initiative to support the human rights situation in Tibet and the 14th Dalai Lama. The album was issued on August 5, 2008, via iTunes and on August 19 in music stores around the world.^[43] On January 22, 2009, Spektor performed at the third annual Roe On The Rocks gig at the Bowery Ballroom to raise money for Planned Parenthood New York City.^[44] Also, continuing with her support for Tibet, Regina Spektor played for Tibet House's annual concert at Carnegie Hall on February 26, 2010. Less than one month later, on March 23, 2010, Spektor gave a concert at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in New York City to raise funds for the work of Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. Also, on April 27, she released a cover of Radiohead's song "No Surprises" with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders to help the earthquake victims in Haiti and Chile.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2001: 11:11
• 2002: Songs
• 2004: Soviet Kitsch
• 2006: Begin to Hope
• 2009: Far
• 2012: What We Saw from the Cheap Seats

Singles[link]

Awards[link]

• Begin to Hope – Shortlist Music Prize (nominated)
• Studio8's Female Voice of August 2009 (won)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Regina Spektor

• Official site
• Regina Spektor at the Internet Movie Database
• Regina Spektor at the Open Directory Project
• "Regina Spektor" interview by Noel Murray (from The A.V. Club, 21 June 2006)
• Interview from Soundcheck, WNYC, 13 September 2005
• Interview from All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 28 June 2006
• Strangers Almanac Column on Regina Spektor from Glide Magazine
• NPR - All Songs Considered 7/22/2009 - Regina Spektor: When Every Sound Sings
• NPR All Things Considered 5/24/2012 - Regina Spektor Still Doesn't Write Anything Down

Ryan Lewis
Ryan Lewis (back) performing with Macklemore (front) at Sasquatch! Music Festival
Background information
Born	(1988-03-25) March 25, 1988 (age 24) Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Origin	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Producer, DJ
Years active	2006–present
Associated acts	Macklemore
Website	rlewis.com

Ryan Lewis (born March 25, 1988) is an American music producer, musician, music video director, photographer, graphic designer, rapper and DJ currently based in Seattle. He is best known for his collaboration with American rapper Macklemore (Ben Haggerty) producing Macklemore & Ryan Lewis — The VS. EP (2009), The Heist (2012) and a handful of other singles. Since the beginning of their collaboration in late 2008, Ryan has produced, recorded, engineered and mixed all of the music, directed music videos ("Same Love", "Thrift Shop", "And We Danced", "Otherside (Remix)"), designed visuals (album art, web design, posters) and DJed the live show.

In a recent mini-documentary, Lewis recalled meeting Macklemore for the first time. "When I met him, it was a really different time. It was less than a year after [2005's] Language of My World had come out. So he had buzz. For me being a young kid, it was very exciting to link with him. The bulk of our original relationship was photo shoots. I became kind of his photographer."^[1]

[edit] The Heist

On October 9, 2012, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released The Heist. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums, selling 78,000 copies in the first week.^[2] The album also debuted at #1 on iTunes Digital Albums chart.^[3] The duo's album has received more than 1 million plays on SoundCloud, 70 million YouTube views and was accompanied by a sold-out 50-date U.S. and Canadian tour.^[4]

Discography[link]

(All credited to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis)

Studio albums[link]

EPs

Singles[link]

Notes[link]

• A ^ "Wing$" did not enter the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 7 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, which acts as an extension to the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.^[27]
• B ^ "Same Love" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 25 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which acts as an extension to the Hot 100.^[28]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

de:Ryan Lewis

Stanislas Wawrinka

Country	Switzerland
Residence	Saint-Barthélemy, Switzerland
Born	(1985-03-28) 28 March 1985 (age 27) Lausanne, Switzerland
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	79 kg (170 lb; 12.4 st)
Turned pro	2002
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$5,049,567
Singles
Career record	215–158
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 9 (June 9, 2008)
Current ranking	No. 20 (May 14, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (2011)
French Open	4R (2010, 2011, 2012)
Wimbledon	4R (2008, 2009)
US Open	QF (2010)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	2R (2008)
Doubles
Career record	45–58
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 90 (6 November 2006)
Current ranking	No. 110 (4 July 2011)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2006)
French Open	3R (2006)
Wimbledon	1R (2006, 2007)
US Open	1R (2005)
Other Doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	Gold Medal (2008)
Last updated on: April 20, 2012.

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Switzerland
Men's Tennis
Gold	2008 Beijing	Doubles

Stanislas "The Manislas" ^[1] Wawrinka (born 28 March 1985 in Lausanne) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot. He won the gold medal for Switzerland in the men's doubles event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, partnering Roger Federer, by beating Swedish team Simon Aspelin/Thomas Johansson in the final. They were also honoured with the 2008 Swiss Team of the Year Award.

John McEnroe believes Wawrinka has one of the most powerful backhands he has ever seen and describes him as having "the best one-handed backhand in the game today".^[2]

Career[link]

Wawrinka stopped attending regular schooling at age 15 to focus full-time on tennis. However, he continued his schooling by distance education with the French organization CNED, which offered him greater flexibility.

Wawrinka started playing international junior events at age 14 and entered the satellite circuit the following year. He compiled an outstanding junior career, winning the 2003 French Open Junior championships and finishing as the no. 14 junior.

Wawrinka, one of four tennis-playing siblings, turned pro in 2002 at the age of 17. By the end of 2005, he hovered just outside the top 50. He has a 2–3 career Davis Cup singles record in three ties. He was coached from age eight until June 2010 by Dimitri Zavialoff.^[3]

In October 2006, Wawrinka reached a then career-high no. 29

2007[link]

In the 2007 Australian Open, Wawrinka reached the third round to be beaten by second-seed Rafael Nadal. He has so far never beaten Nadal, losing in Melbourne 2–6, 2–6, 2–6. 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 2007 French Open, Wawrinka pushed no. 7 seed Ivan Ljubičić to four sets, before falling in the second round. He also claimed wins over Guillermo Cañas and Juan Ignacio Chela en route to a meeting with Rafael Nadal in the finals of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart in July. There, Nadal edged the Swiss in straight sets 4–6, 5–7.

In the 2007 US Open, Wawrinka reached the fourth round, a stage he had never reached previously in a Grand Slam event, notably defeating 25th seed Marat Safin 6–3, 6–3, 6–3, in an amazing show of talent in the second round. There, he was ousted by Juan Ignacio Chela at the end of an impressive 3-hour 40-minute match 6–4, 2–6, 6–7, 6–1, 4–6.

2008[link]

Wawrinka at the 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open

By reaching the final of the 2008 Master's Series event in Rome, Wawrinka entered the top 10 for the first time. He lost in the final to Novak Djokovic in three sets.

In the 2008 Olympics, he teamed with Roger Federer in the men's doubles. They beat the favoured American twins Bob and Mike Bryan 7–6, 6–4, in the semifinals. They defeated Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson of Sweden in the finals 6–3, 6–4, 6–7, 6–3, to win the gold medal.

He reached the fourth round of the 2008 US Open, where British player Andy Murray defeated him in straight sets 1–6, 3–6, 3–6.

2009[link]

Wawrinka lost to Rafael Nadal in the fourth round at the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. Nadal came from behind in both sets to beat Wawrinka 6–7, 6–7. The match lasted for 2 hours and 42 minutes.

At the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters, Wawrinka upset world no. 2 Roger Federer. Wawrinka's 6–4, 7–5, victory over Federer halted the chance of a fourth straight Nadal-Federer final in Monte Carlo.

At the 2009 French Open, he defeated Nicolas Devilder in five sets and Nicolás Massú 6–1, 6–1, 6–2. He lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the third round 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6.

At Wimbledon, in the third round he defeated 21-year-old Jesse Levine, who had upset Marat Safin in the first round 5–7, 7–6, 6–3, 6–3.^[4] 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."^[5] Wawrinka was defeated by Andy Murray 6–2, 3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 3–6, 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.^[6][7]

Wawrinka went on to play in the Davis Cup tie with Italy and won in his first match against Andreas Seppi 6–4, 6–1, 6–2.^[8]

2010[link]

Wawrinka started his 2010 season by reaching the finals of the Chennai Open, losing to Marin Čilić 6–7, 6–7. This was Wawrinka's fifth consecutive loss in an ATP final. He reached the third round at the Australian Open, losing to Čilić again. Stan 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 Kližan 6–4, 0–6, 6–4, in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he easily defeated wildcard Reda El Amrani 6–3, 6–1. In the semifinals, he defeated Italian Potito Starace 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, to advance to his second ATP final of 2010. In the final, he defeated Romanian Victor Hănescu 6–2, 6–3 to win his second ATP Tournament. With this tournament win, he snapped a five-match losing streak in ATP finals and a 3 1/2-year title drought. He then became the 13th seed at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters and defeated Victor Hănescu in the first round 6–2, 6–4, in a rematch of the Casablanca final. He then beat Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6–1, 6–4, to advance to the third round. He was stopped by Novak Djokovic 4–6, 4–6. He continued his fine singles form by reached the quarterfinals in Rome, losing to Rafael Nadal 4–6, 2–6, and the semifinals in Belgrade, losing to John Isner 5–7, 5–7. At Roland Garros, where he was the 20th seed, he reached the fourth round without dropping a set, defeating Jan Hájek 6–1, 6–3, 6–3, in the first round. In the second round, he defeated German Andreas Beck 6–1, 6–4, 6–4, and in the third round, he beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6–3, 6–4, 6–1, before losing to Roger Federer 3–6, 6–7, 2–6, in the fourth round. After an unsuccessful grass season, where he lost in the first round of Wimbledon, Stan separated from his coach since childhood and hired Peter Lundgren (former coach of Marat Safin and Roger Federer). The partnership with Lundgren showed its benefits in the US Open, where Wawrinka reached the quarterfinals, beating fourth seed Andy Murray along the way.

Wawrinka serves during his upset win versus Andy Murray at the 2010 US Open

2011[link]

Wawrinka started off 2011 in impressive fashion, defeating world no. 6 Tomáš Berdych along the way to claiming the Chennai Open crown. Stan beat Xavier Malisse in the final in three sets. He advanced to the quarterfinal of the Australian Open, after defeating Andy Roddick in three sets 6–3, 6–4, 6–4, and set up an all-Swiss quarterfinal with his compatriot Roger Federer, which he lost 1–6, 3–6, 3–6. Wawrinka was defeated by Donald Young in the second round of the 2011 US Open 6–7, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–7.^[9]

In September 2011, Wawrinka announced that he has parted ways with Lundgren. He will play the rest of the season without a coach.^[10]

At the 2011 Swiss Indoors Basel, Wawrinka made it to the semifinals, after defeating Florian Mayer in the quarterfinals. In an all-Swiss semifinal, he was defeated by Roger Federer 6–7, 2–6.

2012[link]

Stan has made the 4th round at Roland Garros after defeating Giles Simon in five sets.

Playing style[link]

Possessing one of the best single-handed backhands on tour, Wawrinka is characterized as a powerful offensive baseliner capable of playing well on most surfaces, especially on clay and hard courts. His largest weakness has been considered his mental strength as he has been known to falter in the biggest matches. This is evident by his 3 out of 9 wins in tournament finals. Over the years, however, Wawrinka has become stronger in this regard, as he reached the quarter-finals at a major for the first time in his career at the 2010 US Open. Wawrinka then continued his form into the 2011 season by reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.

Personal life[link]

Wawrinka's father, Wolfram, is a German of Czech ancestry, although his surname is actually of Polish origin. Wawrinka's paternal great-grandfather originated from a border region between Poland and the former Czechoslovakia. Wawrinka's mother Isabelle is Swiss. His mother works as a biodynamic farmer helping handicapped people. He has one older brother Jonathan, who teaches tennis, and two younger sisters Djanaée and Naëlla, who are students and tennis players.^[11]

Wawrinka lived in Saint-Barthélemy (10 minutes from Lausanne) with his wife, Ilham Vuilloud, a Swiss television presenter and former fashion model.^[11] They married on December 15, 2009. Vuilloud gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl named Alexia, on February 12, 2010. On January 4, 2011, Swiss media reported that, according to Vuilloud, Wawrinka separated from the family to dedicate himself to tennis, having only five more years to make an impact.^{[12] [13]}

His hobbies include movies and music.^{[citation needed]} He is good friends with the British tennis player Andy Murray.^[11][14].

Commercial endorsements[link]

Wawrinka's corporate sponsors have included Lacoste, Head, adidas and Hublot Genève.

He plays using Head tennis racquets. Starting from June 2010, he played with the YOUTEK Prestige Pro MidPlus.^[15] Previously he used the Flexpoint Prestige MidPlus and Microgel Prestige pro.

As of January 2012, Wawrinka wears Yonex clothing and shoes and uses a Yonex VCORE 98 D racquet.

Major finals[link]

Olympic finals[link]

Doubles: 1 (1 gold medal)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Gold medal	2008	Beijing Olympics	Hard	Roger Federer	Simon Aspelin Thomas Johansson	6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3

Masters finals[link]

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	2008	Rome	Clay	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 3–6, 3–6

Career finals[link]

Singles: 9 (3 titles, 6 runner-ups)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	4 July 2005	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Gastón Gaudio	4–6, 4–6
Winner	1.	24 July 2006	Umag, Croatia	Clay	Novak Djokovic	6–6, retired
Runner-up	2.	22 July 2007	Stuttgart, Germany	Clay	Rafael Nadal	4–6, 5–7
Runner-up	3.	14 October 2007	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Novak Djokovic	4–6, 0–6
Runner-up	4.	5 January 2008	Doha, Qatar	Hard	Andy Murray	4–6, 6–4, 2–6
Runner-up	5.	11 May 2008	Rome, Italy	Clay	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	6.	4 January 2010	Chennai, India	Hard	Marin Čilić	6–7(2–7), 6–7(3–7)
Winner	2.	11 April 2010	Casablanca, Morocco	Clay	Victor Hănescu	6–2, 6–3
Winner	3.	9 January 2011	Chennai, India	Hard	Xavier Malisse	7–5, 4–6, 6–1