Ahead of his debut appearance in Brisbane International 2017 presented by Suncorp, Stan Wawrinka (SUI) took to the skies in a helicopter and enjoyed unparalleled views of Queensland’s world-famous Gold Coast on the SkyPoint Climb, Australia’s highest external building climb.
Before his first practice session on Queensland Tennis Centre’s Pat Rafter Arena, Wawrinka took the scenic route to Surfers Paradise, where he climbed 270 metres to the top of the iconic Q1 Resort Building.
Speaking after his two-hour practice with coach Magnus Norman, Wawrinka revealed his reasons for choosing the Brisbane International as his warm-up event for Australian Open 2017, the scene of the first of his three Grand Slam triumphs.
“I’m really happy to be here in Brisbane,” he said. “I’ve heard so many good things about this tournament from the other players on the tour that I had to come and see it for myself. It’s always exciting to come to new places and play new tournaments, so I’m hoping it turns out to be a good decision.
“I really enjoyed my morning on the Gold Coast, the views were amazing and we had a lot of fun, so it was a great way to start the day. It was then nice to get my first practice session done, I’m a little tired now because I only arrived last night, but other than that I feel good and I’m looking forward to the start of the tournament.”