French Open 2015 Men's Final: Early Predictions for Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon

Stan Wawrinka proved that on his day, he's a match for any top player in tennis. The mercurial Swiss player beat World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to win the 2015 French Open.

Despite losing the first set, Wawrinka turned things around to take the next three. In the process, the 30-year-old won just his second Grand Slam event and his first at Roland Garros.

Grand Slam victories may be few for Wawrinka, but he's claimed those to his credit in style, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times:

Wawrinka also earned a rare historical achievement for the French Open, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

After Djokovic made a fast start on the red clay at Roland Garros, things looked ominous for Wawrinka. But the top-ranked player in men's tennis never established any real dominance.

Instead, this match soon turned into a series of thrilling rallies. Both players set the tone for the back and forth early on, per the Sports Illustrated Tennis Twitter feed:

That was just the beginning of a marathon of rallies. One of the best came in a tense fourth set when Djokovic had taken the first three games, seemingly reasserting control despite trailing two sets to one.

The official Roland Garros Twitter account highlighted the epic shot trading:

It was the consistent quality of the tennis that kept viewers wowed. Former pro Andy Roddick perfectly summed up what fans were being treated to on the Paris court:

Even the individual shots were exceptional, as WSJ writer Tom Perrotta noted. He continued Roddick's theme of not quite believing what his eyes were showing him:

In what has to be one of the most exciting finals at an Open event in recent memory, momentum continued to swing sharply. Djokovic struggled to establish his serve, while Warinka broke via a series of brilliantly manufactured shots.

Just as it had been during his quarter-final dismantling of Roger Federer, the backhand became Wawrinka's weapon of choice for undermining Djokovic's resolve.

But it wasn't just the power of these strokes that caused problems, it was also the variety, according to Roddick:

The win is obviously a landmark moment for Wawrinka.  But what does it mean for his chances at Wimbledon?

Well, the Swiss clearly isn't vaulting into the echelon of favourites just because he denied Djokovic at the one tournament that still eludes the Serb. But what the win has done is improve Wawrinka's standings ahead of the summer event:

ESPN writer Carl Bialik is already speculating about how this result will affect the seeding for Wimbledon:

A favourable early draw will certainly be a major boost for Wawrinka. But he'll still be switching from clay to grass against a field more accustomed to the famous court.

The difference may be small to the top players in the modern era, but it can prove crucial. Wawrinka will have a hard time transferring his record on the Paris clay to a different surface:

Wawrinka's biggest obstacle is likely to be overcoming his own inconsistency. His talent is undeniable, but he's just too difficult to predict.

At his best, Wawrinka is more than a match for any top player. Seeing off both Federer and Djokovic offers ample proof of what he can do.

But even though he's capable of beating the best, Wawrinka is equally capable of suffering his own upsets. His recent winning percentage, per Bialik, shows this disparity at work:

"

Make that: Wawrinka winning percentage since start of 2014 vs. Top 10: 74% vs. everyone else: 73%

— Carl Bialik (@CarlBialik) June 7, 2015"

Wawrinka's usually tough to predict, but even after his heroics at Roland Garros, a victory at Wimbledon would be a major surprise. A defeat in the last eight seems like a much more realistic estimate.