'Stanimal' getting eager to pounce

The man known as 'Stanimal' will be eager to prey on his rivals when he turns up as a bona fide member of the Grand Slam winners' club at next week's ATP World Tour Finals.

Just how lethal Stanislas Wawrinka can be on a tennis court was clear for all to see when he ferociously clawed Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal into submission to win his first Grand Slam title at January's Australian Open - thus becoming the first man in 21 years to beat the top two seeds at a major.

He followed that run by toppling his most "fearsome rival", Roger Federer, on red dirt in the Monte Carlo Masters final - but since then Wawrinka appears to have lost some of his killer instinct.