If we had to stereotypically create the quintessential Swiss athlete, Roger Federer would fit the bill. He is stoic, neutral, and graceful under pressure. He does not get into fights or disputes. He goes out, plays his own elegant style of tennis, and just gets up and does it again the next day. It also helps that he has been the face of Swiss sports for over a decade now.

Enter Stanislas Wawrinka. Wawrinka is, by all accounts, a nice and classy guy. The number of congratulatory tweets and comments sent his way after he beat Novak Djokovic seem to indicate that he is well-liked and well-respected by his peers.

That being said, he is the antithesis of Federer on court. While his compatriot is calm and collected, sometimes to a fault, Wawrinka leaves his emotions out on his shoulder for everyone to see. He will roar in rage or glee or sometimes both, earning the nickname “Stanimal” by many.  He is fiery and ferocious in both his on-court demeanor and his style of play.

Wawrinka turned pro a few years after Federer, but that already meant that this talented Swiss was deep in Federer’s shadow. By the time Wawrinka had made himself into a consistent top-30 player, Federer was already in the discussion for being one of the greatest who ever played the game.

Wawrinka’s firmly-entrenched position as Swiss No. 2 has not been helped by the fact that he cannot seem to beat Roger. He has taken down Federer just once in 14 tries, including an ongoing 11-match losing streak. But it is not just that Stan cannot seem to beat Federer. It is the manner in which he loses. Most matches between the pair, for many years, were entirely non-competitive and sometimes even had the feel of a practice session.

Wawrinka seems to have gotten over that hump in the past few years. His last two matches against Federer were very competitive, and he seemed to carry the attitude into them that he could actually win. This change in Wawrinka’s attitude has been slowly but surely evolving over the past few years, and not just in his matches against Federer. He now believes in himself against virtually anyone in the world, and that belief was actualized in his thrilling victory over Djokovic on Tuesday night.

Wawrinka still cannot seem to escape Federer’s shadow, though. He will become Swiss No. 1 if he can advance one round further than Federer this tournament. Whether or not he recognizes that fact, Wawrinka is playing the best tournament of his career so far. Unfortunately for him, Federer also is playing the best tennis we have seen from him in a long time. And Wawrinka is a combined 1-25 in his career against Nadal and Federer.

Thus, while winning his first major title at this Australian Open might be too much to ask, reaching the final and being competitive in it would go a long, long way towards finally raising Wawrinka to the top of Swiss tennis.