Stanislas Wawrinka has admitted that not having the spotlight on him is helping him in his attempts to defend his Australian Open title.
The Swiss, who beat Rafael Nadal in last year's final for his first Grand Slam triumph, defeated Jarkko Nieminen in straight sets on Saturday to reach the fourth round.
His progress in Melbourne has gone largely unnoticed due to the other big names in the draw and the performances of home favourites Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic, but going under the radar suits Wawrinka.
"For sure I'm not the focus on the tournament because there's Novak [Djokovic], Rafa coming back from injury, and Roger [Federer] also just lost," he told the tournament's official website. "There's Kyrgios, Tomic still playing.
"For sure I'm not the focus. For me doesn't matter. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling great. I'm happy the way I'm playing. To get to the second week again, it's great. So far everything is good for me."
Wawrinka will next face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who knocked him out of the 2014 French Open.
Joe Fish
