Wawrinka opens up about panic, anxiety at US Open

This is more than simple stage fright. A new interview that Stan Wawrinka gave to Le Matin Dimanche, a Swiss newspaper, reveals the depths of mental anguish and heights of mental strength that a player can experience.

Psychological anguish and other factors have seen players including Mardy Fish and Rebecca Marino retire from tennis in recent years. Per Deadspin, via a translation from stalwart tennis writer Stephanie Myles, Wawrinka pushed himself to physical limits he didn't know he had so as to drown out the so-called "voices" in his head that led to a tear-filled stress attack before his name was called to walk out into Arthur Ashe Stadium.

What's remarkable about Wawrinka's state of mind ahead of the U.S. Open final against Novak Djokovic

—a brutally physical match that he won convincingly—is that 1) a Top 4 player such as himself suffered it, and 2) he's telling it publicly for others to know and even learn from.

"I was hurting so much, I was pushing myself so hard, I was so out of break that i finally ended up muffling those little voices in my head… " he said.

"Now, I have to relax the machine a bit."

Good on you, Stanimal. In serving notice about the mental wars of tennis, you do more good than harm.

The tennis-watching world will keep this in mind the next time you go into beast mode in a big-stage match, all but savaging the opposition with those muscular, whipping shots.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.