How far will Magnus Norman lead Stan Wawrinka

[Front242]

Same here. Although I wish I could forget

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Front: If Norman has coached only two guys, and both have made the finals of majors in the era of "The Big 4", then I think his stock should be shooting through the roof...FAST!

Not counting "The Big 4", who, other than Soderling and Wawrinka, has made the final of a major in the past several years? Off the top of my head, only Tsonga (AO 2008), Berdych (Wimbledon 2010), and Ferrer (FO 2013).

Add 2009 Delpo US Open to that list and that's about it...

Good catch, Murat... and somewhat embarrassing for me (can't believe I forgot about that one)!

I am only able to mention that match after years of therapy.:blush:

 

[Ricardo]

I don't quite see Stan being on the level of the second tier guys (Ferrer, Tsonga, del Potro, Berdych) but I could see him in the next tier with guys like Tipsarevic and Gasquet for a year or two - the #9-15ish range.

in a matter of months he's surpassed all of those guys, and certainly way ahead of Tipsy and Gasquet..... care to show us the wisdom of hindsight with more stats?

 

[herios]

herios: I'm curious...How many guys has Norman coached ("Coaching" meaning "head coach" of pros)?

I read he started to coach taking on Tommy Johansson at the end of his career, before Tommy retired due to injuries. Then Soderling followed for 2 years bringing Robin from 37 to 4 ranking, before he got ill.

He then started the "Good to great tennis Academy" to develop young swedish players together with Kulti and Tilstrom. This is where Dimi Grigor was working last year with Tilstrom, before moving to Rasheed.
This is his resume as coach.

What the similarities are between Soderling and Wawrinka, he has helped on their confidence and overall mental aspect of their game. With Soderling there was a conditioning improvement as well, but the mental aspect is where he really has made the biggest impact.

 

[Denis]

Good on you herios. I've always liked Stan too, but I still don't want to have too many expectations of him. Just enjoying it when he does well. I really don't see him seriously bother the Big 4 on a regular basis though. Novak should have won that match a few days ago.

He has defeated Murray twice last year at Monte Carlo and USO and Nole here at AO. He gets better and better, that is what is important.

Right again!

 

[Kieran]

Thing I always held against Stan was leaving his wife after their child was born, but now they're back together and I'm so happy to see him doing well... :clap

 

[Denis]

Thing I always held against Stan was leaving his wife after their child was born, but now they're back together and I'm so happy to see him doing well... :clap

I think that was completely taken out of context. All tennis players leave their wife to play tennis, it's not played in Switzerland is it.

His last words in his speech were for his wife and kid and he looked in the camera which I found touching.

 

[Kieran]

Thing I always held against Stan was leaving his wife after their child was born, but now they're back together and I'm so happy to see him doing well... :clap

I think that was completely taken out of context. All tennis players leave their wife to play tennis, it's not played in Switzerland is it.

His last words in his speech were for his wife and kid and he looked in the camera which I found touching.

No, from what I read, he actually abandoned her to focus on his game. They split up. But they're back together now, which is magnificent. And look how well, he's playing, which is a bonus...

 

[nehmeth]

Thing I always held against Stan was leaving his wife after their child was born, but now they're back together and I'm so happy to see him doing well... :clap

Me too. There are good ways and bad ways to show one's devotion to sport. Glad he found the right way.

 

[coban]

Thing I always held against Stan was leaving his wife after their child was born, but now they're back together and I'm so happy to see him doing well... :clap

Me too. There are good ways and bad ways to show one's devotion to sport. Glad he found the right way.

I was thinking about this - beautiful story: Wife/Kids + Grand Slam

 

[herios]

What I am looking for in the near future of Stan's journey with Norman:
1. How he will cope with his new fame
2. How he will do in his next big events especially on clay, where he usually was at his best, In particular, if he meets Rafa again on clay.

 

[Moxie]

Thing I always held against Stan was leaving his wife after their child was born, but now they're back together and I'm so happy to see him doing well... :clap

Me too. There are good ways and bad ways to show one's devotion to sport. Glad he found the right way.

I was thinking about this - beautiful story: Wife/Kids + Grand Slam

Johnsteinbeck pointed out just last fall that one reason people didn't like Stan is that he dumped his wife and baby, though, in fairness to him, he had pulled it all back together with his family. Not to be overly sentimental, but to be fair, I've been trying to forgive him that, as well, which, I, for one, did hold against him.

All in the past. Now I'll work on forgiving him for beating Rafa. :snigger :laydownlaughing

 

[brokenshoelace]

What I am looking for in the near future of Stan's journey with Norman:
1. How he will cope with his new fame
2. How he will do in his next big events especially on clay, where he usually was at his best, In particular, if he meets Rafa again on clay.

Stan loses to Nadal on clay like everyone else. The match-up there is severely difficult for him. You can say the same about hard courts, but as we saw on Sunday, there WAS a way around that match-up on hards. On clay, while not exactly impossible because nothing else, it's damn near unwinnable for Stan. There's a reason the H2H is what it is.

 

[Moxie]

Personally, I think Stan could prove a formidable spoiler on clay. Not to Rafa, per se, but to Novak, very possibly. Given that there are so few other options.

 

[Kieran]

I don't think Stan will progress much further, but he'll hold, for a while. He's most likely reached his limit and will have a solid year, bolstered by the progress he's made last year and this.

I wouldn't expect him to beat Rafa Nadal again this year, and certainly not on clay. But I'm hoping he brings his attitude and desire to the rest of the season. I doubt very much he'll rest on his laurels, but Herios asks a good question: how will he cope with all the attention?

Plus, it's to be hoped that his performance in Oz - and that of Dimitrov - spur others into thinking, "hey, that could be me!"

 

[Front242]

I certainly expect Stan to beat Rafa again this year to show his pride in light of all he's had to put up with here. He must be feeling fed up with all the headlines and wants to prove he can win another few sets like the first one in the final. At the very least in a best of 3 sets match I'm sure he has a real shot now. Confidence will be at an all time high.

 

[isabelle]

Thing I always held against Stan was leaving his wife after their child was born, but now they're back together and I'm so happy to see him doing well... :clap

Alexia must gives Stan some wings...

 

[brokenshoelace]

I certainly expect Stan to beat Rafa again this year to show his pride in light of all he's had to put up with here. He must be feeling fed up with all the headlines and wants to prove he can win another few sets like the first one in the final. At the very least in a best of 3 sets match I'm sure he has a real shot now. Confidence will be at an all time high.

Not on clay, no.

Match-up is still terrible for Stan. There's a reason he hadn't won a set against him. On hards or even grass, it's possible. Again, margins are small. Stan's sets with Rafa often went to tie-breaks (outside of clay), but Stan always came up on the losing end. A little bit of confidence coupled with more consistent ball striking and better serving, and the outcome could easily be different.

On clay? Nah... Check out the results of their matches. They weren't even close. Stan really hasn't improved THAT much compared to last year. And I don't mean that as a diss on him. He was already a top 10 player last year. Little improvements in key areas are the difference between being a top 10 player and a slam winner, and that's what Stan was able to do. On clay though? It would take far more than that.

I actually hope they play. Not for the sake of revenge and nothing against Stan, but I think it would serve as a reminder that we shouldn't overreact and it would be a nice highlight of a point I've been trying to make for a while now, and I feel I keep repeating in every post: Margins are small.

Best example: Novak Djokovic. Compare his 2011 run, where he looked all but unbeatable to his level last year. It's not THAT night and day. But a slight drop off here and there is enough to separate a 6 months undefeated winning streak from his form last year.

 

[Front242]

Yeah, in tennis small margins count for so much. I thought Stan actually played the ground strokes better last year in the matches he played against Novak against the slams but this year his serving was better and that was the difference. Plus, Novak was worse than last year too.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Yeah, in tennis small margins count for so much. I thought Stan actually played the ground strokes better last year in the matches he played against Novak against the slams but this year his serving was better and that was the difference. Plus, Novak was worse than last year too.

Pretty much. Stan was playing near unplayable against Djokovic last year...except that Djokovic was almost as unplayable. This year, neither was as good, but Novak had the bigger drop off and played the key moments far worse. He couldn't hit himself out of trouble, while Stan's serve really hit his stride.

Tennis is one fascinating sport. I'd still be shocked if Wawrinka beats Nadal on clay though. If you remove the blue clay fiasco, and the Horacio Ceballos match (since it was his first tournament back in ages), Nadal hasn't lost to anyone other than Djokovic on clay since Soderling at RG 2009 :huh::huh: That's insane.