Home truth from Magnus Norman, man who made Stan Wawrinka the Swiss No 1

STAN Wawrinka is a rugged, hardworking but intrinsically relaxed individual.

STAN Wawrinka is a rugged, hardworking but intrinsically relaxed individual who freely admitted his interest in finding a state of rolling inebriation after winning his first major championship at the Australian Open.

During festivities predicted to continue until the sun came up over old Melbourne town, his coach Magnus Norman was going to deliver one home truth: Wawrinka nearly blew it against Rafael Nadal because he went soft against a wounded opponent.

"I was not really happy with the way he took the situation," Norman said in the aftermath to Wawrinka's nerve-shredding four-set victory on Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park.

"It was difficult, but I thought he was a little bit soft in the third set. Obviously it's difficult when you play someone and you feel that he is suffering. You get tentative and Stan was pushing his shots a little bit.

"He was soft but then he came back in the fourth set and started to play his game again. That was good, his body language was more positive and he finished the match well. But I didn't like the way things were going in the third."

Norman's tennis academy in Sweden is called From Good To Great. Wawrinka is now the poster boy. From journeyman to this! From the despair of the lowest moment of his career, a lamentable second-round loss to Jurgen Melzer at Wimbledon in 2012, to this!

Norman started working with Wawrinka last year, polishing the rough diamond, wondering where to place the bar of expectation. When Norman pencilled in the elite eight-man tour finals in London last year as part of the Swiss's schedule, the world-weary Wawrinka, accustomed to mediocrity, raised an eyebrow. Both of them suspected the bar had gone too high.

Norman was incensed when Wawrinka's intensity dropped in the third set. Put your foot on his throat! Wawrinka started spraying errors to all corners of Melbourne Park and beyond. He might lose the unloseable.

"Stan has always had the level to do this, he's been between the top 10 and top 20 for many years," Norman said. "He just needed to improve his confidence a little bit and that's maybe something I've been able to help him with.

"He just needed that extra little piece because you know that Rafa will not give up. You know if you give him the chance to come back and play a fifth set, well, I didn't like it going to a fifth."

Wawrinka is undefeated this year. Victories in Chennai and Melbourne. Now he's the No 1-ranked player in Switzerland. The No 3 player in the world. He will represent the Roger Federer-less Swiss Davis Cup side against the Novak Djokovic-less Serbian team in the opening round of the world group from Friday. Hangover pending.

Asked if he thought Wawrinka could win a major when they joined forces, Norman replied: "Umm ... I took the job because Stan for me is a really humble guy, a really nice guy. They all are. Rafa's team talked to us afterwards, there's no excuses from them.

"There was no excuse from Novak after that match the other night. They're all good lads and good champions.

"But I didn't take the job because I thought Stan was going to be top five. I knew he had great results in him and it's great to work with a guy who likes to work hard, but this is a little beyond my expectations.

"We never talked about being No 1 in Switzerland. We never talked about rankings. I liked his tattoo. It sums up what he stands for.

"He's maybe been an underachiever in big tournaments but he's always tried to find a solution, tried to improve, tried to find a way to beat the top guys like Novak and Rafa."

The tattoo is well-versed by now. Samuel Beckett has a vast new audience. Failing better has merit.