Stan Wawrinka the good guy of professional tennis

WHAT marks out Stan Wawrinka from many players is that he is universally admired because of his innate decency and good manners.

IN New York last year, Stanislas Wawrinka was eating out after his win over Andy Murray in the quarter-finals of the US Open when three journalists ventured into the restaurant where he was dining. Being the polite man he is, he went over to their table, chatted for a few minutes and then retreated back to his companions.

What marks out the Australian Open champion from many players on the tour is that he is universally admired because of his innate decency and good manners.

We knew all about his tennis-playing ability, a game of exquisite strokes that offered so much, if only he trusted it and himself. This he has started to do, and in Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night we had splendid vindication.

A year ago he wanted to appoint Magnus Norman, the former world No 2 from Sweden, to become his coach, but Norman required an awful lot of persuading. He accused (in a friendly Swedish way) Wawrinka's manager, Lawrence Frankopan, of stalking him. Frankopan and Wawrinka would simply not take Norman's repeated "no" for an answer.

Norman is not one to blow his own trumpet; he was not as a player and is not now.

"I took the job because Stan, for me, is a really humble guy, a nice guy," he said. "I didn't take the job because I thought he was going to be top five or something like that, but I knew he had great results in him. Great to work with a guy who likes to work hard, but this is a little bit beyond my expectations.

"For me, it is like the same when I was coaching Robin Soderling (the Swede who defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2009 French Open, having lost 12 times to him beforehand).

"Someone gave me a diamond and it just needed a little polish, small things that are not really secret. He needed to believe in himself a little bit more in the big matches, maybe play the big points with better strategy.

"One of the few things I've tried to help him with is confidence, playing the big points the right way."

Much is made of the tattoo on Wawrinka's left forearm, the words from Samuel Beckett: "Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."

Norman said: "I like it It sums up what he stands for. He's been a bit of an underachiever the last couple of years in the big tournaments but always tried to improve, to find a way to beat these top guys."

He tried. He failed. He tried again. He failed a few times. And now he has succeeded. No one deserves it more.

THE TIMES