Magnus Norman, coach to Stan Wawrinka, is not banking on Novak Djokovic succumbing to any nerves in Sunday’s French Open final despite the Serb targeting his dream of completing a career Grand Slam.
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Norman, who started working with Wawrinka two years ago and has helped the Swiss capture his first and only grand slam title thus far at the Australian Open in 2014, believes the key for his student will be to focus on himself and not expect Djokovic to be affected by the stress of winning the elusive French Open crown.
“I see Novak as a complete player, a very relaxed No1. I don’t see him as someone who will get nervous or anything like that. He’s going to play well tomorrow and Stan is going to need to play extremely well in order to beat him,” said Norman, a French Open runner-up in 2000.
This is Wawrinka’s second grand slam final appearance and his first in Paris. The world No9 lost in the opening round here last year but has beaten Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his last two outings to give himself a chance to remove any doubt from the public that he is a one-slam wonder.
“If he can win a grand slam then he can win another grand slam. I think he showed everybody that he made the semis in Australia and was very solid in the slams last year – [except] the French Open – and now finals again. He’s really playing well in the big occasions,” said Norman.
.@stanwawrinka saves a BP vs. #Tsonga in the third game with this masterful volley. #RG15 https://t.co/YyEUUH98w4
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2015
“One of the areas we tried to work on a lot is the confidence, trying to believe a little bit more in himself. When there are important points, have more patience, not going for the winner on the second or third shot because then you’re going to miss. Really believe in what you’re doing, show yourself, show emotions, show that you have confidence, and he’s been doing that in the big tournaments in the last two and a half years.”
Norman lauded Andy Murray for rallying the crowd behind him, which helped the Scot comeback and force a fifth against Djokovic in the semi-finals before losing. The Swedish coach believes Wawrinka is a different character on court though and that using the crowd might not be the way to go.
“I think he needs to find this from within himself,” he explained.
Wawrinka failed to win back-to-back matches at five events between February and May but seems to have turned a corner recently.
Norman feels Wawrinka is still lacking consistency in the year-round tournaments compared to the majors but senses the Swiss has been particularly dedicated since Monte Carlo last April.
“The thing with Stan is that he’s a little bit too much up and down still for my liking. It’s quite dangerous to only play well in the big tournaments. In order for him to push even more in the rankings he needs to play well in the Masters 1000, 250s and 500s as well as the grand slams,” admits Norman.
“The ‘Big Four’ they never have a bad week almost, they are always playing well while Stan is a little bit up and down still.
“You need to be very professional, every day when you go to practice you need to bring the mentality and the focus there all the time and Stan has done that since Monte Carlo.
“He was off for a while but since Monte Carlo he’s been doing really well. All the days leading up to the French Open he’s been really really well, really wanting to improve his game and that’s why he’s more solid now.”
