Wawrinka And Norman Make A Great Team

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 30th September 2013

Wawrinka And Norman Make A Great Team

epa03856725 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland reacts as he plays Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their semifinals round match on the thirteenth day of the 2013 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 07 September 2013. The US Open runs through Monday 09 September, a 15-day schedule for the first time. EPA/JASON SZENES |

Though he fell in last weekend’s Kuala Lumpur semi-finals, the hopes of Stanislas Wawrinka are looking up as he tries to make it an unprecedented two Swiss in the ATP year-end finals in London, now just five weeks away in early November.

The US Open semi-finalist and conqueror of holder Andy Murray in the New York fourth round, lost in the Malaysian semis to Julien Benneteau, but is pleased with how his game has progressed in 2013 since hooking up with former Swedish player Magnus Norman as a coach.

Wawrinka’s 2013 already includes a spring title on clay at Lisbon, a Masters 1000 title bid in Madrid against Rafael Nadal and a final in the Netherlands just prior to Wimbledon. The “second Swiss” gives much of the credit to former No. 2 Norman. “We are doing great job, he’s a good coach,” said the ATP No. 9. “We started in April and I think we’ve had some amazing result together.”

One of Wawrinka’s major pluses is his massive one-handed backhand, a powerful weapons when it if firing. “I’m quite happy with my backhand, that’s for sure, it’s one of my best shots,” added the Swiss who is coming out of the shadow of celebrated compatriot Roger Federer with his recent surge of form. “I changed when I was 11 because my two-hand backhand was not good enough. But it’s all about practise.”

Wawrinka is playing this week as sixth seed in Beijing and has a chance to go past Federer in the race to the eight-man year-end finals. Federer is playing only one week in Asia, the Shanghai Masters which wraps up three weeks’ in the Far East.

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp, Magnus Norman, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tennis News, US Open