We like overcoming stories, those whose protagonist is reborn after going through moments of true ordeal. In tennis we witness many of those stories that sometimes go well and other times the efforts fall on deaf ears. In current tennis, we know several players who are going through a similar process, as is the case with Dominic Thiem or Stan Wawrinka. However, the case of the Swiss is special. At 38 years old, Wawrinka has not thrown in the towel since he had to get away from the slopes, when he seriously injured his left foot in the tournament of Doha in 2021. Two operations and more than a year later, he returned to the circuit to dispute the Challenger de Marbella.
One of the people who knows him best is his trainer, Magnus Norman. The Swede accompanied Wawrinka in the best years of his career. Their union lasted from 2013 to 2020, years in which Stan lifted 16 titles, including three Grand Slams. Thus, it is not surprising that the Swiss wanted to trust that person with whom he shared so many successes and with whom he worked hand in hand for one last dance.
Have fun playing tennis without pressure
As a professional tennis player, Magnus became number 2 in the world in the year 2000, as well as being a finalist for Roland Garros and accumulate 11 ATP titles. As a coach, he also worked with his compatriot Robin Soderling. But Wawrinka will always be the best success of him. In fact, he turned down offers from other players to accompany his friend in his last moments of tennis. And it is that, with Stan you have to go more slowly than with another type of younger player, since his age and his foot injury determine him. The plan consists of avoiding overloads and focusing on taking care of recovery, essential for his body to withstand the effort of playing several games on consecutive days.
“We don’t talk much about big tournaments or results. The aim is to prepare you as well as possible for all competitions. He has to feel like he’s playing good tennis. With that feeling and a good preparation he can beat any of the best players. What will be difficult is to achieve it during seven games. But we don’t set ourselves any qualifying targets, no pressure to reach a certain level. I told him: you have to play tennis whenever and wherever you want. He has to enjoy his last few years on the circuit because he has already had an incredible career.”stated Magnus in an interview with Clay Tennis.
The decline of the old guard, the threat of the new generation and the greatness of Djokovic and Nadal
When will he retire? His trainer affirms that there is no date. The Swiss will hang up the racket the day he stops enjoying playing and his body says enough is enough. Meanwhile, he will continue at the foot of the canyon to continue competing in a circuit in which great players of his generation are gradually retiring and a younger one is making its way. “Roger retired, Novak is on top, but Rafa is going down from the looks of it right now. There is a whole new generation knocking on the door, led by Alcaraz, who has already won a Slam. Zverev is coming back, Tsitsipas, Kyrgios, Auger-Aliassime is playing very well and SinnerNorman stated.
The Swede also had time to share his point of view about the difficulty for Rafa Nadal to achieve the same results that we were used to before his latest injuries. “You never have to rule out Nadal, Murray or Djokovic. Nadal has won many Grand Slams. It’s not going to be easy, because the competition is tougher, but he’s going to find a way to play well and win big tournaments this year too.”he expressed.
And it is that Magnus is a great admirer of Novak and Rafa, whom he places among the three or four best players of all time: “They have something in their brain that is not typical of humans. They are hungry to be better all the time and can handle pressure like no one else. I am very impressed by how they are doing over all these years”.
