Why Stan won

[Old Lion]

For those who have not picked up on it there are 2 reasons I can see why Stan not only won this tourney but is light years ahead of where he was when he was younger. He was always a very strong hitter with a great serve and BH and was a decent vollyer. What he did not have was a decent FH and good conditioning. That is what he worked on over the last year. His FH is now somewhat a weapon, although still not to the degree of his BH. He also got in much better condition. He used to look dead in 4th and 5th sets at majors. Now he looks like he is still in the 2nd set.

Remember Stan never even beat Rafa in a set before this match. Its no surprise either as Nadal only had to keep the ball in play and wait for Stan to run out of gas on a point. Usually Rafa can still beat guys going to their BH but that is really not an option vs Stan so now that Stan has improved enough to withstand the physical and consistency portions of a match he becomes a very bad matchup for Rafa.

Unfortunately Stan waited until late in his career to make these changes otherwise he could have been a top 5 player most of his career and won a few GS events by now. Maybe he has enough to win a couple more. In his late 20s already he will not have the realistic opportunities for more than 2 or 3 years before time passes him by like it does everyone.

Good luck to him. I like what I see in his game these days.

 

[Hs0022]

For those who have not picked up on it there are 2 reasons I can see why Stan not only won this tourney but is light years ahead of where he was when he was younger. He was always a very strong hitter with a great serve and BH and was a decent vollyer. What he did not have was a decent FH and good conditioning. That is what he worked on over the last year. His FH is now somewhat a weapon, although still not to the degree of his BH. He also got in much better condition. He used to look dead in 4th and 5th sets at majors. Now he looks like he is still in the 2nd set.

Remember Stan never even beat Rafa in a set before this match. Its no surprise either as Nadal only had to keep the ball in play and wait for Stan to run out of gas on a point. Usually Rafa can still beat guys going to their BH but that is really not an option vs Stan so now that Stan has improved enough to withstand the physical and consistency portions of a match he becomes a very bad matchup for Rafa.

Unfortunately Stan waited until late in his career to make these changes otherwise he could have been a top 5 player most of his career and won a few GS events by now. Maybe he has enough to win a couple more. In his late 20s already he will not have the realistic opportunities for more than 2 or 3 years before time passes him by like it does everyone.

Good luck to him. I like what I see in his game these days.

Excellent post. I would just like to add that Stan probably had a lot of influence from Federer regarding the conditioning part because Roger himself worked very hard during the offseason and hence his strong performance here at the AO. Stan finally emerged from Fed's shadows and is now a powerhouse himself. He will continue to be a threat at every slam given his strengths off of both wings and now his newfound conditioning. There is no substitute for hard work.

 

[bksballer89]

I love Stan. I think he is here to stay at least on hard courts....I'm not sure how he plays on Clay & Grass

 

[nuraman00]

I agree Wawrinka's forehand is better.

I also think his backhand is a little better too. While it was great before, I think he made slight improvements to cutting down on the errors on that side too.

He also served well, and didn't double fault much.

 

[nuraman00]

I love Stan. I think he is here to stay at least on hard courts....I'm not sure how he plays on Clay & Grass

He's pretty good on clay too IMO.

He made the SF in Monte Carlo in 2009, beating Federer:

2009 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters ? Singles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finals in Italy in 2008:

2008 Internazionali BNL d'Italia ? Men's Singles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finals in Madrid in 2013:

2013 Mutua Madrid Open ? Men's Singles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Between 2011 and 2012, he split 5-set matches with Tsonga at the FO.

 

[nuraman00]

Also, I don't know if anyone remembers, but one can see Wawrinka's improvement just by comparing the 2011 AO, with the 2014 AO.

During the 2011 AO, after Wawrinka lost the 2nd set to Federer, he started smashing his racquet, and played terrible in the 3rd set (despite the score being 6-3 in that set). Wawrinka was playing so bad after the 2nd set, that the commentators even started making fun of him. During one outtro to commercial break, they said "Stan used to be the man, but now he's a tomato can". They then put an animation of a tomato can splashing on the screen.

The Wawrinka of the past 1+ years, is a lot tougher. He would be able to fight harder to win points, even after losing a set. He would make a legitimate run to win the next set.

 

[Old Lion]

I do remember something like that. They are not laughing now are they?

 

[Hs0022]

Here is the breakdown of the analysis. Brain Game: Stan's Tactics
http://m.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/01/5/Australian-Open-Brain-Game-Nadal-Wawrinka.aspx

 

[Hs0022]

Stan has arguably the best and most dominant backhand in men's tennis at the moment. Dimitrov close second among one handers followed by Gasquet. That screamer from Stan at 2-4 15-15 in third set just plain jaw dropping after Nadal yanks him further into the wide of ad court.

 

[Hs0022]

Wouldn't surprise me if Stan spoke to Fed beforehand about playing Nadal. I am sure Fed would more than oblige to give him a few tips on how to approach the fight. Stan is helping preserve Fed's legacy as well as becoming the second Swiss to win a slam. Both are heartwarming for Federer.

Nadal looked helpless in the first two sets until he regrouped with his underhanded strategy of time out. The third set Nadal absolutely would not have won had they kept playing.

 

[nuraman00]

Here is the breakdown of the analysis. Brain Game: Stan's Tactics
Tennis - ATP World Tour - Brain Game: Stanislas Wawrinka's Tactics Revealed

Nice article, thanks.

 

[cezero]

stan won because he was the superior player at the tournament.

congrats to him, and i hope to see him at least make another final in the near future. that backhand is a thing of beauty.

 

[nuraman00]

stan won because he was the superior player at the tournament.

congrats to him, and i hope to see him at least make another final in the near future. that backhand is a thing of beauty.

His serve and forehand are now pretty good too.