Magnus Norman: The genius who (請續讀) - 網球 Tennis

※ 引述《Athletics (馬英九下台)》之銘言：
: 暫無翻譯 如果英文很差看不懂 請見諒
: 或是如有板友是英文很好的 可以代勞 有時間一點會在簡略翻吧
: http://goo.gl/IGQ1sg
: Magnus Norman: The genius who masterminded Wawrinka’s win
: By Eurosport | Tramlines – Mon, Jan 27, 2014 18:41 GMT

算是捧Magnus Norman的文章吧... XD
內容並非特別有料。

: Much fanfare has greeted the appointment of Grand Slam-winning celebrity
: coaches over the past year or two.
: First Andy Murray looked to Ivan Lendl in a bid to win a first Major, while
: Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have responded to very different challenges
: by bringing in Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg respectively.

先是提到Murray, Djokovic, Federer 各自請了前網球名將當教練

: Results have been mixed. Djokovic flopped in his title defence, while
: Federer's flagging fortunes appeared to be boosted by a new fitness routine
: and some fine-tuning by Edberg, only for his run to end with a straight-sets
: thrashing by Rafael Nadal.
: So far, only Lendl’s influence can truly be called a success, with Murray
: winning his first two Grand Slam titles – including Wimbledon – and the
: Olympic singles gold.
: It is still early days for Becker and Edberg, and they can only be judged by
: their charges’ progress come the end of the season.
: Edberg seems to have had the bigger immediate impact, with Federer in his
: best fitness and form for a couple of years; defeat to Nadal is no disgrace,
: for he is the world number one and also in the form of his life.

這邊則是分析各教練對球員的影響。藍道最為成功(因Murray拿下金牌+兩GS冠軍)，
Edberg和Becker則因為加入訓練團隊時間不久，因此來日方長(當然是客氣話)，
要到賽季尾聲時才能評斷功效。
撰文者認為Edberg對Federer帶來的影響看似較為快速、明顯。

: But the influence of another, lesser-known Swede is rarely talked about -
: despite his achievements being of a far greater magnitude. That man is Magnus
: Norman, the coach of shock Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka.
: Norman is a former player who was briefly world number two before injuries
: prematurely ended his career. He is best remembered for losing to Gustavo
: Kuerten in the 2000 French Open final, and for being a player who maximised a
: decent level of talent before entering a rapid and steep decline in his
: mid-20s.
: Yet his playing career proved to be just a curtain-raiser for his true
: calling, since Norman’s greatest accomplishments have come not as a player
: but as a coach.

接下來開始主題～Magnus Norman, 澳網新冠軍小卡的教練出場。
先是介紹Norman選手生涯的成就(最高世界第二、但很快因受傷而退休)

: Even when still playing, Norman was heavily involved with fellow Swede Thomas
: Johansson, both as a doubles and training colleague and, latterly, a hitting
: partner. It was around this time when Johansson peaked, becoming a surprise
: winner of the 2002 Australian Open.

Norman正式當教練前的代表作：Thomas Johansson，出乎意料奪得2002澳網。
兩人曾是雙打夥伴、訓練同僚、陪練員。

: Later, when Norman retired from playing and became a full-time coach, he took
: Robin Soderling under his wing.
: In late 2008 Soderling was a decent but jobbing pro: lingering outside the
: top 20, he’d won a couple of ATP titles but had never got past the third
: round of a Grand Slam and hadn’t claimed a title for three years.
: Almost immediately after linking up with Norman, Soderling’s career turned
: around. He started to reach finals again, won a few minor titles and –
: within the year – found himself in the French Open final after becoming the
: first man in 31 matches to beat Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.
: It was no fluke. Things got better and better for Soderling as he reached the
: quarter-finals at the US Open, then reached a second French Open final in
: 2010 before making the last eight at Wimbledon and once more in New York.
: Before injuries and illness prematurely halted his career, Soderling reached
: a career high of world number four. And this was in the ultra-competitive era
: of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray.


成為全職教練後的代表作：Robin Soderling。特別提到在Norman成為教練之前，
Soderling是那種20名上下、巡迴賽表現OK，但GS時從未打進第四輪的選手。
但Norman加入後，Soderling開始能打入決賽，甚至成為31場法網比賽中，
唯一擊敗Nadal的人，GS表現也明顯提升。
在Soderling因傷病中斷選手生涯前，最高曾位居世界第四，這在bug4當道的年代，
是很難能可貴的事。

: Wawrinka is Norman's latest project - and his latest success. ‘Stan’, as
: the Swiss is known, had developed a reputation as a powerful, attacking
: baseliner with huge shot-making ability and natural aggression, but a
: tendency to fold under pressure against the biggest players.
: A popular face on the tour, Wawrinka would regularly reach the finals of ATP
: tournaments, but lose to the ‘big four’; in the Grand Slams, he would
: impress in the early rounds but again fall to pieces against the world’s
: best.

小卡出場～當然也是Norman的最新成功作。
先介紹小卡以前被認為是強力底線選手，但面對厲害的對手時就會手軟。
(其實我認為比文中寫得還差一點，因為小卡沒有那麼常打進巡迴賽的後幾輪)

: As a result, Wawrinka, in his mid-20s, seemed to have plateaued in or around
: the top 20. Sound familiar?

提到小卡二十多歲，在前二十名徘徊(暗示他跟Soderling的狀況很像)

: All that changed last year, when Norman came on the scene. The impact was
: almost immediate as, a few months into their relationship, he managed to see
: off David Ferrer to win a clay-court tournament in Portugal.
: He was then able to oust defending champion Andy Murray in the US Open, and
: undeterred by his semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic, impressed at the World
: Tour Finals before his epic triumph in Melbourne.

Norman加入小卡教練團隊的豐功偉業，包括去年在葡萄牙的ATP冠軍，美網勝Murray，
惜敗Djokovic，以及今年的澳網冠軍。

: Wawrinka – like Soderling and arguably Johansson before him – has become a
: completely different player, one maximising his ability under pressure
: instead of crumbling when it matters. Last season he finished the year as a
: top-10 player for the first time, and his Aussie Open triumph has pushed him
: into the top three – all at the age of 28, approaching veteran status in
: tennis erms.

再次拿小卡與其他代表作相比，說大家在Norman加入後的差距，以及之前的相同之處。

: So how does Norman do it?
: He has set up a tennis academy with friends and former Sweden team-mates
: Nicklas Kulti, Mikael Tillstrom. They formed part of a ‘golden generation’
: of over-achieving Swedes, which culminated in winning the Davis Cup in 1998.
: “We have one thing in common,” their website says. “We have all taken the
: step from (being) good tennis players to world class professionals.”
: Their academy is even called “Good To Great”, and they take pride in their
: relatively small size and lack of facilities, instead focusing on
: tailor-making training routines to suit each individual.
: Wawrinka is their star client. Obviously it is working for him, and some of
: the Swedish youngsters on their books – such as teenage brothers Elias and
: Mikael Ymer (who are top-ranked in their age groups) – have been tipped as
: stars of the future.
: Certainly you can expect others to start banging on his door. But I would
: expect Norman to channel his energies towards Wawrinka, in whom there is a
: sudden challenger to the established stars of world tennis.

介紹了Norman開的網球學校，叫做"Good To Great"（翻成"從A到A+"應該不錯 XD）
除了小卡以外，也提到兩位瑞典籍的青年選手，可能成為該校未來的新星。

最後則是再稍稍猜測小卡和Norman的教練關係應該會繼續維持。

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