Do you ken in a land down under?

Yesterday (British time), Stanislas Wawrinka was very much a man at work as he finally stepped from the shadow of 'The Greatest' (Tm) to become Swiss number one and further contradict Harry Lime that for all of their 500 years of democracy, Switzerland had nothing more to show for it than the cuckoo clock (which was Bavarian in origin anyway).  The moment the semi-final became a case of FedEx(it), my full sympathies lay with the man whose name sounds more likely to hail from Eastern Europe than his adoptive compatriot Martina Hingis, though he himself was born in Lausanne.
Myself and my work colleague Chris agreed that Wawrinka could be a dark horse for the Australia Open, so it wasn't a complete surprise that he lifted the trophy, but it was pleasant to see someone outside the top four win a major.  All the talk beforehand was how all the big hitters had hired ex-colossi of the game for coaches, following Andy Murray's lead with Ivan Lendl.  All this though has been turned on its head.  For sure, Raphael Nadal was suffering from back pain but the Spaniard's is a star that has burned brightly but quickly, like Pete Sampras whereas other players like Andre Agassi pace themselves better.  It is to be argued which is the best approach as Nadal and Sampras are two and three in the list of most majors, but such physical exertions destroy the body, allowing opponents like Wawrinka to steal a march when Nadal at his peak would have been expected to win.  Like with Roger Federer, time is running out for the man from Majorca to add to his slam haul.
This is Wawrinka's moment to revel in the seemingly impossible in superseding Federer in the world rankings.  It's been coming though, even when Wawrinka was no. 25 in the world and pushed Andy Murray to five sets in the first ever use of the Wimbledon roof, though he lost.  Last year, he defeated Murray comprehensively three sets to love in the US Open quarter-finals. It's no miracle that he now stands as the world no. 3, it's entirely understandable.  As the groan-worthy headlines must have said (as I don't read them) Stan is the man.  Like the French express train Stanislas, he has arrived but unlike that electric locomotive, he is very much giving service.