Wawrinka's confidence carried him to the Australian Open title

Stanislas Wawrinka has lost 39 of his last 40 matches against Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Robert Prezioso/Getty Images

Where did self-belief come from? Why did it surface now, at age 28, more than a decade into this drill? No one really knows, not even Wawrinka. But as he roamed the halls of the tennis center afterwards, he passed a montage of past champions, large action. All the "celebrity coaches" of this event: Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl and Stefan Edberg. All the players who had been preventing him from getting those big trophies: Djokovic, Federer, Nadal. Wawrinka gets his space now. And if he remains in the Land of Confidence, he might well get more.