Fernando Gonzalez revamped his game and played extraordinary tennis on his way to becoming a surprise Australian Open finalist. Now, he's waiting for lightning to strike again.

Click here to see Gonzalez's reaction after reaching the Australian Open final.

Fernando Gonzalez is still amazed when he sits back and reflects on his play in Australia earlier this year.                          © Aaron Francis/Getty Images

Sets one and two against Lleyton Hewitt in the third round: 33 winners, two unforced errors.

Against James Blake in the fourth round: 24 winners, five unforced errors.

Against Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals: 41 winners, 16 unforced errors.

Against Tommy Haas in the semifinals: 42 winners, three unforced errors. (“And one was a really stupid one too!”)

It’s Gonzalez's game that makes those Australian Open numbers all the more staggering. In their prime, steady baseliners in the mold of Michael Chang or Lleyton Hewitt could regularly keep their unforced error count to single digits. But Gonzalez is to low-risk, high-percentage tennis like Rafael Nadal’s piratas are to Roger Federer’s legs – they just don’t go together.

“I am surprised, even today, because I never had a match with three unforced errors,” he said in Indian Wells this week.

He knows replicating such a flawless stretch will be difficult, but has already taken the first step – believing that he can. “I did it few times [in Australia], I think I can do it,” he said. “I know it’s tough to do it all year, but if I can do it a few times a year it’ll be really good for my tennis.”

For most of his career, Gonzalez has been known as the owner of one of the biggest forehands in the game, a player who goes for broke on almost every shot. The first hasn’t changed, but the second has, and it’s made all the difference. The man nicknamed "Gonzo" partly for his erractic, unpredictable play is now No. 5 in the world.

The old, machine-gun approach hadn’t served the 26-year-old from Chile too badly, bringing him seven ATP titles and making Gonzalez a semi-permanent fixture in the top 20. But last summer, Gonzalez decided he wanted to be more than just an upper-middle pro who could scare the top players on occasion but never walked off with the big prizes.

It wasn’t just about having a better career, but getting more out of it. He had been on the tour for over five years, and he was tired – tired of having to go out and hit every ball as hard as he could, of having to brace himself every time the ball came to his backhand, of having no plan B to turn to when things were going badly. Surely if his tennis was more fun, he would have more fun playing tennis.

To polish up his game, Gonzalez turned to Larry Stefanki, who coached Gonzalez’s compatriot Marcelo Rio to No. 1 and had also worked with John McEnroe, Yvegeny Kafelnikov and Tim Henman. Stefanki had ostensibly retired from being a touring coach, but the demand for his services was proving too strong. He was being approached for a possible position for Andy Murray at around the same time, but working with Gonzalez meant a less onerous travel schedule than working with the teenage Scot who needed someone on the road with him all the time.

For his part, Gonzalez liked the fact that Stefanki identified the same things in his game that he himself wanted to change. The two began working together right before tennis’ busiest season – the French Open and Wimbledon – but got down to work as soon as the two Slams were over.

They reworked his backhand and beefed up his volley by simplifying his motion and improving his positioning. During the off-season in December, Stefanki went to Chile – his first visit there since he stopped working with Rios – and the two spent 10 days there preparing for the new year. Gonzalez also dropped several pounds, adding a little credibility to the ‘Speedy’ prefix that’s often misleadingly applied to his name.

“I work really hard physically... five hours a day, every day. It was really, really good,” he said.

Gonzalez has kept his high-speed game, just adding a few gears to make it run more smoothly. “I improve rather than change,” he said. “Everyday we try to improve something.”

Unleashing his big forehand is still Fernando Gonzalez's favorite play, but he's doing more than just that these days.                       © Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Despite losing the Australian Open final to Federer – it was the third consecutive final in which Gonzalez found himself facing the world No. 1 – he was hailed as hero when he returned home the following week to play the ATP event in Vina del Mar. “I was coming right after the Australian Open, so people was really excited, they want to see and watch tennis. It was really nice moment,” he said.

Chilean tennis has had plenty to celebrate over the last decade, thanks to the trio of Rios, Nicholas Massu and Gonzalez.

Massu and Gonzalez grew up playing together, even contesting their first ATP final against each other at Orlando in 1998 – Gonzalez won the title as a qualifier. They remain close, and teamed together to win the doubles gold medal at the 2004 Olympics. Maussu also won the singles gold and Gonzalez the bronze – quite a haul for a country that had never won an Olympic gold in any discipline before.

They got an ecstatic reception when they arrived back in Chile three weeks later. “We went straight from the airport to have breakfast with the President,” said Gonzalez. “Back home, it was like thousands of people waiting to see us. It was huge.”

Gonzalez has fewer ties with the now-retired Rios, who is a few years older and much more prickly. Rios was a superstar in Chile and is still the highest-achieving player to come out of the country, but Gonzalez is more accessible and willing to show a soft side. During the Australian Open, he paused during one of his matches to pick up a moth on the court and put it out of harm's way. He's donating $200 to a charity house for every match he wins on tour this year, and also has one of tennis' quirkier endorsements, having been signed to promote advocados grown in the region.

“Maybe he wasn’t too close to the people. I like to be close to the people,” said Gonzalez of Rios.

Gonzalez was disappointed with his quarterfinal loss in Vina del Mar and Chile’s Davis Cup loss the following weekend: a chance to continue tennis’ momentum in Chile – and Chile’s momentum in tennis – was missed.

Then, having played four weeks in a row, he missed his next two scheduled events in Buenos Aires in Acapulco. It wasn’t a total loss: he travelled to Acapulco to explain his absence and also spent a few “fun” days there with his girlfriend, fellow pro Gisela Dulko, who was playing in the women’s event at the Mexican vacation spot.

He was eager to get back into action at Indian Wells, but rust showed when he came up against Haas again in the fourth round of Indian Wells. Haas, inspired by the memory of his Australian Open defeat, defeated Gonzalez in two easy sets. Gonzalez’s stats this time? 19 winners, 17 unforced errors.

But it’s all right – the Chilean has his newly-developed patience to draw on, and he's optimistic about the rest of the season. “In tennis, you have always the next opportunity,” he said.