Australian Men's Tennis In Despair!

I am not sure it was with shock when I read this article on Marinko Matosevic who could be Australia's new Number 1 male tennis player but horror!.Yep WTF.It was coming but the day is soon upon us ,Aussie men's tennis is a joke!This is Marinko's background.

Born in Bosnia and raised in Melbourne, Matosevic went into the final round of the Wimbledon qualifying event sitting on enough ranking points to overtake Hewitt even if he did not qualify for the main draw and Hewitt manages to win two rounds next week.

But Matosevic's points have not come in the top flight of tennis.

In fact the man with a strong chance of becoming the No 1 Australian has in his whole career won just one match in a top-flight ATP event, a straight-sets win over France's Michael Llodra in the first round of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

The only grand slam events he has played are the past two Australian Opens, when he lost each time in the first round.

He has started in four other ATP 1000 tour events, losing in the first round each time.He is 25 years old.He is drawn to play the 25 th seed Chela from Argentina not known for his grass court prowess so in with a slight chance. The guy he could overtake is Aussie Battler Lleyton Hewitt who has drawn Kei Nishikori and even if Hewitt takes the court it will be sayonara and retire!Hewitt is around 130 and Marinko 150 next is Tomic who is drawn against the Russian and 29th seed Davydenko and this is certainly winnable for Tomic as the Russian has not got a great Wimbledon track record.Mathew Ebden 24yrs and ranked 159 did not get through qualifying as did our 5th top ranking male Peter Luzak who is 189.

Only Tomic has age on his side and could if lucky make top 100!Ok whats under the top 5?Don't hold your breath with the next group who lie between 200-300 in the world.Carsten Ball learnt his tennis in the USA is 209 and 24 years of age,Greg Jones 22yrs and 224 is hardly making a name for himself,James Lemke is 23 and 224,Chris Guccione who lost to Marinko last round of qualifying is 25 and 226 whilst John Millman is 22 and 256 is the last in this group.Which one of these guys could break through? None is the plain truth!

Ok it gets worse!! In the next group of 300-400 we have only three males,Brydan Klein 310 he is 21 ,Samuel Groth 338 and 23 and Dayne Kelly 20 and 387.Too low in rankings and these guys are doing it tough trying to improve, at the same time watching their bank accounts go into the red!.

The 400-500 group contains a group around the same age and could achieve some success.Benjamin Mitchell at 19 and last years junior Wimbledon finalist is 418.His latest results are so so.The Brits are winning against this guy!

SINGLES
Eastbourne Qualifying Draw				Great Britain
TE	11 Jun 2011 to 12 Jun 2011		Entry: DA	Grass (O)
32	L	Donald YOUNG (USA)		1-6 7-6(5) 3-6
Queen's Qualifying Draw				Great Britain
TE	04 Jun 2011 to 05 Jun 2011		Entry: DA	Grass (O)
32	L	Marcus WILLIS (GBR)		6-3 6-7(5) 2-6
South Africa F2 Futures				South Africa
FU	23 May 2011 to 28 May 2011		Entry: DA	Hard (O)
32	W	Alexei FILENKOV (RUS)		6-3 6-0
16	L	Denes LUKACS (HUN)		3-6 2-6
South Africa F1 Futures				South Africa
FU	16 May 2011 to 21 May 2011		Entry: DA	Hard (O)
32	W	Denes LUKACS (HUN)		6-4 6-2
16	W	Mark FYNN (ZIM)		6-7(2) 6-2 6-4
QF	L	Lewis BURTON (GBR)		6-1 1-6 6-7(8)

The next is Colin Ebelthite at 26 and 438 forget this guy.Michael Look at 23 is 459 ,below are his recent results.

SINGLES
Spain F20 Futures				Spain
FU	14 Jun 2011 to 19 Jun 2011		Entry: DA	Hard (O)
32	W	David SOUTO (VEN)		7-5 6-4
16	W	Igor BUJDO (POL)		6-1 6-2
QF	W	Carlos GOMEZ-HERRERA (ESP)		6-2 6-3
SF	L	Arnau BRUGUES-DAVI (ESP)		3-6 7-6(5) 3-6
Queen's Qualifying Draw				Great Britain
TE	04 Jun 2011 to 05 Jun 2011		Entry: DA	Grass (O)
32	L	Matthew EBDEN (AUS)		4-6 7-6(1) 3-6
South Africa F2 Futures				South Africa
FU	23 May 2011 to 28 May 2011		Entry: DA	Hard (O)
32	W	Hassan NDAYISHIMIYE (BDI)		6-4 6-1
16	W	Lewis BURTON (GBR)		7-6(2) 6-4
QF	L	Joshua MILTON (GBR)		2-6 6-2 6-7(7)
South Africa F1 Futures				South Africa
FU	16 May 2011 to 21 May 2011		Entry: DA	Hard (O)
32	W	Jarryd BOTHA (RSA)		4-6 6-4 6-1
16	L	Lewis BURTON (GBR)		6-7(5) 5-7

Finally James Duckworth 489 and 19 years old is our last player ranked in this group.Now Duckworth has been playing futures in Poland and getting results as you can see below.

SINGLES
Poland F4 Futures				Poland
FU	07 Jun 2011 to 12 Jun 2011		Entry: DA	Clay (O)
32	W	Maverick BANES (AUS)		6-2 6-4
16	W	Erik CHVOJKA (CAN)		6-4 1-6 7-6(5)
QF	W	Pavol CERVENAK (SVK)		6-3 3-6 6-3
SF	W	Grzegorz PANFIL (POL)		7-6(1) 6-4
FR	W	Peter TOREBKO (GER)		6-3 3-6 6-4
Poland F2 Futures				Poland
FU	24 May 2011 to 29 May 2011		Entry: DA	Clay (O)
32	W	Maciej SMOLA (POL)		7-6(5) 3-6 6-2
16	W	Piotr GADOMSKI (POL)		6-2 6-4
QF	W	Blazej KONIUSZ (POL)		6-3 6-2
SF	W	Jerzy JANOWICZ (POL)		7-6(3) 7-6(5)
FR	L	Marcin GAWRON (POL)		4-6 2-6
Poland F1 Futures				Poland
FU	16 May 2011 to 22 May 2011		Entry: DA	Clay (O)
32	W	Sebastian CHYLINSKI (POL)		7-6(1) 6-3
16	W	Matthew BARTON (AUS)		2-6 6-1 7-5
QF	W	Blazej KONIUSZ (POL)		7-6(2) 6-1
SF	W	Jiri SKOLOUDIK (CZE)		7-6(3) 6-7(6) 6-3
FR	W	Grzegorz PANFIL (POL)		6-3 6-4
Great Britain F7 Futures				Great Britain
FU	10 May 2011 to 14 May 2011		Entry: DA	Clay (O)
32	W	George MORGAN (GBR)		6-4 6-1
16	W	Josh GOODALL (GBR)		6-4 5-7 7-6(4)
QF	W	Carlos POCH-GRADIN (ESP)		6-2 7-5
SF	L	Yannick MERTENS (BEL)		4-6 2-6

Now the biggest question is can Duckworth step up to the better tournaments now?Maybe just maybe Duckworth could be the player to stop the despair.

You can read the Marinko rankings story HERE. Also Craig Tiley's spin on Aussie men's tennis that headlines .TILEY BULLISH ABOUT FUTURE OF MEN'S TENNIS and if you had a "it" to the Bullish then you probably get the true interpretation I got.HERE.My advice is to work harder , get rid of face book for a year( to the younger juniors) or so, drop the texting , get a realistic approach to where you are in the world and work 3 times as hard as you have been doing.Australia just have 16 men in the top 500 tennis player Worldwide, compared to Spain who has 37 , 14 of which are top 100.France has 45 players in top 500.Serbia just has 9 one of those is Djokovic.Germany has 30 inside top 500.The USA 31.Serbia shows that small country's can produce, so why cannot Australia ? Again the question is not in finding athletes , its finding athletes or tennis players with discipline.

The Ladies draw shapes up as an interesting battle, with no clear cut winner.The Williams sisters return certainly complicate the eventual outcome.Below are the quarter with a short summary on what I think will happen.
Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) v Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP
Sania Mirza IND v Virginie Razzano FRA
Anastasia Rodionova AUS v Andrea Hlavackova CZE
Alona Bondarenko UKR v Jarmila Gajdosova AUS (27) 
Dominika Cibulkova SVK (24) v Mirjana Lucic CRO
Polona Hercog SLO v Johanna Larsson SWE
Mathilde Johansson FRA v Heather Watson GBR
Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP v Julia Goerges GER (16) 
Samantha Stosur AUS (10) v Melinda Czink HUN
Anastasiya Yakimova BLR v Sofia Arvidsson SWE
Elena Baltacha GBR v Qualifier
Kirsten Flipkens BEL v Shuai Peng CHN (20) 
Lucie Safarova CZE (31) v Lucie Hradecka CZE
Klara Zakopalova CZE v Emily Webley-Smith GBR
Angelique Kerber GER v Laura Robson GBR
Anna Chakvetadze RUS v Maria Sharapova RUS (5)


Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki have been seeded to meet in this quarter.Wozniacki should get to play either Stosur or Sharapova.The only one I feel confident in tipping is Maria to get through.Dont put your life savings on either Slamming Sam or Woznevergoingtowin.


Na Li CHN (3) v Alla Kudryavtseva RUS
Sabine Lisicki GER v Anastasija Sevastova LAT
Jie Zheng CHN v Zuzana Ondraskova CZE
Qualifier v Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA (30) 
Ana Ivanovic SRB (18) v Melanie Oudin USA
Coco Vandeweghe USA v Eleni Daniilidou GRE
Kristina Barrois GER v Petra Cetkovska CZE
Olga Govortsova BLR v Agnieszka Radwanska POL (13) 
Marion Bartoli FRA (9) v Qualifier
Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP v Romina Oprandi ITA
Evgeniya Rodina RUS v Chanelle Scheepers RSA
Irina-Camelia Begu ROU v Flavia Pennetta ITA (21)
Maria Kirilenko RUS (26) v Alberta Brianti ITA
Qualifier v Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ
Simona Halep ROU v Bojana Jovanovski SRB
Aravane Rezai FRA v Serena Williams USA (7)


This quarter could provide a lot of upsets Serena Williams and Na Li are seeded to meet. Rezai will give Serena a good warm up first up,and how Na Li has survived her win in the French Open more expectations on her shoulders here and I dont think she will handle it, look for an upset.Serena Williams is my tip to come through this quarter.Ana Ivanovic will also be an early casualty ,tipping the American to put paid to her first up.


Francesca Schiavone ITA (6) v Jelena Dokic AUS
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE v Qualifier
Ayumi Morita JPN v Tamira Paszek AUT
Christina McHale USA v Ekaterina Makarova RUS (28) 
Shahar Peer ISR (22) v Ksenia Pervak RUS
Sorana Cirstea ROU v Pauline Parmentier FRA
Qualifier v Qualifier
Greta Arn HUN v Andrea Petkovic GER (11) 
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (14) v Qualifier
Vesna Dolonts RUS v Nadia Petrova RUS
Kateryna Bondarenko UKR v Alize Cornet FRA
Sara Errani ITA v Kaia Kanepi EST (17)
Daniela Hantuchova SVK (25) v Qualifier
Qualifier v Qualifier
Sandra Zahlavova CZE v Iveta Benesova CZE
Magdalena Rybarikova SVK v Victoria Azarenka BLR (4)


Schiavone is seeded to meet Azarenka this wont happen!Schiavone could be a first round casualty against Jelena Dokic who is 3-0 in head to head and has good grass court form ,should be a great match.I need a clairvoyant to tip this quarter , its beyond me!


Petra Kvitova CZE (8) v Qualifier
Naomi Broady GBR v Anne Keothavong GBR
Rebecca Marino CAN v Patricia Mayr-Achleitner AUT
Vera Dushevina RUS v Roberta Vinci ITA (29)
Yanina Wickmayer BEL (19) v Varvara Lepchenko USA
Anastasia Pivovarova RUS v Anna Tatishvili GEO
Jill Craybas USA v Alexandra Dulgheru ROU
Shuai Zhang CHN v Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (12) 
Jelena Jankovic SRB (15) v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP
Monica Niculescu ROU v Sybille Bammer AUT
Katie O'Brien GBR v Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN
Akgul Amanmuradova UZB v Venus Williams USA (23)
Tsvetana Pironkova BUL (32) v Qualifier
Vania King USA v Petra Martic CRO
Elena Vesnina RUS v Laura Pous-Tio ESP
Alison Riske USA v Vera Zvonareva RUS (2) 


This section again look for plenty of upsets,I like Kvitova who I think will come through to play Venus Williams ,again this section will have plenty of upsets. Punters beware the Ladies field this year will be full of surprises.

Wimbledon -The Draw and how it shapes up! -The Mens

The much anticipated Wimbledon draw was made yesterday and here is my summary of how the early rounds shape up  ,firstly the men's.


Rafael Nadal ESP (1) v Michael Russell USA
Pablo Andujar ESP v Ryan Sweeting USA
Gilles Muller LUX v Tommy Haas GER
Fabio Fognini ITA v Milos Raonic CAN (31) 

Heading the top of the draw is defending champion Rafael Nadal who has drawn journeyman Michael Russell unless Rafa plays with no strings he will be in the 2nd round with out much trouble.This section features Tommy Haas who is trying to make a come back and the match up of this part of the draw will be Fognini vs Milos Raonic ,of course Fognini had to withdraw with injury in the French and Raonic who boasts the best serve on tour will I think be too good and he shapes up as going through to meet Nadal,anyone that serves huge at Wimby is a dangerous opponent so Rafa will have to be at his game if he does play the young Canadian.


Mardy Fish USA (10) v Marcel Granollers ESP
Philipp Kohlschreiber GER v Denis Istomin UZB
Robin Haase NED v Pere Riba ESP
Radek Stepanek CZE v Fernando Verdasco ESP (21)

This quarter won't excite too many, One of my least favorite player on tour Mardy Fish heads this section,just a boring tennis player in my mind.A fall in rankings by Fernando Verdasco who is seeded 21 this year plays Stepanek will be close I think and not confident Verdasco will get through.Kohlschreiber the german is always hard to beat at Wimbledon and he may well be the player to beat in this part of the draw.Certainly one of the weakest quarters of the draw which favors Nadal's run if he gets through his section which he should.


Juan Ignacio Chela ARG (25) v Qualifier
Donald Young USA v Alex Bogomolov Jr. USA
Qualifier v Julien Benneteau FRA
Filippo Volandri ITA v Tomas Berdych CZE (6)

 On paper Berdych gets this quarter easily ,his recent grass court results have been nothing to right home about but he will and should get through,Chela the other seed in this section is a clay courter and Donald Young keeps failing to deliver,Can't see any upsets here but then again it is Wimbledon.

Andy Murray GBR (4) v Daniel Gimeno-Traver ESP
Tobias Kamke GER v Blaz Kavcic SLO
Sergiy Stakhovsky UKR v Daniel Cox GBR
Ivan Ljubicic CRO v Marin Cilic CRO (27) 

Murray Mania starts here ,the trick shots wont help but he probably does have enough up his sleeve to get past these players.Ljubicic and Cilic looks to be a great first round match up.Cilic has tested Murray before but his current form is not great.

Richard Gasquet FRA (17) v Santiago Giraldo COL 
Igor Kunitsyn RUS v Qualifier
Qualifier v Qualifier
Potito Starace ITA v Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (14) 

Another interesting section I think Gasquet and Wawrinka will fight this one out,whats interesting the winner of this part of the draw most likely will play Murray so this part of the draw is a "hot"one.


Gael Monfils FRA (9) v Matthias Bachinger GER 
Qualifier v Robert Kendrick USA
Arnaud Clement FRA v Qualifier
Ivo Karlovic CRO v Janko Tipsarevic SRB (23) 

Monfils at least entertains ,especially his facial expressions!Looks good in this section but as we know his results are so unpredictable, Tipsarevic and Karlovic will provide the match of the section with Karlovic and his serve at his best at Wimbledon.I am tipping Karlovic to get this one.Some quality matches at least here.


Thomaz Bellucci BRA (30) v Rainer Schuettler GER 
Feliciano Lopez ESP v Michael Berrer GER
Jaroslav Pospisil CZE v Victor Hanescu ROU
Qualifier v Andy Roddick USA (8)

You would think Roddick is a "shoe in" and looking at the players here he should be,his best days are way behind him and he might come through here but A rod will not be getting to the final but like always will be out there giving the best he can.


David Ferrer ESP (7) v Benoit Paire FRA 
Ivan Dodig CRO v Qualifier
Carlos Berlocq ARG v Qualifier
Andrey Golubev KAZ v Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ESP (26) 


Watching these clay courter's play on grass is like watching paint dry!Berlocq the Argentinian has been in good form of late.Ferrer should come through but Dodig could be a surprise.


Alexandr Dolgopolov UKR (22) v Fernando Gonzalez CHI
Qualifier v Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo ESP
Grigor Dimitrov BUL v Qualifier
Qualifier v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (12) 

Loaded with qualifiers but also loaded with talent.Tsonga heads the list but the unorthodox Dolgopolov along with former junior champion Dimitrov make this part of the draw very attractive.Tsonga has had good recent form but there are players here that will test him.


Nicolas Almagro ESP (16) v Jarkko Nieminen FIN 
John Isner USA v Nicolas Mahut FRA
Somdev Devvarman IND v Denis Gremelmayr GER
Juan Monaco ARG v Mikhail Youzhny RUS (18)

The biggest story overnight was the first round match up of Mahut and Isner who made history last year with their epic match!Will they be drawn on the same court?Isner has been playing pretty well so it may not be like last year whilst Mahut has been struggling.Isner could be a danger in this half against the seeds.


David Nalbandian ARG (28) v Julian Reister GER 
Florent Serra FRA v Andreas Haider-Maurer AUT
Adrian Mannarino FRA v Qualifier
Mikhail Kukushkin KAZ v Roger Federer SUI (3)


Federer will win this part of the draw with his eyes shut.Say no more.


Robin Soderling SWE (5) v Philipp Petzschner GER
Kei Nishikori JPN v Lleyton Hewitt AUS
Igor Andreev RUS v Teymuraz Gabashvili RUS
Qualifier v Nikolay Davydenko RUS (29) 

Soderling should come through but no certainty ,Nishikori should put paid to former champ Hewitt...retire Lleyton! Davydenko never performs here and his current results show him slipping down the rankings.Petzschner will test Soderling first up.
A competitive section of the draw for sure.


Florian Mayer GER (20) v Daniel Evans GBR 
Xavier Malisse BEL v Mischa Zverev GER
Ernests Gulbis LAT v Dmitry Tursunov RUS
Alejandro Falla COL v Jurgen Melzer AUT (11) 


Really the seeds are just on paper look for upsets here in this section.No Wimbledon winner here.


Viktor Troicki SRB (13) v Maximo Gonzalez ARG
Yen-Hsun Lu TPE v Tommy Robredo ESP
Ricardo Mello BRA v Qualifier
James Ward GBR v Michael Llodra FRA (19)

If fit Troicki is a very hard player to beat I cant see anyone here beating him.Llodra is suited to grass with his serve and volley approach , Robredo is never going to win Wimbledon and a Brit who has had decent form will certainly push Llodra.Would not be surprised if an upset happened in this match.No dangers here although Troicki does push Djokovic who is in the next section.


Marcos Baghdatis CYP (32) v James Blake USA 
Andreas Seppi ITA v Albert Montanes ESP
Kevin Anderson RSA v Illya Marchenko UKR
Jeremy Chardy FRA v Novak Djokovic SRB (2)

So where has Novak been? His lead up to Wimbledon has been low key electing not to play a lead up tournament.Can his game hold up on grass, its not a straight forward section he is in with some talented players here.Baghdatis is a player that can rise to the big occasions.Kevin Anderson is a player that should be at home on the grass huge frame with big serve.

Wimby Updates

Wimbledon 2012 the extinction of the Aussies

Wimbledon to me is still the tournament to win, thats the one as a kid I waited up till 1 am watching the great Aussies Laver, Court,Goolagong,Rosewall and Newcombe.Over the years Pat Cash,Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter kept the tradition going... this year the Australian competitors except for Stosur are on the verge of extinction.Most Aussies this year are playing qualifying ,household names such as Tomic,Peer,Ebden and Jones.....NOT.War horse Hewitt is Maindraw but his day in the Sun has come and gone as quickly as the change in the Men's game passed Hewitt's game.Hewitt loved a target but the game now most of the Men are prepared to trade ground strokes from the baseline..........even I dare say on grass at Wimbledon.Stosur is not mobile enough to win this tournament and whilst may get past a few rounds ,she wont be holding this years trophy. I am sure some of our legends will be in attendance as spectators but there wont be any fellow Aussies to cheer on.Tennis Australia again will come under scrutiny as I tip the most disastrous year yet for Australian Tennis at Wimby.Why is it that we can't compete with the rest of the world, its not the lack of Clay Courts its simply the lack of quality opponents the base is too small and the "dog eat dog" attitude is not strong enough.Tomic touted as a future champion is simply not doing enough his game was good in the Junior Level but he did not possess any thing special, except he could out smart the other juniors.

The other's you may as well put them in the same boat ...just have not got it full stop!What are these Junior tennis players prepared to sacrifice to make it as a Tennis Player, I say not enough its not that we cannot swing the racquet its because of our mental and discipline approach, like the Americans we come from a "land of the free" its too easy to do things material  such as the latest mobile phone, the ipods, the parties its all at our feet.Our parents have changed also along with the times, its the kids that dictate and our parents are not strong enough to keep the materials things out of their children's life.There is no Harry Hopman to mentor the young players, money has changed that ,  parents  change coaches searching for the "yellow brick road" only to find that by clicking the Ruby red slippers all you get is back to "Dubbo "No one is prepared to work really hard! parents and players want a quick fix, yes Tennis Australia the answer is Clay courts....come on the answer is in society and how we address every day life, get your head around that and maybe just maybe we could find another Laver and Court.The rest of the World is working harder and sacrificing more......the bottom line is were not!

Wimby Thoughts

The Tip Of The Iceberg

Parents and observers of a match will often come up with the obvious feature of their child's losing match,In this match "little Duncan lost with many backhands going long over the baseline.This is just the tip of the iceberg,what lies under the surface often goes unnoticed.That is the secret of good coaching is being able to determine the factors that cause the inconsistency to happen.I have listened to a few Coaches giving advice to players , "look to beat this opponent you have to slice low across court with your backhand" , one problem the player cannot hit slice! Beware of coaches that give you tactical advice on the spot , if you have not practiced this in training forget about it and look to work on this at a later date .....NOT THE MATCH.I commented on my last post that Federer made 57 unforced errors , his team and coaches must look below the "tip" and come up with technical and tactical reasons.Good coaches will always look below the tip it is these coaches that truly understand the game.If you find one ...a coach that is ...keep them!

A True Champion

With the dust now settled at Roland Garros at the end of the day both Men, Nadal and Federer have won all four major Grandslam titles ...they now play for history and to be etched with the true tennis greats of all time.When Federer beat Djokovic in the Semi's the Nadal camp breathed a sigh of relief as Uncle Tony said in a press report "The game of Rafael is not too good for Roger," Toni said, adding that Federer's "mentality against Rafael is not the best." Nadal leads Head to Head against Rodger 17-8 so one would have to agree with this.Federer made 56 unforced errors to Nadal's 27 in a match such as this a very significant statistic.Whilst Rafa did not serve as many aces as Rodger , he did have the edge on winning second serve percentages.Mentally Rafa is tougher and does not give so many free points away,when the pressure was mounting during the week his uncle Tony had some wise words to say  'Stay calm. Winning or losing won't change your life.'" He did and the rest is history.I do believe it would of been a different match up with the Djoker.The mental side in tennis is so important and thats where tennis players in New Zealand suffer.They grow up in an environment that if you reach the top of your age group then you have done so without too much competition.Because of this we have a strange perception of working hard and what sacrifices you have to make to get to the top.We simply dont work hard enough , we simply are not tough mentally,we look at our local rankings and set training accordingly.Parents and players are easily conned by local coaches setting "Wimbledon Dreams".No tennis player will succeed without discipline this is a fact and New Zealander's can dream all they want, until Parents and players get their head around this we wont be producing top 100 players .Marina Erakovic is an exception she is one player who I think had the Mentality and discipline to succeed.I will devote another blog post in the future to why New Zealand tennis players are just not "tough enough" and why we have more prima donna's playing game than most country's.Young juniors out there in Tennis Land use Rafael Nadal and his ethics as a role model, lets hope you have the mental fortitude to emulate Nadal! Congratulations Rafa bring on Wimbledon!

Enough of the WE! DAD

Don't coaches get sick of parents that talk in the "We" Dad who when he steps out on the court is really just and average B player often parts his great tennis experience on their child.Coaches cringe at the tactical advice Dad is giving!They then rock up to the next coaching lesson with the pro for their child and the introduction goes a little like this Father"We had this awesome game plan,we executed it in the second set ,we hit our backhand well but our serve let us down,we really felt disappointed that we waited to 0-6 0-5 to execute the plan,we must try to do it earlier in the match next time,I think we should work on the backhand today.WE WE WE.Usually the child does not do much thinking for himself,the child is prone to emotional breakdown on the court with tears, the child does not play the match his Father does.The worst kind of parent are those living their sporting dream through their child!The best parents are the ones that rock up watch and support their child win or lose and if they do have a good coach that watches matches then they let the coach deal with all things tennis.These parents are nearly extinct in New Zealand.


On Thursday's I have an enjoyable trip out to Geraldine to coach 8 enthusiastic young tennis players.Thanks to the Mulligan's whose home court we use the juniors can keep their tennis going over winter.Pictured below are the young juniors from this weeks practice.

I am sorry I have not updated the French Open but will try to give a pre final post, today Nadal takes on Murray and whilst reports Rafa is low on confidence he will beat Murray .Federer takes on the unstoppable Djoker!I would love to think Roger can beat him but Novak will exploit Feds great shot selection and will break him down in the unforced error department. I hope I am wrong!

All Tennis Coaches are equal -----NOT!

Lets just talk about an absurd statement I heard the other day when describing Tennis Coaches "all tennis coaches are equal" Yeh like fun "mate" First of all a lot of so call part timers call themselves tennis coaches, I even know of a few that have passed a Community Coaches Course call themselves qualified.I have already wrote about the various coaches you can find , here is the Link To the STORY.All coaches are not equal thats for sure, some can specialize in beginner tennis some can be very good with the tournament level kids and some you should not even waste your time with.


My "spin" is a lot of parents go from coach to coach looking for that magic formula ....Wake up it does not exist ! Find a coach that will tell you everything you want to hear, your on a very short pathway with your child, probably in the end they(child) will just go "camping" or ride a surfboard. 


Some of the toughest coaches are the best coaches because they actually care!They generally know that your child is under-performing, needs a little jolt to get the best out of them, my experience its the parents that can't take the discipline , Well Mums and Dads.....Tennis is a disciplined game! 


All coaches are not equal, I have the secret to success , you want to be a pro tennis player email me and I will tell you exactly the secret.What happens in New Zealand most of the juniors that appear in the rankings are children with good financial support from parents.They get the best, clothes, racquet's and when they lose and throw a tantrum they even get a kiss from Mommy.See where I am going?No one is tough enough this side of the world especially in this country. Many of the "juniors" with heart are forced to give up or change sports!They cant afford to keep going , what have we left the "prima donna's" where money has got them wins at a certain level!When they have to "raise the bar" and find that Mummy is no longer on the side lines telling them to
"eat a banana" at the change of ends  ,they have to actually think for themselves! ,this is where the player is found out "when the going gets tough the tough get going" Are all coaches equal No because the majority are telling their pupils they are the next Wimbledon Champion and buying your Mom a coffee.

Down!! but is Rafa Out?

Again Djokovic beat Nadal on clay and in straight sets . From what i saw watching ,Nadal was outplayed again in all aspects.Djokovic was savage on Nadal's second serve and hit over twice as many winners than Rafa.Nadal tried a change of tactics with more higher balls to Djoker...that did not work as often Novak returned the favor with more pace and control.The difference is the backhand , Djokovic is hitting his with speed and precision , Nadal on the other hand with the pressure Djoker is putting on him is often short, he tried his signature move to run around that side when given the chance but often the ball was too deep and when he did get around it he left an open court for Djokovic to hammer.


This battle is making the French Open more attractive and it certainly would make an interesting final if both should make it. Don't write Nadal off yet at this stage he's Down but Not Out.

New Rivalry

The only person that can beat Nadal at Roland Garros is Novak Djokovic as seen at the weekend when he beat Rafa in the final of Madrid.Watching the match I have to say that Nadal was beaten by a better player on the day.Forget the Federer/Nadal rivalry its a no contest , Fed is on his last legs and it will be hard for him to reach another grandslam final.Nadal maybe had a wake up call he has to come up with a better game plan against Djoker , whilst in the interviews he says his forehand side was not as good as it could be, Djokovic really pressed Nadal's backhand side , whilst Novak's backhand was excellent! Djokovic also moved better and outlasted Nadal on the long rally's which must be a real worry to Uncle Tony!Below are some excerpts from both players press conference after the final.


Djokovic 

Q: Beating Rafa on clay in Spain must be very special?
A: It is a very special day for me because it’s the first time I managed to Rafa on clay I’ve played a great match from the first to the last point. I got to the court believing I can win and that was the only way that I could get a win in the end.


Q: What you have been doing since the start of the year has almost been real: do you get the feeling that it is almost a dream?
A: No, I’m trying to stay dedicated and focussed on what I do. There are no secrets. Things came together for me. I am a more mature player and more matured person so I just know what to do on and off the court. Luckily for me I have a great team of people with me on and off the court that shares the ups and downs with me so for me then it’s easier to perform well on the court and relieve the pressure and everything that comes with professional tennis. I am trying to think about winning and not about losing. I know that this run that I have is really incredible but I try to think about how long it’ll go and when I will be beaten. It’s how many more wins I’m going to have. Every time I go on the court I’m motivated to win and not thinking that this is the day I’ll lose.


Q: As well as your play, you have to manage your physical conditions and well because you’re playing so many matches; how are you feeling at the moment?
A: I feel great. The only day I felt a bit heavy on the court was yesterday. Today I felt fresh on the court. It was an exhausting match both mentally and physically and that’s normal against the world no.1 and every point took maybe 10/15 rallies at least so I needed to work hard for my points but I managed to do it really well. I’ve been in the situation before where I win a tournament and have to play the following week. I know what to do. I have a great team of people with me who know what to do so I’m sure I can recover.


Q: Nadal said that with this trend he will not be able to keep the no.1?
A: If I keep winning I’ll get closer but I’m trying not to think about that. I just started the clay court season. It was a perfect start with the two tournaments that I won and I need to stay dedicated and focussed on the upcoming events because if I want to reach no.1 I have to play consistent because that’s what Rafa will do and the rest of the players. It has changed, I have a different mindset right now, I’m more stable and I know how to think right.


Q: You’ve won Australia, Indian Wells, Miami but beating Rafa here in Spain, is that the biggest accomplishment of the lot?
A: Probably it’s up there at the top. I agree that under the circumstances I was playing an unbelievable match. But I was expecting all that – playing him here at home in front of his people. I know how it is; two years ago we played another great match. All three matches that we played this year were really long and were decided by a few points so am just happy to be able to play the best tennis when I needed to. This was something that was lacking in the past. I didn’t believe enough that I could win against Rafa or Roger at these big tournaments but now it’s different.


Q: You’re now even favourite to win Roland Garros. Do you feel like that?
A: I think that Rafa is still the favourite. I’ve never won Roland Garros. I’ve played a couple of times in the semis. Probably because of my winning streak I am one of the favourites but Rafa has lost only one match in his career there. It is my goal for this season to try to go all the way in Roland Garros and I’m setting up my form for that.


Q: You were 4-0 up in the first set and then he came back; did you think that you were in danger?
A: I had a great start to the set and it was my fault that I dropped two breaks and let him back into the match. I know that Rafa will never give up. He’s a great competitor and he never gives you any free points so I know I had to play well especially at this level because things can turn around easily. 


Nadal

Q. I suppose that you are sad for losing a final especially on clay considering that it was the 37th one without losing – matches that are not finals?
A. In front of me I had a really good player. He’s playing at a really high level. We’ve got to accept that. When someone is better than you there is nothing you can do other than congratulate him and that’s it and look forward to your next tournament and try to keep up, see what you’re missing, what you’re doing right and face forward with the correct attitude nd with mental strength. You have to be cold, mentally speaking, and you have to look for solutions. Try to be better, try to practice and next time I’ll try to do better.


Q. Rafa you were saying the last day that to play very good is the exception; Today was one of those matches where things were not working the way you wanted?
A. No, things were not working out. I tried to go out there and do my best. It wasn’t my best day on clay – that’s a fact. I don’t think I played bad, I think I play average and playing average against Djokovic is not enough. That’s what happened today. You’ve got to play more aggressively but to do that you have to feel the forehand a bit more. His backhand did me some harm and I had to go a bit in the centre – there was nothing I could do about that. I will have to take that into account the next time. The match started bad and then I had to fight but he was better and I have to accept that. I’m sorry for the crowd, the people who have been supporting me here a lot and I’m really emotional playing on this court. Always playing in front of the Spanish crowd, especially the Madrid crowd is something unforgettable and I can only do it once a year.


Q. Do you have any opinion of Djokovic’s celebration out there? Do you think anything is going to change for Rome or Roland Garros especially due to the altitude?
A. I don’t know if anything is going to change. You’ve got to make things change, they don’t change by themselves. I’ve been having a really good season and if I hadn’t had someone like Djokovic on front of me, who has won all these matches, I would’ve been having a better season. But there is one who is having a better season than me and I have to accept that and give him my congratulations. an you change it? I’ve won two tournaments, I’ve made it to five finals, winning three, losing two and my season is quite positive. What am I going to change? It depends on me and on him, it’s not just the two of is – there are many factors. You don’t just play the final against Djokovic; you are fighting for it from the first round. About his celebration, well, each one can celebrate in the way and he can take his moment the way he wants. Good for him.


Q. Is it a psychological problem to lose three times against the same player and after seeing how Djokovic is playing are you frightened of losing no.1?
A. I don’t think I can lose no.1. If I lose no.1 it’s not the end of the world. If I lose it I will be no.2 and I’ll be very happy. I’m just happy to go out on court and have the feeling that I’m competitive and I still have this feeling but at the moment I haven´t been able to beat him but I’ll try to work and I try to beat him. The good things will come and you´ve got to be patient. I’ve won a lot of things in my career. I’m 25 years old and I’ve played more than I ever dreamed when I started. I thank the people who have been with me whether it was my family when I started or other people and I just have to be thankful for everything that I’ve got. I’ll be back. In your life there are highs and moments, I am not on a low, I’m on a high but my opponent is at the highest point in his life. I’m not going to make a drama when the other one is better than me.


Q.Rafa is this loss in Madrid tougher than the one in Indian Wells or Miami?
A. No, Miami’s loss was much tougher without doubts. I was much closer then to the victory and well then I finished destroyed physically, today it was different. No one likes to loss but I think that comparing loses- you know some are tougher than others, this one has a plus which is that we have played in clay, which is always something special. But to lose is normal you know, it’s not normal to get on the court win Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona… Those things are fake, they are movies and you only get to see these movies on TV. If no one has manage that in the history of tennis well it was pretty complicated that I managed it during two consecutive years. I am very happy I said that from the first moment. I am glad of everything that has happened to me till today. When I was playing my first match in Monte Carlo if anyone had come to me and told me to sign this 3 or 4 weeks ago, I would definitely do so. I am in a privileged position of the year, it’s true that the Race distances a little bit. But it´s also true that I have shorten 1500 points thanks to Barcelona and Monte Carlo, I get 400 more and also the distance from 3,4 and 5 are bigger now. My first objective of the year is to classify myself to London’s Master. Which is little by little closer, I don’t like to say that it’s done until it is not done mathematically talking. It’s pretty close; something really horrible must happen if I don’t manage to make it. I have to keep on working to continue meeting my goals and my goal right now is to end up us high as possible in the ranking, I’ve got to try and play my best in Rome, Roland Garros, Queens, Wimbledon…


Q. Rafa I would like to ask you about his mornings training. Did you finish with good feelings this morning?
A. Are you worried about my training? Well they were quite good actually; I started the match quite well. I started the point 40-0, I did a really good game, he did the break because I was unlucky, and he played really good though. Afterwards he has been playing really well; maybe I committed a couple of errors. He has played fantastically till the 4-0, he has been aggressive, didn’t commit any errors. And even when I was not playing that bad I didn’t have any options.


Q. Rafa what do you think were the important factors that decided today’s match?
A. I don’t think I played my best tennis. He played well had fantastic moments. It was very difficult to stop him when he played his backhand. It was very very aggressive and he opened the court very well. I think I played a little bit short at times. I have to play more aggressive with the forehand, when I touch the ball with the forehand it has to be better. That’s what I have to do in the next tournaments and not just against Djokovic. I think I practiced very well here before the tournament. I didn’t play my best in the semis and the final – the conditions here are always a bit more difficult but that’s not an excuse.


Q. Were you surprised by how he played, particularly those backhands?
A. He is plating fantastic. He is playing aggressive, without mistakes. His movements are incredible. I just have to congratulate him for all he’s doing wining all the matches this year. It’s something very difficult to repeat.


Q. You had a great match here with Novak two years ago….
A. I don’t think I had a great match two years ago here. I think I had a terrible match – very emotional for sure but I think I played probably worse than today.


Q: How much has he improved in those two years and what has he improved?
A. He’s playing very well; he’s playing with a lot of confidence. He’s focussed all the time. When you are winning every match you must be going something very good. He was always very good and when he plays with that confidence it’s very difficult to beat him. I don’t think he improves something unbelievable, he was always very good. He has a lot of talent to enter the court and control the position and he’s able to do it very do it easily which is an advantage.


You can read a lot into either interviews , but one thing that is clear they are the players that will reach the French Open Final unless a huge upset happens.The way Djokovic is playing he is the favorite in my mind.

A Delayed Post

Sorry readers I have been In Australia visiting my father who again has been a little unwell, I am enjoying the time here visiting my 103 year old grandmother also.Thanks for those that were concerned .I have been watching events from a far and will give my views on recent Nationals and Junior Davis and Fed Cups, again another year for non qualification to the World playoffs with the Boys 16s finishing 15th and the girls finished 8th not living up to their seeding of 4th for the event.

Just a word of support for Blenheim coach Michael Mooney , Michael has dared to stand up to a scene that happens far too often in New Zealand with  vindictive parents and boards that like to shaft coaches doing a good job.Keep it going Michael!!!I have lots of news and reports for everyone including an update on THE STALKER.! Back to New Zealand soon!