Archives for January 2022

Rafa Nadal wins the Australian Open, now has 21 majors

January 31, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Who would have guessed that the Spaniard Rafa Nadal would keep moving, trying, throw in some new shots. He was down two sets to love against Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open, and it looked like that the Russian would continue to dominate.

While the 35-year-old Nadal will always to continue to fight, mentally, here and there, he got frustrated.

But not now.

Oh, he just wanted to push himself until the cows come home. And he did, minute after minute, and eventually, the No. 21 Grand Slam winner won it, 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

“If we put everything together, the scenario, the momentum, what it means … yeah, [it’s] probably the biggest comeback of my tennis career,” Nadal said.

Oh really, considering that he won some amazing matches in the finals of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. However, he said that the reason is because he could not play for five months due to an significant injury. So, when he came down to Australia, he wasn’t sure of himself, but he really wanted to attempt it.

He was not fantastic at the beginning, but each day, he started to be more consistent, and then he began to hit harder.

“I think during all my tennis career I have been improving in all the surfaces. That was always my goal, no, be better player in general terms,” said Nadal. “On hard? I think during the years I needed to adapt a little bit my game to it because I had a lot of problems, physical problems, so I needed to find a way to be competitive and to play sometimes more aggressive because I was not able to move that fast like in the beginning.”

He has improved so much. His backhand, at the net and his returns — which has always been very good — but now even though he is way back close to the back fence, he can hit it pretty deep.

The 6-feet-6 Medvedev really likes to play on the baseline, crosscourt, down the middle, and to re-adjust. His first serve is a blaster, and he only bounces the ball one to three times. He knows he can close his eyes.

However, in the fourth and the fifth set, he began to get nervous and he made some strange errors. It was 5-5 in the fifth, and he was there, tripping Nadal, but he backed off. The Russian was shocked that he lost, and later, when he talked in the press conference — before the questions began — he said: “I’m just talking about few moments where the kid stopped dreaming, and today was one of them. I’m not going to really tell why,” Medvedev said. “From now on I’m playing for myself, for my family, to provide my family, for people that trust in me, of course for all the Russians because I feel a lot of support there.

“I’m going to say it like this. If there is a tournament on hard courts in Moscow, before Roland Garros or Wimbledon, I’m going to go there even if I miss the Wimbledon or Roland Garros or whatever. The kid stopped dreaming. The kid is going to play for himself. That’s it.”

However, even though he was drained, he said that while he lost, he thinks that Nadal is so jaw-dropping when he puts on the show.

“Rafa is a lefty. Next time I’m probably going to say when two sets to love down,’Just do it like Rafa did against you,’ ” he said. “We all know Rafa fights. It’s not going to be surprising if I say this, ‘Suddenly, wow, Rafa fought today in the final of a slam.’ The way he managed to play throughout all these sets, even in the tough moments, for him it’s for making the history. Even for sure he tries not to think about this, it must have been somewhere in his head. Huge respect. Yeah, huge respect for beating me because I tried my best.”

Nadal now has two Grand Slams at the Australian Open, 13 majors at Roland Garros, two Wimbledon, and four at the US Open.

He is extremely happy, that he won, and now eventually, he can win another titanic tournament. But this week, it is all about joy.

“Of course, for me it’s amazing to achieve another Grand Slam at this moment of my career. Just means a lot to me. Of course, I know it’s a special number, 21. I believe today is an unforgettable day,” Nadal said. “I never will say I deserve, because I think a lot of people fight and a lot of people deserve. But I really believe that I hold a very positive spirit. For the last six months, I really fought a lot to try to be back on court. Have been very, very tough moments, moments to really. … Conversations, tough ones, because you don’t know if I going to have the chance to be back on the tour. I feel honored. I feel lucky to achieve one more very special thing in my tennis career. I don’t care much if I am the one or not the one or the best of the history. Means even more to achieve the second Australian Open more than any other thing.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Australian Open, rafa nadal

Ash Barty beats Danielle Collins, wins the home country crown

January 29, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

At what point did Ash Barty turn it around? Seven years ago, she quit, and she stopped playing tennis. She went back into Australia, and she put her rackets down. She had lost so many matches.

She was exhausted, mentally. So she decided to play cricket instead, which she likes a lot. However, after one year, it turned on the light. And she started to practice tennis frequently. When she felt that she was stroking on court, it was time to return at the WTA in 2016. It was slow, but better, each month. Her one-handed backhand was sharp, her forehand was powerful, her first serve was strong, and her return was focused.

The Aussie is now in full flight. She won Roland Garros on clay, Wimbledon on grass, and now at the Australian Open on the hardcourts, joining Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal with majors on each surface. She knows all of it now, and she is the best player out there, hands down.

Maybe this year, she can win the 2022 US Open, too.

“They are all very different, all very different stages of my life. I think to be able to have this feeling and experience this a few times over. I just understand how fortunate I am to be able to experience that, because not many people get to do that,” she said. “It’s just been an incredible journey over this past 20 years of hitting a tennis ball but particularly the last five or six years in this second phase of my career.

“I think being able to surround myself with amazing people who have invested so much time and effort and love into my career, and for them to be able to support me and to be able to experience it with me is really cool. I think our drive and determination and passion has always been the same right from the start. I think finding what we love to do and being able to then go out and compete and try and break down some of the barriers and try and achieve new things is really exciting for us always,.”

Barty did not lose a set, in seven matches over the past two weeks. In the final, she beat Danielle Collins 6-3 7-6(2). Still, Collins will rise to No. 10 and the top American woman.

The American was sharp in the second set, up 5-1, and she was blasting the ball. Collins can attack all the time, but she can miss, and perhaps it would have been a good idea to stay in the rallies, before it is time to rip it. But she did not, and all of a sudden, her first serves went astray. The errors came again, and Barty rose up. Her forehand was lethal, and her backhand was steady, with her slice, her spin and flat two-handers. Barty won four straight to even the set at 5-5.

“She did a great job on her service games in runs. She’d make a lot of first serves, and for the most part I was having to chip returns and just trying to find a way to get into points,” Barty said. “I think when I was able to be more aggressive, that was a change, and I was able to dominate with my forehand a bit more, particularly from being 5-1 down in the second set, I just found a lot more forehands and tried to work harder with my feet and take half chances and create forehands even if they probably weren’t there, and I wasn’t too concerned if I was going to miss them. It was more trying to change the look of the match than the outcome of the individual points.”

In the tiebreak, Barty had no fear, going for winner after winner. Staying very cool, she as found a way to keep her focus.

“As Australians, we’re extremely lucky to have the tennis history and the rich history that we do, particularly here at the Australian Open. But across all Grand Slams, we’ve had champions that have stemmed back years and years and years and have really set the platform for us to come through and try and do what we do and try and create our own path,” she said. “I know them more as a person. Those people that come to mind, Pat Rafter and Evonne (Goolagong), in the way that they handled themselves on the court, there’s just no one better. I think I’m a very, very small part of that. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing myself, but to be a very small part of an amazing history in tennis as an Australian is really, really neat.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: ash barty, Australian Open, danielle Collins

Australian Open semifinal: Daniil Medvedev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas

January 27, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Daniil Medvedev was on the verge of being ousted, sent onto the street and wave goodbye. He was down to sets to love, and Felix Auger-Aliassime was on fire. The Canadian was bouncing around, he was slapping the ball, going for the shots, and making it in. In the first set, he grabbed it, 7-6, and in the second set, Auger-Aliassime did it once again, leaping on the lines and took 6-3.

Medvedev was frustrated.

“The thoughts going through your head, like ‘What if I lose it? I’m going to be in the locker room in 10 minutes probably changing my flight to go back home and something.’ I had zero confidence after the two sets. He was playing insane, like better than I have ever seen him play. It was unreal.”

In the third set, Auger-Aliassime was so close to winning it that night, but the former US champion Medvedev kept his cool, and finally, he took control, keeping his head down. He recovered and hours later, he won it 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, 6-4.

“In a way, you just focus, you’re there, and at least me, I’m like, ‘Where do I serve, T or wide?’ Well, I decided to go wide, managed to make it,” No. 2 Medvedev said. “Because second serve is tough, second serve is where you’re like do I go for the big one, do I go for the safe one? Your hand is shaking a little bit more than on the first one and just slap it and pray. There were so many tough pressure points. I did handle them pretty well starting from the third set. I had zero confidence in myself and in the outcome of the match. I just tried to fight.”

He really fought. On Friday, he will face another a fine player, the No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Both of them are pretty young, and the Greek blitzed Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4 6-2. Tsitsipas played perfectly, but you never know what he feels the next day.

Medvedev beat a variety of players, even when he is playing so-so. It was not easy against Nick Kyrgios, Maxime Cressy and Auger-Aliassime. He also will have to play another top draw when he has to put Tsitsipas against the wall.

The No. 4 Greek has yet to win a Grand Slam, but he was right there at the final at Roland Garros, losing to Novak Djokovic in five amazing sets.

Now, Tsitsipas is ready. As he said, “I feel like I’m in the zone.”

Medvedev can be so steady, and then he can pound it and pound it again. He has always been a terrific first serve, and his massive forehand and backhand. But two years ago he started to improve his return, and also, when the tall man can bend down and put it away. He badly wants to raise the trophy again.

“I need to continue fighting and try to win next two matches. If it’s true, then it will be history. It’s perfect.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Australian Open, daniil medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Stefanos Tsitsipas

Shapovalov: ‘I’ve been doing much better, as I’ve grown’

January 24, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Canadian Denis Shapovalov played many tournaments last year. He traveled the world, probably too much, so he needed some time off. Even last year, he grabbed some big matches, such as the Wimbledon semis. But he would be mediocre, and he lost. In 2021, he was pretty good, but not great, yet. He won 30 matches, and 23 losses.

But this week, he grew up fast, with his strong forehand and backhand, and his return, too. On Saturday, he stunned Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. Going into the tournament, the German had a chance to win a Grand Slam, but in Melbourne, that day, the No. 3 was very flat. Yes, there were a few moments, when he began to turn it around, but he dumped in a number of key errors, and then he started to slid
But not so for the No. 14 Shapovalov, who was totally focused. He would bend down, he would jump in the air, and smack the ball. He kept on going, he locked in, sprinting side to side.

Now, on Tuesday, he will face 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafa Nadal. That is a gigantic challenge. Shapovalov is not favored but believes that he can upset the Spaniard. It is possible, but in Rome, on clay, Nadal beat him 7-6 in the third.

“I’m definitely expecting a long battle out there. Obviously, he makes you play a lot,” Shapovalov said. “His defense is very good. He’s very good at what he does. So gonna have to try to play my game, take it to him and keep doing what I have been doing; playing patient, fighting for every point, picking my spots to play aggressively.

“There was a lot of doubts once I got to Australia with the quarantine, having gotten COVID, not sure how I would take it, not sure I would be able to play ATP Cup. Obviously very happy with the way I’m feeling, coming out of quarantine, playing ATP Cup, had a little bit of doubts, wasn’t ready to play the first match and worked my way through the tournament and started to feel back to normal towards the end of that week,” Shapovalov said. “So it was a good sign. And then coming here, I had a couple of aches and wasn’t feeling 100% physically. So wasn’t practicing that much and just trying to prepare the body as best as possible.

“Yeah, just really happy with where I am in terms of my game, in terms of the level right now. Obviously, every day is different. But I feel like with every match I have gained a little bit of confidence and a little bit of comfort playing on these courts. I’m just pleased overall with my game so far and my fighting spirit. Yeah, just battling out in every single match. Hopefully I can continue going this way.”

In Canada, Shapovalov was a little bit too slow, but he practiced all the time on his footspeed. He can hustle, and chip it all around. The most important thing, though, he can be patient until it was right there and leap it on. That is why he knocked off Zverev.

“It’s definitely something I’ve been learning to do. Hasn’t come natural to me, unfortunately,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to play quick and go for my shots. But it’s difficult when you play a guy with the caliber like Sascha. You can’t go through him in one or two shots. You have to stay in the rallies, you have to work for the points. Then when you have an opportunity then you can swing in and go for it. It’s been a little bit of adapting to that. I’ve been doing it much better, as I’ve grown. Hopefully I can just continue to improve that and really know when to pick my moments to go for it and to play aggressive.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Alexander Zverev, denis Shapovalov, rafa nadal

Alize Cornet upsets Garbiñe Muguruza, but could retire soon

January 20, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

In 2006 at the Australian Open, Alize Cornet was ready to hop and start her Grand Slam career. She has never won a Grand Slam, but she has played the tournaments week after week when she was very good and mediocre.

On Wednesday in Melbourne, she played terrific, upsetting the No, 3 Garbiñe Muguruza 6-3, 6-3. After the match, she said that she played almost perfect. She was on top of the ball. Last week, as she said, she played awful Time is ticking now. So this year, she wants to have a lot of fun.

“Last week I played one of the worst match of my life in Adelaide. I was not free at all. I was, like, completely stressed,“ Cornet said. “I don’t feel this way yet maybe because it’s not so clear in my mind. I wish I could play relaxed like I did today on every match. That would make things so much easier.”

The 31-year-old might retire as the end of this year. She hasn’t decided yet. She is still pretty fast and she can scramble. Her forehand and her backhand are decent, but not fantastic. If she had better strokes, she would have gone into the quarterfinals at the Slams, but she hasn’t yet.

“This is pretty much how I feel that it’s going to go, playing a whole year, playing 100 percent, trying to beat this Grand Slam record of consecutive play in Grand Slam. After that I think it will be a good time for me to retire,” said Cornet who was won six titles. “I’m not sure. I don’t want to say it’s going to happen this way. I’m not closing any door to keep going. But I gave so much to this game and to this tennis life, yeah, I feel I’m pretty much ready for the next chapter. At least by the end of the year, I think I’ll be ready.”

There were some great days, and even months, when she understood how to play, the right way. However, when she was on the court, she could get nervous or angry when she misses. Her mental focus would waiver.

“There were definitely some tough times during my career, but I think it’s the same for everybody. Like everybody, I wanted to quit tennis many times because sometimes it’s just too painful to work and not to be rewarded for your work, to have some tough losses,” she said. “Sometimes you lose, for example, with match point. You go back to your hotel room and you go, ‘What’s the point of doing all that?’

“This is not an easy job. You’re on the road basically 10 months out of 12, so you never see your family. It’s really hard to have a love life. All these things around tennis make it complicated. But the love of the game has always been stronger. I’m telling myself that I’m playing probably my last year. I’m not sure yet. When I stepped on the court, I was like, ‘You know what, just enjoy the moment because you don’t know if you’re going to come back.’ I think that’s what made the difference.”

NOTES
Muguruza won the 2021 WTA Finals and it looked like the No. 3 was ready to win another Grand Slam. But not now. “It’s a tough day. I didn’t fell at all my game,” she said. “My serve wasn’t there. I think my shots weren’t there also. Tactically, I think I wasn’t doing the right decisions either. Yeah, a little bit surprised about my level. I am a little disappointed, too.” I would say so….

The 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz is on fire, and he really wants to reach into the second week. He is already very good.

Roberto Bautista Agut had a huge blowout, crushing Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1, 6-0, 6-3. “You have to give of course a lot of credit to Roberto, which I think played absolutely solid and maybe kind of a perfect match. But in tennis there are always two people involved. His level was great, and mine was maybe poor.”

Reilly Opelka and Taylor Fritz are still in the tournament. Maybe in the second week? That would be huge, given in the third round they will have to play Denis Shapovalov and Bautista Agut, respectively The Americans are the underdogs.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Alize Cornet, Australian Open, Garbiñe Muguruza, Reilly Opelka, Taylor Fritz

Men’s first round at Australian Open

January 16, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Here are four men’s matches in the first round at the Australian Open, with the men.

Rafa Nadal vs. Marcos Giron
The Spaniard is back. In the fall, he couldn’t not play because he was injured. But last week, he won another tournament, his 89th victory. As always, he has a big first serve, his amazingly good with his heavy forehand, and at the net, he is so consistent. If he stays healthy over the next two weeks, he certainly has a shot to win another Grand Slam, as he is now the only former champion in the field with Novak Djokovic gone. That would be 21 majors, which would be a huge victory. Giron had a good 2021, and it took him years to understand how to win at this level. In order to win more matches, and to move up the ladder, he had to define what he really need to grow. Apparently, he did just that. However, to upset Nadal at a Grand Slam, the American has to play almost perfect. He will have some fine games, but to shock him, that is almost impossible.

John Isner vs. Maxime Cressy
The 36-year-old Isner says that he wants to stay this year and even more, even though he is aging. Well good for him. The big man will always throw in a huge amount of aces, and nail his hard forehand. He can be upset when he loses in close matches — especially at the Australian Open — bit when he wins, he can be super happy. Not many people know who Cressy is, but he reached the final last week, upsetting Reilly Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov, before he lost against Nadal, 7-6, 6-3. Very good. Last year, he was pretty decent, but not great. He is 24 years old, so he has lots of time to grow. But, on court at the AO, Isner will blast him in four sets.

Reilly Opelka vs. Kevin Anderson
The rising American improved a lot last year, with his huge serves and his forehand, too. He has improved his foot speed. The funny thing is when Opelka has to play against a gigantic server like Anderson, there will be few rallies. The South African — who does live in the United States — has aced so many times over the years, and believe it or, he improved his backhand and his return. He reached the Grand Slam finals twice, which is huge. Now he is aging, but he continues to push himself. The match should go into the fifth set, and the winner will be the player who returns more consistently. It looks like Opelka will do just that.

Cameron Norrie vs. Sebastian Korda
The young American Korda is rising. While he played a lot at the tournaments, he could be off, but when he is on, he can jump on the ball. At the start of 2021, he was ranked No. 119, and now he is No. 40. Clearly he was improving a lot. He does have a lot of different shots, which are all solid. So as long as he can produce, then he will continue to seriously improve. However, the Brit Norrie had a fine year. Now he is smart, on court, going for the shots, and to try to hit the lines. He has been disciplined, and stable. Korda will attempt to crack on him, but Norrie will stay there for a long time and beat him in five tough sets.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Cameron Norrie, John Isner, Kevin Anderson, Marcos Giron, rafa nadal, Reilly Opelka, Sebastian Korda

Women’s first round at Australian Open

January 15, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Here are four matches in the first round at the Australian Open within the women. The next day, the men.

Sofia Kenin vs. Madison Keys
After winning the 2020 Australian Open, Kenin looked excellent, but gradually she grew nervous and inconsistent. Currently, she is trying to be more thoughtful, and when she is on court, she is mixing it up a little bit. If she is going deep in Melbourne, she has to serve and return like a demon. Keys is finally playing better this week, because last year she was mentally and physically out of it. But when she is on, she can smoke the ball. This match is a tossup, but assuming she won’t get hurt, Keys will wear down in three terrific sets.

Emma Raducanu vs. Sloane Stephens
The young Brit was moving forward on court when she won the 2021 US Open. She was thrilled, and on court, she ran confidently, including her muscular forehand and her backhand. Raducanu likes to rally, as does another US Open winner Stephens. The now veteran American is an incredible grinder, but not recently. In fact, last year she did win some important matches, but the No. 68 lost a lot. If she wants to come back into the top 10, then she is going to totally commit. She is a darn good player, but she has to prove that she really wants to be smarter on court. Raducanu is more focused now, and she will win in straight sets.

Coco Gauff vs. Qiang Wang
The American teenager continues to grow, month after month. Clearly, she is not Serena Williams yet, but her forehand and her backhand are heavy and now she can mix it up more. She also throws in lots of spin and power. However, her serve and her return are so-so. Four years ago, Wang looked good, cracking into the top 20, beating some very good players, but over the past couple years she fell. Yes, she was injured and didn’t know which way to turn. Currently, she is ranked No. 112, so she has a lot of work to do. But, it is too big a task for Wang to take down Gauff in this tournament.

Barbora Krejcikova vs. Andrea Petkovic
In June, the Czech won Roland Garros, which was unexpected. She finally knew what she had to do. After that, her confidence rose. She can rip the ball, returning calmly. Yes, Krejcikova can still be up and down, but she is much more consistent than Petkovic. The German is very smart when she talks. However, she is aging and it is hard for her to crack balls deep enough to challenge a top 10 player. Petkovic will focus but Krejcikova is just too strong.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Barbora Krejcikova, coco gauff, Emma Raducanu. Sloane Stephens, madison keys, qiang wang, Sofia Kenin

The controversial Novak Djokovic

January 10, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

The saga continues. No. 1 Novak Djokovic was currently denied to practice on court at the Australian Open, until Monday, when he was practicing with coach Goran Ivanišević

He was just sitting in a hotel for four days. Why because he has yet to be vaccinated against the vicious coronavirus. He might be healthy, but he decided not get the shots. There are consequences. So far, in the United States, some 770,000 have died from COVID-19.

Read this AP story.

Here is a portion of the story: “Regardless of how the whole ‘an unvaccinated Novak Djokovic goes to Australia’ saga concludes — and, despite a favorable court ruling, his status was still up in the air — there are plenty of key questions for the top-ranked tennis player to answer. … Of even more consequence: Such a move also could result in Djokovic being barred from Australia for three years.”

Without a doubt, that is a gigantic risk by Djokovic, if he loses against the judge this week, he will have to leave and he won’t play at the Grand Slam. Wow.

WTA player, Czech Renata Voracova is in the same hotel with Djokovic. The 38-year-old played last week in Melbourne, and all of a sudden, they came to her and said she had to go into the quarantine. Now she cannot leave, to practice or play, until she can clear it.

She said that at the hotel, there are heavy security. “There are guards everywhere, even under the window, which is quite funny. Maybe they thought I would jump out and run away,” she said. “They [the guards] really weren’t rude or vulgar. But some quarantine practices are not pleasant. You have to report in, everything’s rationed. I feel a little like I’m in prison.”

The week’s action
The Canadians won the ATP Cup with Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. That was huge, and they are lurking in the top 5 this year. They will be even more confident going into the Aussie Open.

In Adelaide, Rafa Nadal won the title, edging the American Maxime Cressy 7-6(6) 6-3. Nadal could not play during the fall due to his injury, but now he looks good again. But will he be able to sustain that level through the Aussie Open?

It was a stunner that Cressy made it into the final, but he finally has become more consistent, and he can crush the ball.

The No. 1 Ash Barty is trucking, winning the singles over Elena Rybakina.She also won the doubles with Storm Sanders.

At Melbourne 1, the former No. 1 Simona Halep won it all She was hurt last year. She still really likes to bring it and she will be a force are the Aussie Open. Another American, Amanda Anisimova grabbed the title at Melbourne 2, her first career crown. The 20-year-old can scamper.

At the age of 35 Gael Monfils also lifted the title in Adelaide. He beat Karen Khachanov in the final, when he smoked his forehand.

One last question: Where is Peng Shuai? Let us not forget her predicament. The governments should find her and make sure that she is safe.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: ash barty, ATP Cup, Canada, Gael Monfils, Novak Djokovic, rafa nadal

Iga Swiatek’s talks about her new coach

January 6, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Last month, Iga Swiatek decided to try to work with the long-time coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, a former player worked with the former No.2 Aga Radwanska.

Swiatek is in Adelaide this week, where she won the tournament last year.

The current No. 9 made it to the WTA Finals in November, in Mexico, and she won two matches and lost four. The Pole then knew that it was time to change, and she let go with the previous coach, Piotr Sierzputowski. At that point, Swiatek was frustrated. She did not know where to turn.

“I realized that I’ve been working with Piotr for five years or even more. A lot happened since we started,” she said. “I felt it’s a good time for a next step and a change to maybe, like, reset a little bit. I also feel like I wanted to work with someone who’s from Poland because I think I’m going to be ready for coaches from different countries in maybe one or two years, but now I wanted to work with someone who understands my situation. I think it’s a great decision for me. Right now we’re getting to know each other because we practiced in Poland for three weeks, so it’s not a lot. I think next few tournaments I’m just going to use for getting to know each other. We’re talking a lot about tennis, even off-court stuff. I feel like I just need some time to build that relationship.”

Some players keep coaches for years while some will go through new coaches within a few months. A player and coach can see each other almost every day, for hours when they are practicing or competing. But, when the bond is starting to break down, and the conversations are odd, then the relationship will sour. It is not just about the coaches, who are older, and maybe wiser, yet off the court, the players might not really listening. If you don’t listen, then the relationship will expire.

Swiatek, who won 2020 Roland Garros, said that while she knows Wiktorowski, it will take a while for him to understand how she plays, and what to do during a match.

“I can see that he’s been through a lot on tour because he’s been on tour for many years. You can see that the WTA Tour is pretty intense, so I’m sure he’s been in some situations that if I’m going to get to them, it’s going to be easier for me because I’m going to use his experience, I’m going to lean on that,” she said. “That’s for sure something that is giving me more comfort and stability. I’m pretty glad that I have somebody on my team that has been through many things.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Iga Swiatek