Murray: The Difficulty Of Defending Number One Marco Di Nardo
At the end of 2016, Andy Murray became world number one. It was a culmination of years of struggling for the Scot, who had spent the better part of a decade in the shadows of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Of course, his rise to number one was aided by Djokovic’s sudden drop in form, but
Murray made the most of his opportunity to finally occupy the top spot in the world rankings. From June onwards he dominated the ATP World Tour, with wins in Queens Club, Wimbledon and the Olympics laying the foundation for his excellent play on the American and Asian hardcourts.
With the start of the new season, many wondered whether Murray would be able to consolidate his new position. It seemed likely that he would, seeing as Djokovic was struggling and both Federer and Nadal were still on the mend from extended injury layoffs. It didn’t quite work out that way, however, and the
Scot has found himself fighting an uphill battle all year. His number one ranking was made safe, at least for the moment, by Djokovic losing early at the Australian Open, but he has been able to little in terms of positive results to cement his position as the best player in the world. The year got off to an auspicious start at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, which was held at the end of 2016. An popular exhibition event, Murray did not play well, losing out early and in straight sets to David Goffin. Murray’s first official event was
at the ATP 250 tournament in Doha, and his inconsistent form followed him from Mubadala. He struggled in almost every match, but managed to reach the final. There, he ran into an old foe in the form of Novak Djokovic. The Serb dominated for a set and a half, though Murray was able to scratch out the second set somehow. But in the deciding set he did not manage
to channel his best world number one form, and ultimately lost 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. What surprised everyone most was not the loss itself, but the fact that Djokovic had been far from his best the whole week. He had to save five match points in the semifinals against Fernando Verdasco, and even in the final made more errors than is usual for him. Even so, Murray was not able to make the
most of this letdown, which was strange considering his dominance just a few weeks earlier. Djokovic, for his part, could not turn his win over Murray into an extended run of form. His current “crisis,� which began with his early exit at Wimbledon in 2016, seems to still be in full flow. He lost in the second round in Melbourne, and has not gone deep into any
draw so far this season, except for Doha. Murray has fared almost just as badly, winning only the ATP 500 event in Dubai. But even at that tournament he won without having to defeat any other top players. Indeed, Murray has not defeated a Top 10 player in some time, and in Dubai he struggled mightily at times. Against Philipp Kohlschreiber, for example, he had to save seven
match points before eventually advancing. But while Djokovic’s poor play is turning into a crisis of epic proportions for the Serb, Murray does not have to worry too much about where he is at the moment. Given how many points Djokovic has to defend in the coming months, Murray can safely go on losing without jeopardizing his number one position. That is, until Wimbledon, where the tables will turn on Murray in a big way. From there on out, he is the one defending heaps of points, which will give Djokovic a chance to catch up. And that’s not
even mentioning two huge problems that nobody accounted for this early in the season: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. These two came out guns blazing after long absences due to injury. Indeed, they are hands down the best players on the Tour at the moment. Federer,
in particular, has shot to the top of the Race Rankings, with almost twice as many point as Nadal. Murray is way back in 10th position in the Race Rankings, and Djokovic is even further down. With both Murray and Djokovic now fighting injuries of their own, there is a very real chance that both men will
be overtaken by their old rivals. If Murray does not start playing very well very soon he might quickly find himself back in his old position: the last and almost forgotten member of the Fab Four.
Rogerʼs Resurgence Federico Mariani
case the memories are of disbelief and regret, the same feeling he felt at Indian Wells.
Everything one needs to know about Roger Federer’s resurgence was written on Rafael Nadal’s face in the Indian Wells quarter-final. As another massive forehand clipped the line, earning the Swiss one more spectacular point, the Spaniard was at a loss, smiling ruefully. His face said it all: how can this guy be better now than five years ago?
Federer has played 15 matches in 2017. He has won 13 of those, including six over Top 10 opponents. He has won the Australian Open in the same year for the first time in more than a decade. When he started the season, the Swiss was ranked 17 in the world, thanks to a sixmonth layoff due to injury. In no time at all he has climbed back to
Indeed, with his victory over Nadal at Indian Wells, Federer did something he has never done in his career: beat Nadal three times in a row. Federer seems to have taken an enormous amount of confidence from his Australian Open win, especially since he beat Nadal in the final. His mind is still getting energy from that fifth set in Melbourne. Nadal’s mind is also still on Melbourne, but in his
number 6, and he seems far from done. When the draw for Indian Wells was announced, everyone was aghast at how difficult Federer’s quarter was. He would likely have to face Nadal and Djokovic en route to the final, and then probably play Murray. Federer said at the start of the tournament that the difficult draw didn’t bother him, and he played like he meant it. Nadal was the only player to come close to breaking Federer at
Indian Wells, and even then it wasn’t close at all: Federer’s serve quickly snuffed out any chance the Spaniard had of a momentum-shifting break. After Nadal, and with Djokovic and Murray both out, Federer stormed to the trophy by beating his friend and countryman, Stanislas Wawrinka, for the 20th time. It was Federer’s fifth Indian Wells trophy, his 25th Masters win and the 90th overall title. Not bad for a 35 year-old. Federer is playing some
of the best tennis in his career, and his backhand can largely be thanked for that. Unlike in the past, Federer is being extremely aggressive on his backhand side, thanks to a combination of a bigger racket and the influence of his coach, Ivan Ljubicic. Ljubicic has not received the recognition he deserves, having overseen Federer’s latest resurgence. But a coach’s advice can do nothing if a player is not willing to listen, and Federer is all ears when
it comes to ideas on improving his game. Even with his tremendous talent and wealth of experience, Federer has never stopped trying to improve, a characteristic that has kept him near the top of the game for so very long. Now, that willingness to always keep learning is paying off in a big way.
Andy Roddick: Playing under Roger Federerʼs shadows Akshay Kohli
Former World No.1, Former US Open Champion, 32 ATP World Tour Titles, winning at least 1 ATP Title for 12 consecutive years – all these achievements might hint to a player of great caliber and it sure is! Andy Roddick has been a great ambassador to
American Tennis and to the Sport in general. But the only place he fell behind was – LUCK! The American old it seemed featured in the wrong era of tennis with Roger Federer totally dominating Roddick throughout the latter’s career (21-3 in favor of the Swiss says it all!). Well if Federer was not what he was and did not achieve what he has, we try conjecturing what all Roddick could have done! A longer run as World No.1 Roddick first became No.1 on 3rd November
2003 after lifting the US Open. Managing to end that year as No.1 was an achievement in itself but with Federer keeping a close tab on that spot, Roddick’s reign was cut short. Just 9 weeks after claiming the World No. 1 Title, Federer overtook the American to be crowned as the New No.1. Post that, the closest Roddick came to the No.1 ranking was the No.2 spot, something he already achieved earlier. More US Open Titles Roddick tasted Grand Slam success once and that too in front of his home crowd at the US
Open in 2003. Three years hence, Roddick played some fantastic tennis to reach the finals in New York where he faced Federer. Losing the First Set and fighting back to win the Second gave the crowd a ray of hope that their hero would go on and win his Second US Open Crown. Roddick’s serve was broken 6 times in the match, indicating how well Federer managed neutralizing the American’s serve. It has been 7 years since then that the American crowd has been waiting to see a local boy reach the Finals and the way it is going, they will have to wait for some time to see that! Wimbledon Titles This is where one feels for Roddick. A game style perfectly suited for grass – booming serves with a great follow up either at the net or with his forehands. The pair played 4 times at the All England Club with Federer trumping Roddick in all those clashes. Out of those 4, 3 duels happened to take place in the Finals and one in
the Semis. Roddick deserved winning at least Three Titles at The Championships but Federer made him bite the ‘grass’ every time. The 2009 Final was one Roddick deserved to win especially when he was broken just once in the match which ironically happened to be the last one! More ATP Tour Titles and Prize Money The pair played 7 Finals against each other with 3 of them coming at normal ATP World Tour Events. Roddick managed winning 32 ATP Titles and if it wasn’t for
Federer, he would have won a few more for sure! Well it isn’t easy earning more than 20 Million Dollars as on court Prize Money but a few more Millions would not have done any harm to Roddick! On a funny note! Well although Roddick trailed Federer 3-21 in their head to head matches, he would always have the edge over Federer as he managed winning their last meeting!
Joachim Johansson: The story of the lost Swede Akshay Kohli
Well Sweden has produced some of the greatest players of all time with the likes of Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg, Mats Wilander ruling the mid 1970s and the entire 1980s. It wasn’t surprising to see that between 1974 - 1992 there were just 3 years when the winners list at Majors did not involve a Swede. In 1977, only the
Australian Open was played whereas in 1986 the Grand Slam of the Asia Pacific wasn’t and given the Stefan Edberg won it in 1985 and 1987, anything could have happened! 1989 was probably the only year where permutations and combinations won’t work with Ivan Lendl,
Michael Chang and Boris Becker lifting the silverware (Ironically in 1988 all 4 Majors were won by Swedes!). With serve and volley being the dominating style of play back in those Golden Days, it was probably the evolution of the sport that led to the game styles changing. Playing from the baseline became the need of the hour with players like Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Gustavo Kuerten, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Marat Safin and Carlos Moya breaking down the big servers. Amongst
those was another Swede named Thomas Johansson, who shocked the world by winning the Australian Open in 2002, defeating Safin in what was termed as one of his worst performances. Coming back to what my article is all
about – 1999 hinted the emergence of another Big Serving Swede – Joachim Johansson, also called “Pim-Pim” as Elder brother Niclas couldn't say Joachim as a young boy and used to call his brother Pim-Pim...The name stuck and Joachim became Pim-Pim, which is also a well known hard candy in Sweden.
2005. I remember watching a match between Hewitt and Johansson at that time with the camera focus only on Jaslyn and her dilemma of who to support!
Wrapping 2000 as the No.3 Junior in the World behind Andy Roddick Todor Enev, big things were expected out of Joachim, who was one of the good looking guys on tour. Not many people remember that his
A really quick service action, the Swede did not need a high toss for net clearance as his 6’6” frame compensated for it! A slingy service action that I would say was in fashion those days was a bit risky to execute but was really effective (look at Roddick, Nicolas Massu, Janko Tipsarevic and Robby Ginepri – all Top-15 Juniors in 2000).
game style was a breath of fresh air – big hitting, boom serving and a swift mover, probably like Roddick. Playing with his Yonex racquet, the Swede was an instant hit on the tour and amongst girls too! He dated Lleyton Hewitt’s sister Jaslyn for a good 5 years before calling it quits in
With Roddick winning the 2003 US Open, more and more pressure was surrounding Pim-Pim as to can he too make a successful transition from Juniors to Men’s and 2004 proved just that! With his victory over defending champion Roddick at the 2004 US Open in 5 sets
6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 6–4, Johansson officially announced his arrival to the big stage. A peculiar aspect of the match was that Roddick won 24 points more than Johansson but was defeated nonetheless. Pim-Pim was also awarded the Most Improved Player that year as he jumped more than 80 places from No.95 to No.12 on the ATP Charts. At the 2005 Australian Open he for me played the best match of his career when he lost a 4 set match to Andre Agassi. He held the record for most aces served in
one match as he blasted 51 aces past the American in the 4th round. In the postmatch press conference, Johansson said he felt he could have served better. Interestingly, people do not remember his 3rd Round victory over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, with whom he was involved in a 4 hour battle which he won
6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6(2), 13-11. He smashed 38 aces in that match and won just 1 point more than his Spanish counterpart (200-199). With a shoulder injury hampering his progress (nothing unexpected the way he played) in 2005, the Swede only played for half th season and was still ranked in the Top-50. Trying to make a comeback in 2006, he was again injured in the initial season and made his comeback again later that year at the Stockholm Open. Facing Top Seed and in-form Rafael
Nadal in the Second Round, Johansson fired 17 aces en route to his straight sets victory over the Spaniard and announced his return to the top of the game, calling it his “greatest win ever.” Retiring from a persistent shoulder injury, Johansson is engaged to Johanna
Westerberg, a Swedish professional golfer on the Ladies European Tour since April 2009. He caddied at several tournaments for her which earned him Rookie Caddie of the Year award. Well Johansson did not do justice to the talent he possessed but surely gave us glimpses of what he could do! To a former Top-10 player – Joachim, Cheers!
Numbers Donʼt Tell The Whole Story Federico Mariani
Though it has not been the subject of much controversy in recent years, there has in the past been a lot of discussion about how rankings are calculated. In particular, how the world number one ranking is obtained, and whether the person occupying that ranking is “worthy” of it. Inefficiencies are inevitable in an annual calculation system, such as the one used by the ATP and WTA. But has this system yielded a duo of undeserving top players? Andy Murray, of course, nabbed the world number one ranking later last year after a series of unlikely events. The first of these was the surprisingly swift fall of Novak Djokovic, who after his victory at the French Open seemed utterly untouchable. Starting at Wimbledon, however, Djokovic experienced a dip in form that he has yet to recover from. Murray, having played very well in the second half of 2016 to secure the number one, came into the new season with a tremendous opportunity to put a lot of distance between himself and Djokovic. This was because Djokovic has a ton of points locked up in the first six months of the season, and had to defend all of them just to tread water. He has so far been unable to do so, opening the door for
Murray to run away with the top spot completely. Murray, for his part, has not obliged. He lost early at the Australian Open, as well as the important Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells. He then withdrew from Miami due to an injury, adding physical worries to concern about his form. All of this adds up to the fact that the world number one is not playing like a world number one. Though his position has continued to strengthen thanks to Djokovic’s losses, Murray is far from being the best player in the world at the moment. In fact, when looking at the Race Rankings, which take into account only points accumulated this year, Murray comes in only at number ten. Federer is far ahead at number one, followed by his old rival Rafael Nadal.
Even more dramatic is the situation on the WTA Tour, where Angelique Kerber tops the rankings. Her success has, like Murray’s, been mostly due to the struggles of her chief rival, Serena Williams. Williams is uninterested in anything outside of the Slams, meaning Kerber can make up lots of ground during normal tournaments. In the last six months, Kerber has reached the semifinals only once, in Dubai, where she lost to Elina Svitolina. She has nine wins and six losses over that span. Daria Kasatkina has beaten Kerber twice, which Coco Vandeweghe and Elena Vesnina each defeating her once. These are bad losses to players Kerber should be handling easily as world number one. So, like Murray, Kerber is not the player to beat at the moment. The question is
then, who is that player? On the ATP Tour that is easily answered: Roger Federer. But the WTA is hardly chockful of dominant players at the moment. None of the players in the Top 10 are playing very well, and the world number one is struggling badly. Many would argue the “real” number one is Serena Williams, but can we really count on someone who barely seems interested in the sport at all? It’s hard to tell. Rino Tommasi once said that computers are good at the math, but they don’t know the court. He’s right, at least at the moment. Both the men’s and women’s Tours are in flux, and changes are almost certainly coming at the top in the near future.
Tennis players and their superstition s! Akshay Kohli
As a very superstitious sport, tennis has a lot of players doing some rather peculiar things which later were known to be superstitious for them. While everyone has their routines, certain players' are much more detailed and specific than others. Here's a look at some of the best routines and superstitions in the game's history.
Roger Federer Federer has a special thing for the number "8". While warming up, the Swiss smacks eight aces on the practice court and takes eight towels rubs after a set finishes during a match. He keeps 8 bottles of water (Evian
only) in his bag and keeps eight racquets in his kit bag. He also has 8 members still in the player’s box!
Serena Williams The World No.1 is one of the greatest women servers of all time but that too comes in style! Serena bounces the ball five times on her first serve and only twice on her second ball toss. She also uses the same
shower preceding her matches and carries her shower sandals to the court. Serena does not feel comfortable walking in for her match until she has tied her shoelaces in exactly the same way. She also wears the same pair of socks during her winning run in an event.
Novak Djokovic The Serb not have too many idiosyncrasies
except that he refuses to take the same shower twice in a row. Additionally, he believes that he needs to have his pet poodle ‘Pierre’ with him all the time because he considers Pierre as his lucky charm. His ball bouncing obsession is the most popular one. "My record was in 2007 during the Davis Cup against Australia. I made the ball bounce 38 or 39 times
(before serving)," Novak said.
Rafael Nadal Nadal is definitely the master of quirk and superstitions. During a match, he drinks from them in a certain order. Former professional John Lloyd once suggested that an opponent should “kick them over and see what happens”. Most famously, Rafa
places his hair behind each ear and fiddles with his shorts before every serve. He also makes sure his opponent crosses the net before he does on a changeover. He only ever crosses the line with his right foot (and never steps on any lines). The Spaniard never puts his headband on until just before he comes on court. When play changes ends the bottles are moved to
ensure the labels face the baseline of the end he is playing.
Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic, and Maria Sharapova All three never walk on the court lines. Sharapova also talks to the wall behind her before she attempts to serve and on every serve she does a little hoping dance. When it comes to serves, Sharapova too has a special thing. She bounces the ball twice before hitting the serve.
Andy Murray When waiting to receive, Murray sways from side to side, often with his tongue protruding. And if he misses a first serve, he will often tug on his left sweatband. If you see him tug on his shirt, it often means he feels he is in trouble.
Alexandra Dulgheru The Romanian openly admitted her superstitious beliefs, “I
always step on the court first with my right foot.”
Jack Sock The American wants each ball handler on his side to have three balls. “At one point one had four and the other had two, and I got broken in that game,” he once said after a first-round win at the US Open. “So I talked to them to make sure they knew to keep it at three and three.”
Juan Martin del Potro The former US Open champ used to roll his shorts up on his left leg only when preparing to receive serve. He also stays in the same room at the same hotel when in New York for the US Open.
Denis Istomin He wants the ball girl or boy who is handling her towel to deliver his ball.
“If I win that point, I'll keep going with him or her. But if I lose the point, I won't take it from them,” he said.
Jarmila Gajdosova The Australian once confessed, “I always drink the same amount of water during changeovers.”
advice to all of you is to be confident when you are being interviewed. Make sure you have positive body language by looking at the interviewer and answering questions with total confidence.
Developing Positive Self Esteem Nick Bollettieri We can talk for hours and hours but self esteem boils down to one thing: WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT YOURSELF! No matter where I go or who I talk to your chances of any success starts with you. You have two simple options. You can either be positive or
negative. I have been doing motivational speeches throughout the world and I have learned so much about what it takes to capture the attention of the audience. You must demonstrate that you know who you are by not only your appearance but in the manner in which you deliver your speech. Also, in how you answer questions to your audience. In today’s world it is not an easy task to secure a job, my
Judging yourself by things in which you have no control is setting yourself up for a negative situation. You need to know and believe you are unique and special. You must be able to separate the quality of your performance from your overall worth as a person. You should be able to counter and elimate ways of viewing activities in your life. Quite often we make judgments about who we are based on what people tell us about ourselves. You must not get yourself in situations where you are judged by only one activity. When this happens it takes away your spirit to
be involved in a other activities. You must also be realistic in what you can do. Yes, I want you to be a big-big dreamer but don’t overdo it. If you do you will have nightmares. I have been involved in sports most of my life as well as viewing all facts of life, do not try to be successful over night. Your progress should be one step at a time. By doing this you will accomplish many of your goals. It is important to recognize your anxiety, accept it, and take steps to reduce it. Identify irrational believes and get rid of them. Substitute an appropriate belief for each irrational one. Negative self-talk usually leads to lowered self-esteem. Positive self-talk means that you make statements that put you in a positive light. Believe me, if you start thinking this way and talking this way your self-
esteem will climb and climb and if it falls down at times don’t panic. Slow down, take a deep breath and tell yourself you can and will do it. One of my favorite parts of my speeches no matter who sits in the audience is my story about me and what I think of myself: Recently my wife, Cindi, redid our villa with special attention to the inside. No matter what
direction you go, all the walls have mirrors. My two adopted sons asked their mom why there are so many mirrors. What did she answer? “Your father loves looking at himself and saying over and over ‘I am the best and can do whatever I have to do.’” Oh yes, I even see those mirrors when I dream.
Always have a game plan Federico Coppini
A tennis match is a long struggle with several important moments and challenges. If both players are at the same level, you will rarely dominate your opponent for long. Usually the match is decided by subtle differences in physical and mental strength. The game plan for each player will likely be very different from one
another. Some players will try to take advantage of their big serves by coming to the net more often, while others will prefer to hang back and play defensively. When your opponent approaches the net often, it is usually not a good idea to attempt winners every time you return the ball. Instead, it is a better strategy to
just keep the ball in play, making sure it stays low. This makes it very difficult for your opponent to hit an aggressive volley. Playing against defensive players, especially if you lack a lot of power, can be very frustrating. They can generally keep rallies going for extremely long periods and will wear you out
more often than not. Trying to hit through them or scoring an ace with every serve is not a good idea, unless you are extremely powerful and accurate. Defensive players thrive on your power and pace, and have trained themselves to endure long rallies and matches. The best approach against defensive players is to employ safe, deep shots to slowly get them out of position. It will then become harder for them to keep a good length on their shots and this will open the door for you to hit a safe, aggressive shot for a winner.
The experienced player constantly observes his opponent and knows which shots he needs to focus on and which he needs to avoid. If your opponent runs around his backhand and hits aggressively to your forehand, you must immediately become aware that you can potentially hit the ball down the line
for a winner, or hit it back behind him to force him off balance. It is also important to keep in mind that power hitters tend to fade towards the end of the match, and that you can take advantage of this if the contest goes to a third set.
Strategic tips: - Remember, every shot is important because
it may be the last shot of the point. - You must always try to anticipate your opponent’s next move. - Always be on the lookout for an opportunity to move forward and end the point. - Always be mentally prepared for each match. - Whenever you are given an opportunity to be aggressive without too much risk, take it.
- Try to serve deep. This puts pressure on your opponent and creates many opportunities for you. - Hit the ball deep to the middle of the court to limit your opponent’s opportunities. - Always remain well balanced as far as is possible. - Visualize the shots you want to hit, as they produce physical results.
Are you an evolved tennis player? Federico Coppini
One of the main qualities of an evolved tennis player is the ability to exploit an opponent’s weakness and lure him into error. Tennis matches are won by the
player who puts the ball in the right place at the right time most consistently. Directing the ball to the right place can mean hitting a spectacular winner, but more often than not it simply means forcing an opponent to make a mistake.
All of this should naturally set you to thinking: “but what are my weaknesses?” It is important that you know your own weaknesses as well as your opponent’s so that you may better understand what he might try and do to you. In order to keep pressure on the opponent, you must always play
according to the score. You must know difference in value between a point played during one part of the match versus a point at a later time. How you approach a point during these different times might be the difference between victory and defeat. You must know not
only the technical and tactical elements that go into making a good tennis player, but the psychological ones as well.
followed by a deep shot. These patterns of play will put you in a good position to win the majority of the points.
A good player has already thought about his next shot as he hits the ball, but a strategist has already come up with the next two shots. This is useful when you try and break down your opponent’s
Once you fill the gaps in your game, you will realize that tennis is most enjoyable when you’re not afraid of your shots.
strength. If you can make him believe that even his best shot is not good enough to hurt you, the match is as good as won. This can be done in various ways, usually by making him play his best shot from a poor position. Think about playing a drop shot and then a lob, or a short slice
when the ball hits the strings perfectly, and watching it scream past your opponent for a winner.
There is no more thrilling sensation than
Dream the impossible dream Nick Bollettieri
How could I have known that my two, broken down tennis courts in Victory Park was someday morph into the greatest athletic training facility that the world? How could I have imagined that those two courts, in North Miami Beach, Florida would one day lead to a training facility that would host 10 of the top tennis players in the world? How could anyone have predicted that those modest beginnings would one day become IMG Academies, training the finest athletes in the world, in nearly a dozen sports? Only a dreamer; someone who put no limits on his imagination! My life has been a series of opportunities; both seized and missed. Imagine this:
1. I entered into teaching tennis by accident. I played college tennis but knew nothing about teaching the game. 2. I had to earn some money to support my wife and son while attending the University of Miami Law School. 3. I knew nothing about tennis and even less about how to teach it. 4. I learned by watching the most respected coach in the Miami area. His name was Slim Harbett and he taught at Henderson Park. 5. I listened intently and copied his techniques. Over time I developed my own teaching techniques and soon
realized that I had an eye for talent and an even quicker eye for recognizing technical problems. 6. I learned that making small adjustments was much more effective than making macro changes. Students got better more quickly and didn’t suffer the anguish of a major disruption of their games. To cite two examples, Cheryl Smith won the Girl's USTA National 14s. Cherly was a steady baseliner. Brian Gottfried preferred coming to the net and volleying and became one of the top world-ranked players.
Yes, I have always been a dreamer. Far beyond what we would call normal ambition, I gave up on serious opportunities to achieve my goals. For example, I dropped out of law school after only 3 months, realizing, although I had a gift for law (I could sell sand in the desert), that it wasn’t the destination that was meant for me. My uncle, Tony DeFillipo, who was head of the sanitation department in the City of North Miami Beach, and his best friend, Frank Sepedi, who has the Water Commissioner for the
City, helped to change this small, broken down tennis facility. With their influence my small complex became an 8court facility with lights. You see the picture? Two Big Hitters, Two Big Italians! Little by little I began to learn more about teaching tennis and one important realization, “No two players are alike.” My top students were Brian Gottfried, Cheryl Smith, Margie and David Gengler, George and Randi Shuert, Paul Kantrowich, Joe Szucs and a few others. Before long, my name became attached to the
excellence of my students and another big opportunity arose. I was offered the job of Director of Tennis for the City of Springfield, Ohio. The program there was only for the summers and had earned the reputation as one of the best junior programs in America. 1,500 youngsters, dressed in white clothing, attended each week,. Although the children paid $.50 to travel on the bus, the instruction was absolutely free. My winters were spent at various clubs until another opportunity presented itself. With the support of the Passarell family, I became the tennis director of Laurance Rockefeller Hotels (Rock Resorts). I spent the next several winters in Puerto Rico running the tennis programs, which gave me the opportunity to meet some of the most influential people in the world. Some of those titans were: Bob Kraft, owner of the Boston
Patriots, Louis Marx, whose father owned Marx Toys. (He later lent me $2 million to build the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy). Vince Lombardi, Coach of the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Murphy, the Horowitz Family, who would later support everything that I did in tennis, Dan Lufkin, the Carlson Family, the Landow Family, and the Zausner Family (who built the Port Washington Tennis Academy for me). I realized that other tennis facilities were bigger, had rest rooms, club houses, etc. My facility had a few courts, a rock wall, a Pepsi machine and an umbrella serving as my pro shop. But I realized that success depended upon my willingness to devote my life to the sport; to get to know the kids and their families. It also allowed me to understand that “success” means different things to different people. To
some, it meant learning to play a game that can last a lifetime. To others it meant making the high school or college tennis team. To still others it meant getting a college scholarship or playing on the pro circuit. It became clear to me that the aspirations of the player had a great deal to do with the outcome. I have enjoyed a career that has helped thousands of players achieve their dreams. I’ve had ten number one players in the world and thousands who achieved
the level of success that they aspired to. I must have been doing something right. I was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. This was followed my induction into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in recognition of my decades of commitment to the inner cities of America and my collaborations with tennis legend and humanitarian Arthur Ashe. Who could ask for a more rewarding life?
How is Juan Carlos Ferrero´s live at the moment? El número 1 del mundo se sienta con nosotros y nos ofrece la oportunidad de conocerle y saber cómo es su vida en la actualidad. No te pierdas esta fantástica entrevista. Your live has changed a lot since you decide to let the tennis. We also know that you´re living in the main facilities of your academy FerreroEquelite in Villena. How can someone imagine your daily life there? Yes, it had changed a lot but I still having tennis all days. I practice with our players as much as I can. I like train them and give them my
advices, and they are thankfully because of that. I am also playing some tennis senior tournaments. * What are your main tasks inside the academy? How is it to work with young people? It’s for sure you have a lot of experience to share with them. I´m responsible of the coaches and trainings. I try to get inside the court with players and coaches when I can. Anyway, when It´s not possible I always hang around for a while to
check the trainings. If there´s any problem or I see something that we should improve, I talk with the coaches and if it´s need with the players as well. * You were one of the early students at the equelite academy and reached number one in the ATP-Rankings. What makes the academy so special? The academy has all what a player needs to reach their objectives. Apart from the facilities there´s lot of workers with lot of experience.
We are like a big family. We are 24hours with the kids, many workers and coaches live here to ensure they´re overviewed and fine all time. The atmosphere is perfect to be focus on what they should: Tennis and studies * How changed the academy from the time as you was student to now? A lot. When Toni (Coach of Ferrero during his whole career) found the academy it was a small house with two courts
and a small gym. When we start winning tournaments and prizes, we sit down and decide to invest on the academy. The change is enormous even thought we still changing things all the year. As in tennis, you can always improve. * Do you have a lot of students from other countries? Yes, a lot. Most of our players aren´t Spaniards. We work more in English than any other language. We ´ve got from all parts of
the world: UK, Netherlands, Germany, India, Japan, USA, Thailand… * What is the reason why someone from another country should join your academy, what are the convincing reasons, that your academy makes it so unique. Everyone should at least visit us. They will then know what they should stay. Is not just the training, is the feel of be safe and be valued. We treat all the players the same, and is they work hard and give their best we will be glad to teach them and help them in their paths. * One question to the most important Spanish Tennis Player in recent years: Rafael Nadal. What are you saying to his recent success getting into the final of the Australian Open? Do you see him collecting Grand-Slam-TrophyNumber 15 – maybe
already in Roland Garros? What is your opinion in his nearer future? I think he will be many years being in the Top. Is not the first time he recover himself from a bad moment. He is one of the favorites for Roland Garros without any doubt. * In generally the generation of Players like Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, Tommy Robredo and a lot more is slowly coming to an end. How do you see the future of the Spanish tennis? Is there something special what you can do for national tennis with your academy? A generation like this is something impossible to repeat. Anyway, Spain will still having great representation. Pablo Carreño is young yet and there´s many other younger Spanish players that can make it really well in the following years. We will still being there but 3
Top10 and more than 10 Top100 as this last years will be unrepeatable. We try to help the Spanish tennis with the Ferrero Foundation and making as much tournaments as we can in the academy. * Playing on clay court – the court-type where you had the most success, even if you were an allrounder, also competing on other surfaces very well – do you think the game has changed on the surface in the last decade? In which way someone has to adapt to compete in “modern” tennis on this type of court? The point here is not that the players had started to play different in clay court but that the clay courts are each day more similar to the hard courts. This means that the game becomes similar in both kinds of courts. * There was discussion in the past, about you
taking over the place as Davis Cup Captain. Eventually it didn’t work out. Why was that? And would it be still an option for you in the future? I´m always predispose to help my country and I´m sure that every player would like to be Captain someday. When the Spanish Federation considers I will be glad to help. * As former tournament director of the Valencia Open – how sad is it for you that the tournament had to come to an end? What were the reasons from your point of view? Would you be interested in the future to be tournament director again – or any other leading position in Spanish tennis? Is sad. This tournament was something really beautiful and for Valencia I think that was important. We always try to make it as less commercial as anyone. In fact, I think was one of the few tournaments (if there´s
more) that didn´t make you pay to get inside the fun park. I will like to run a tournament like the Valencia Open in the future. * Do you miss the tour and playing professional tennis sometimes? I play professional tennis all the weeks with the high-level players of our academy so I don´t. The tour is something I don´t miss at all. I never liked to be
out of home so many weeks of the year. * At the end, if I might ask. How is your personal life going on? You married in 2015 and have a 2 year old daughter. Do you enjoy family time, especially after such a long tennis career? I love my live and my family. These weeks we ´re expecting for the second kid to born, this time will be a boy. I
enjoy a lot to be with my family, as I said that ´s the worse part of the tour. Thank you very much for answering my questions. All the best for you and your family, Thanks to you, all the best.