INNOVATION ISSUE
NEW WAYS FOR A WINNING EDGE
5 SMALL
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LEARN ADAPT IMPROVE WIN ANDY’S OUTSIDE THE BOX APPROACH
RISKS Big rewards MAINSTREAM v MODERN What player are ? BOLD CHANGES Better tennis THANASI KOKKINAKIS The Aussie charge you
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APRIL 2015 VOL 40 No. 4
14
THE MURRAY WAY Andy Murray is standing by a proven mantra as he sets about achieving new highs in a role model career.
contents FEATURES
18 FLASHY, WITH SUBSTANCE Galloping towards the top 100 after leaping close to 50 places in 2015 alone, Thanasi Kokkinakis highlights a new order in the men’s game.
20 RISK FOR REWARD
If you’re willing to be brave, innovation can help revolutionise your game.
24 TRIED AND TESTED
31 FIVE KEYS TO INCREDIBLE CONFIDENCE
Easy but effective ways to instil the confidence that will help you embrace new initiatives.
42 UNEXPECTED INSPIRATION
Inspiration can be a powerful force – especially when it comes in unexpected ways.
50 DAVIS CUP: A BRIGHT FUTURE
Players are constantly looking for new ways to find an edge, but some tried and tested techniques still apply.
A first round Davis Cup victory provided Australia with its first World Group win since 2006 – and highlighted the growing depth in Australian tennis.
26 LOOK WHERE TECHNOLOGY HAS TAKEN US
54 SHIFTING SANDS, NEW HORIZONS
Jelena Dokic considers technology that has transformed tennis for the better.
Tennis in Qatar continues to benefit as the region seeks to become a major sports and tourism destination.
28
BEST FOOT FORWARD
The first step to a solid game is efficient footwork. NATHAN & GISELLE MARTIN share the movement patterns that can help you achieve it. APRIL 2015 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE
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APRIL 2015 VOL 40 No.4
34
STILL RAISING THE BAR
Venus Williams, long a trailblazer for women’s tennis, is still setting new standards for herself and the players she influences.
REGULARS 8 BREAKPOINTS 12 THE HITTING WALL 32 GEARING UP 33 BE THE PRO 62 FROM THE CLUBHOUSE 64 RANKINGS 66 SCOREBOARD 70 20 QUESTIONS 72 KIDS’ CLUBHOUSE 74 LAST WORD
52
HOWDY PARTNER
A team approach could be the secret to your individual success. How doubles can help your singles game. 4
AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE APRIL 2015
EDITOR Vivienne Christie ASSISTANT EDITOR Daniela Toleski FOUNDING EDITOR Alan Trengove GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Andrea Williamson Melissa O’Connor Trevor Bridger
ADVERTISING MANAGER Nicole Hearnden ADMINISTRATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Daniel Heathcote PHOTOGRAPHS Getty Images, John Anthony, Image(s) licensed by Ingram Publishing COVER PHOTO Getty Images COVER DESIGN & PHOTO EDITING Andrew Hutchison, FourFront
Australian Tennis Magazine is published monthly by TENNIS AUSTRALIA LTD, Private Bag 6060, Richmond, Vic 3121. Ph: (03) 9914 4200 Email: editor@tennismag.com.au Distributed by Network Distribution Company Printed in Australia by Webstar The views expressed in Australian Tennis Magazine are not necessarily those held by Tennis Australia. While the utmost care is taken in compiling the information contained in this publication, Tennis Australia is not responsible for any loss or injury occurring as a result of any omissions in either the editorial or advertising appearing herein.
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FIRST SERVE
Shaking things up
I
nnovation, in some dictionaries, is defined as “introducing something new and different”. It applies perfectly to the ever-evolving world of tennis – especially lately, as young stars showcase their unique talents in the most positive way. Australian fans can be especially excited by what’s new. Already captivated by the stunning breakthrough of Nick Kyrgios in 2014, Thanasi Kokkinakis has become one of the game’s most talked about teenagers in 2015, boosted by Davis Cup success and his fourth round run at Indian Wells. The 18-year-old (he turns 19 on 10 April) was sitting just outside the top 100 at the time of writing; cracking the upper level in the weeks ahead was virtually guaranteed. At the same time, the stillyoung Bernard Tomic had completed an impressive turnaround with his top 30 return, a world No.29 ranking just two spots from his previous high. The 22-year-old Tomic is now the top-ranked
Australian man – fitting when you consider his efforts in the Davis Cup first round in the Czech Republic, with two singles wins proving critical as Australia claimed a first World Group win since 2006. The good news continues in other ways too. A qualifier at Indian Wells, James Duckworth last month joined four countrymen in the ATP’s 100 and having won his way into the Miami main draw, he’ll soon be celebrating new highs. Russianborn Daria Gavrilova, now based in Melbourne, is one of the newest members of the world’s top 100 in the women’s game. But the numbers only tell one part of the story. The likes of Kyrgios and Kokkinakis are not simply moving up the rankings, but doing it in a way that has a rapidly growing fan base clearly enthralled. With respect to their role models and the established champions still shaping the
game, the young Australians are unafraid to stand out as individuals. They’re taking a risk, shaking things up – and all the while spurring each other to greater heights. As we consider what’s new in the tennis world now, we can’t help but wonder what transformation will come next.
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TICKET TO A BETTER GAME
Vivienne Christie editor@tennismag.com.au
Whether you’re a globetrotter, roadtripper or simply thinking about the journeys that tennis can take you on, our travel issue will provide your ticket to a better game. Available from 30 April.
Top TEENS … In 2014, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios were the first teenage duo from the same country to finish in the top 150 since 2005, when Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils made the same breakthrough.
8
BORIS BECKER (1987) ANDRE AGASSI (1988, 1989, 1990) MICHAEL CHANG (1989, 1991) JIM COURIER (1990) RAFAEL NADAL (2007)
Number of teenagers who have reached the Indian Wells quarterfinals or better. In 2014, Kokkinakis came close to joining elite company.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC (2007) ANDY MURRAY (2007)
25
Years since there was a teenage quarterfinalist at the Australian Open. Before Kyrgios, the last teen was Andrei Cherkasov in 1990. APRIL 2015 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE
7
FEATURE
Learn, adapt, improve ... but never compromise. Andy Murray is standing by a proven mantra as he targets new highs in a role model career. MICHAEL BEATTIE reports
I
t’s a tried and tested formula. There he stands, the sharp suit jarring with the racquet that the photographer has asked him to hold behind his head, like a warrior brandishing a spear. Flashbulbs light up a brilliant white backdrop as he does his best to abide by the instructions: look serious, with just a hint of menace. Between times his eyes fl it around the room, betraying the stills heading to the picture editor. The shots make the perfect cutaway footage for the interview he is taping for sponsor Standard Life. The questions cover broad subjects about his own life and game; the responses are measured and eloquent, delivered with self-assurance. Trying to square this Andy Murray with the surly teenager who made his Wimbledon debut a decade ago takes some doing. But that is one of the inherent joys of tennis, watching the boy become a man before our very eyes, not to mention an Olympic champion, US Open champion, and Wimbledon champion – and in this, the era of the Big Four. “It’s about always trying to fi nd ways to get better,” Murray says when probed on the subject of determination. “Whether things are going badly, or whether things are going well, you have to try to get up every single day and fi nd ways to improve. That for me is what determination is about.” Innovation? “I’m always excited to improve, I always like trying new things,” he says. “I feel
like I’m quite open-minded in terms of trying new techniques, different ways of training, working with different people. That’s one of the things I really enjoy about my job.” Asked how an elite player continues to develop at the top of the game, his eyes fi x on the interviewer. “When you don’t feel like you can improve any more, it’s time to do something different.” Learn, adapt, improve, but never compromise – fi ne aspirations at all levels of the sport, and in that sense Murray makes for a fi ne role model. Both on-court and off, he has earned his reputation as a master strategist – a trait tested to its fullest in 2014, arguably his hardest season since turning professional in 2005. His ginger return to action following back surgery in late 2013, twinned with the shock departure of Ivan Lendl, the mentor who oversaw those three banner victories, saw Murray’s ranking drift into double digits for the fi rst time since 2008. “It's certainly not been my best year, but considering what I've been through it's been fi ne,” Murray wrote in a blog post for the BBC during last year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. “The surgery was the hardest part to get over. “Obviously when I stopped working with Lendl that was tough, because we had great success together and I really enjoyed working with him, but
coming back from surgery is more serious because, let's face it, you only have one back.” It may not have been as tough to deal with as his physical recovery, but the hottest topic of conversation remained the dramatic state of flux within his support team. The decision to appoint Amelie Mauresmo as Lendl’s successor stunned the tennis world and, in the process, prompted a wider debate about the role of women at the top of men’s sport.
the player’s thinking. So far she’s been very good for me. It’s now down to me to produce the results on the court.” It’s important at this point to make one thing perfectly clear: anyone who believes that Murray hired Mauresmo to strike a blow for women in sport, equal rights or feminism is mistaken. When it comes to the personnel involved in his tennis career, Murray is ruthlessly pragmatic to the core. It was ever thus. Take the moment he returned to
“When you don’t feel like you can improve any more, it’s time to do something different.” Mauresmo is a former world No.1, a two-time Grand Slam champion, the French Fed Cup captain and a newly elected member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She is also the fi rst woman to coach an elite men’s tennis player without sharing his family name. “She’s very calm, that’s something that’s important for me,” Murray said of Mauresmo in Melbourne. “She listens well and she asks a lot of questions. Especially when you’ve been an ex-player, it’s easy to see things only through your eyes, but it’s important to learn what
Dunblane from the European Under-16 Championships in Andorra relaying a conversation he had had with a young Rafael Nadal, who was already training with former world No.1 Carlos Moya back home in Majorca. “Rafa’s out in the sun all day,” he told his parents. “He hardly goes to school and he’s playing four and a half hours a day. I’m playing four and a half hours a week – it’s not enough.” Soon after, aged just 15, he enrolled in the Sanchez Casal Academy in Barcelona. It was the beginning of an uncompromising trend. In 2007, APRIL 2015 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE
15
YOUR GAME
R i s k fo
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Reward
Willing to be b to taking a ris r Austra ave? Recently k? Ready l DAVI D ian Tennis Ha inducted embrac HALL explor ll of Famer your ga ing innovatio es how n me for t he b e t c a n c h a n g e ter.
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AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE APRIL 2015
R
isk taking! Tennis is full of it. Going for the big backhand up the line when you’re out of position, a risky second serve on breakpoint or a drop shot deep in a third-set tiebreak. There is another kind of risk associated with tennis that is perhaps just as daunting – the risk of change. Changing your racquets, string, or your coach when your game has reached a performance plateau are some of the bigger risks you might face. You need to adapt, experiment and use innovation as a weapon just like your forehand to improve your tennis. How can you learn from the pros when the time is right to take such a risk? Ever since the introduction of the wooden racquet in the late 19th century to the release in the early '70’s of the metal-framed Wilson T2000, players have been tinkering with their tools to stave off mediocrity and look for an edge. The most recent example of this is Roger Federer, who in the space of 10 years claimed an unprecedented 17 Grand Slams with the same racquet,a 90 inch Wilson Pro Staff. Then came the pain. After finishing 2012 with six titles and a match record of 71-12 including a seventh Wimbledon title over Andy Murray,Federer’s results fell in 2013 to a pedestrian (for him) 45-17-match record with a lone title in Halle. The Swiss maestro had reached his plateau. The game was passing him by. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were bullying him from the baseline. Errors and mis-hit, rather than consistency and winners, became a feature of his game. A loss to Sergiy Stakhovsky at Wimbledon was the straw that threatened to crack his tender back. Federer needed innovation more than ever. An ageing champion had to take a risk. Change was here and how quickly Federer accepted it meant the difference between a stalling career or keeping up with his fellow members of the Big Four.
him well, possibly due to the History showed us that disadvantage of small windows Federer did indeed make that of trying different racquets change to a new frame, the 97 between tournaments and a inch Wilson Pro Staff RF97. The short off-season, which never search for new innovation took helps. Time may be on your side him approximately 18 months so don’t go back to your and included security blanket – if you multiple frames, GAME HANGERS: Serena Williams feel this is the new racquet string patterns (above) regained and varying her dominance after for you then take the risk and make the move. weight balances. a surprise teaming with coach Patrick Another legend that The switch was Mouratoglou, while made the move was Andre a success as 2014 Roger Federer Agassi. The Las Vegan’s brought five titles returned to titlewinning form with a move, however, was of the and a 73-12-match new racquet. string variety. That finicky record, which substance that lives in your included an elusive racquet can be vital in a game Davis Cup title for Switzerland. of inches. While you may not have such Late in Agassi’s career, after access to a racquet company joining forces with Aussie Darren and their resources, find a Cahill, the South Australian local tennis shop and get as presented him with a proposal to much information as you can try a new innovative product: the from their racquet technician, Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power, a organise a play test, get online string that was sweeping the and do some research. pro tour. During testing, Federer went Agassi, who was notoriously back to his security blanket of particular about his equipment, an old frame that had served APRIL 2015 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE
21
PLAYER PROFILE
Winning against the odds has long been a Venus Williams benchmark but as she nears her 35th birthday, the trailblazer for women’s tennis is still setting a new standard – for herself and the players she’s influenced. BARRY WOOD reports. 34
AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE APRIL 2015