Australian Tennis Magazine - April 2016

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CONFIDENCE CASE STUDIES ANDY MURRAY JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO NICK KYRGIOS

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APRIL 2016 VOL 41 No.04

contents

22

MOMENT OF TRUTH

Could team success be the impetus that becomes a key turning point in Andy Murray’s career?

FEATURES 14 CONFIDENCE QUANTIFIED

44 TEAM HIGHS

16 STAYING STRONG

46 A LASTING LOVE

The ever-growing records of Novak Djokovic provide a stunning measurement of his self belief.

While her nerves are occasionally tested, character generally prevails for Sam Stosur – and she’s determined to keep showing it in her 15th year on tour.

18 COMING OF AGE

A confidence-boosting win can transform a promising player into a champion, as many of the world’s best have shown.

25 THE LONG ROAD BACK

Juan Martin del Potro is regaining confidence as he regains form following his battle with injury.

Wearing national colours brings out the best in some players – and Sam Stosur is no exception.

Even in retirement, Alicia Molik is embracing the game she loves – both as a social player and in her role as Australian Fed Cup captain.

48 LOOK WHO IS BACK

Ashleigh Barty’s “indefinite break” is over, with a revived passion prompting her welcome return to the game.

55 40 LOVE

Wooden racquets were long gone and Roger Federer had Pete Sampras’ record in sight; to celebrate ATM’s 40th birthday, we look back at the most recent decade.

50

THE 'CAN'T MISS' KIDS'

The path to major glory seems inevitable for some young players – or does it?

APRIL 2016 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

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APRIL 2016 VOL 41 No.04

28 MASTER PLAN Being prepared is the key to a self-assured performance on court.

REGULARS 8 BREAKPOINTS 12 THE HITTING WALL 31 FITNESS 32 BE THE PRO 60 20 QUESTIONS 62 FROM THE CLUBHOUSE 67 IN FOCUS 68 RANKINGS 70 SCOREBOARD 72 KIDS' CLUBHOUSE 74 LAST WORD

33

LESSONS FROM THE PROS

Confidence comes in many shapes and forms. The world’s best provide varying examples.

4

AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE APRIL 2016

EDITOR Vivienne Christie ASSISTANT EDITOR Daniela Toleski FOUNDING EDITOR Alan Trengove GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Andrea Williamson Dominica Glass

ADVERTISING MANAGER Nicole Hearnden ADMINISTRATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Camille Green PHOTOGRAPHS Getty Images, John Anthony COVER PHOTO Getty Images COVER DESIGN & PHOTO EDITING Andrew Hutchison, Rebekka Johnson

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.

FIRST SERVE

Taking COMMAND

S

erena Williams’ serve, Novak Djokovic’s backhand, Rafael Nadal’s forehand or the all-round artistry of Roger Federer. Dreaming about the strokes you’d steal from a tennis superstar is a common past time for a club-level player.

Yet, as helpful as any one of those weapons would undoubtedly be, there’s also a view that 99 per cent of winning comes down to mentality. To look at it another way, confidence is ultimately the key.

Whether it’s positive body language, targeted aggression, commitment to a match plan or other assertive behaviours, self-belief can be evident in a myriad of ways. We’ve explored many of them in this special “confidence” issue of Australian Tennis Magazine.

Naturally, we’ve relied on some of our favourite players as successful case studies. There are clear lessons in Djokovic’s

ongoing dominance, Andy Murray’s near-perfect Davis Cup record and Angelique Kerber’s Grand Slam breakthrough.

Of course, even those superstars understand that confidence isn’t always a constant. With a dip in form or an unexpected circumstance, fortitude can be fleeting for even the most accomplished champions.

Cover star Sam Stosur worked hard to gain confidence but maintaining it in the longer-term has proven the greater battle. To her credit, the Queenslander has bounced back on several occasions – early on, she overcame career-threatening illness to become a Grand Slam titlist; more recently, Stosur recovered from Australian Open disappointment with Fed Cup success.

For Juan Martin del Potro, confidence wavered after extended injury timeouts,

making his successful return at Delray Beach a pivotal turning point. The Argentinean’s many fans will welcome the possibility of his career revival.

The same might not be true for Maria Sharapova. As this issue of Australian Tennis Magazine went to print, shocking news broke that the Russian had tested positive for Meldonium, a drug that was added to WADA’s list of banned substances from January 2016.

Admitting to a “huge mistake”, Sharapova was provisionally suspended from 12 March and the longer-term implications were unknown at the time of writing.

We’ll have more on Sharapova in our next issue. Until then, there’s positive reading aplenty in our current special – and an assurance in knowing that even if you don’t boast the strokes of the superstars, you can at least borrow from their self-belief.

18

Vivienne Christie editor@tennismag.com.au

Nexnt th mo Transforming

TENNIS

Just as there have been many turning points in the pro game, there are many ways to transform your own tennis.

On sale from 25 April.

SUPER streaks …

There’s self-belief in numbers for many stars:

13 YEARS

160

15 YEARS

WEEKS

Serena Williams has now spent 160 consecutive weeks (as of 7 March) at world No.1. It is the second longest streak in WTA Tour history, only behind Steffi Graf’s reign of 186 weeks between 1987 and 1991.

Roger Federer has won at least one ATP World Tour singles title for the past 15 seasons. Maria Sharapova holds the WTA Tour’s best current active streak with 13 years.

Bob and Mike Bryan’s enviable doubles record includes 13 consecutive years of making at least one Grand Slam men’s doubles final.

65 GRAND SLAMS 6

AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE APRIL 2016

WINS

41

Czech Petra Kvitova is the undisputed No.1 in her country, having won her past 18 matches against a countrywoman.

WINS

10 YEARS

Roger Federer has not missed a Grand Slam tournament since 1999, setting a new record. Jelena Jankovic owns the longest active streak for women, with 49 Grand Slams.

18

Sam Stosur has finished the season as Australia’s top-ranked woman every year since 2006.

A quarterfinal loss to Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in Doha in February ended a 41-match winning streak, which netted nine titles and dated back to August.

It was the best women’s doubles winning run since 1994.

INJURY WATCH

Grand Slam champion Juan Martin del Potro understands that regaining confidence is the most important aspect of a successful return from injury. LEIGH ROGERS reports

ANDREW PATRON, CAMERASPORT

The

LONG ROAD BACK W

hen Juan Martin del Potro took to the court for his fi rst round match at Delray Beach in February he knew that regardless of the result, he would walk off as a winner.

Just having the confidence to compete again was a breakthrough in itself for the US Open 2009 champion and former world No.4.

After three wrist surgeries, the 27-year-old Argentinean’s struggle to recover from the debilitating injury had restricted

him to just four ATP Tour matches since February 2014.

“I was nervous before the match and excited to see how my forehands and serves were going to be on court,” del Potro revealed. “I knew how my backhand would be … I’m still working and improving to have a very good backhand to compete in this level.”

The self-doubt in the groundstroke is a lingering aftermath of del Potro’s confidence-crushing wrist injuries. It is a stark contrast to when the 198 centimetre talent would powerfully strike two-

handed backhands without a second thought in the early stages of his career.

It did not stop the No.1042ranked wildcard from making a dream return at the Florida tournament though. Del Potro won his fi rst three matches, before eventual champion Sam Querrey stopped him in the semifi nals.

“I always try to win, that’s for sure,” del Potro said. “But this week I won more than a tournament – I’m so glad to play tennis again.”

Yet as the Argentinean progressed through the draw, his

hesitation to hit a two-handed backhand was evident. He often opted for a one-handed slice instead.

“I was playing too many slices.

It’s not my game,” he conceded.

The 18-time ATP World Tour champion, and the fi rst player to beat both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the same Grand Slam tournament, is aware he still has a lot of work to do.

“I need to improve my backhand as soon as I can,” he said after his second round win against Australian qualifier JohnPatrick Smith. “He kept making me hit backhands down the line APRIL 2016 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

25

FEATURE

MOMENT TRU ANDY MURRAY

of

There comes a key turning point in the career of every great champion.

For Andy Murray, the impetus to outclass long-time rival Novak Djokovic could come from team success. ALEX SHARP reports

2015

was most certainly the season of Novak Djokovic.

The numbers were staggering with 15 straight finals, three Grand Slams, six Masters crowns.

Was it one of the best calendar seasons ever? Obviously.

However away from the heroics of the world No.1, Great Britain’s Andy Murray was once again carving out his own mesmerising slice of history, a triumph so transformative for himself but also for British tennis.

The Scot consolidated himself as a national treasure having ended a 77-year wait for a British male Wimbledon champion in 2013. Two years later and Murray crushed Belgium on the clay of Ghent to end another unwanted record of 79 years without etching Great Britain onto the Davis Cup roll of honour.

“It’s incredible that we managed to win this competition,” said the flabbergasted world No.2 after lofting a sublime topspin lob winner over David Goffin on championship point to cue an outpouring of emotion. “I didn’t know that would ever be possible.”

Murray has always been keen to highlight the team ethos but 22

AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE APRIL 2016

he was the dominant force in the prestigious Davis Cup campaign, becoming only the third man after John McEnroe and Mats Wilander to end a campaign with an 8-0 singles record.

Furthermore, he also matched Pete Sampras (1995) as the last man to win three live rubbers in a Davis Cup final.

“I play some of my best tennis when I’m playing for my country,” said an astonished Murray.

Too right. All the pressure, all the emotions, whilst battling the mental and physical fatigue of the ATP World Tour, the 28-yearold has thrived in the spotlight as the leader of Leon Smith’s squad.

“Has to be one of the best (British sporting) achievements of all time. I mean, it’s incredible for all of us to watch how he’s

managed to win that many rubbers, that many wins,” hailed captain Smith. “I hold Andy in the absolutely highest esteem. What he’s managed to do for this team is astonishing, to post that many wins in one year … He’s put his whole body, his whole mind on the line every single time for the team. Really it’s incredible. We’re all grateful and proud of him.”

Despite the brutal onslaught from Djokovic, could such a magnificent accomplishment of clinching the Davis Cup provide a turning point for Murray to transform his staggering Grand Slam consistency into more major titles as he approaches 30?

Let’s look at the other members of the Big Four.

In 2010 Djokovic was the catalyst for Serbia storming to the Davis Cup. Along with

his much-publicised change in diet and regime, Djokovic has revealed that national victory sparked a change in his desire.

Consequently in 2011 the world No.1 collected three Grand Slams including maiden titles at Wimbledon and the US Open. He has led the pack ever since.

Not convinced? Well with Rafael Nadal winning a first of four Davis Cups with Spain in 2004, then saw the lassoing forehand snatch an opening Grand Slam on the red clay of the French Open in 2005.

Fast forward to Spain’s 2008 triumph and 2009 saw Nadal prevail as champion on Rod Laver Arena for a first Australian Open.

Later that season Spain ruled the world, utilising the dogged determination of Nadal, which then saw the Mallorcan wield his power to three majors in 2010.

What about the highly-lauded Roger Federer? The 17-time Grand Slam champion finally stamped the Davis Cup on his CV in 2014, alongside compatriot and great friend Stan Wawrinka.

That Swiss success is yet to signal more major trophies in the Federer household however 2015 saw a resurgence in court presence and more importantly in results. He reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals at SW19 and Flushing Meadows, only to be halted by the Djokovic express.

Therefore a Davis Cup trophy is certainly not a direct equation to individual reward on the tour,

UTH

‘

DAVIS CUP HAS CERTAINLY GIVEN ME A BOOST … I’LL TRY AND USE IT AS MUCH AS I CAN. ANDY MURRAY

FEATURE

COMING of AGE Any gaps between natural talent and expected results can close quickly when a player scores a headlinegrabbing win. STEVE BARRETT explores the confidence-boosters that transformed promising careers into champion ones.

N

ext big thing is a label that can be both an honour and a frustration for a professional young player: on the one hand, it’s a flattering ackowledgment of champion qualities; on the other hand, it’s filled with pressure when self-belief doesn’t quite yet match a player’s undoubted skill.

That potentially-fraught position made Dominic Thiem’s run to two ATP titles early in 2016 all the more impressive.

Champion in Buenos Aires and Acapulco – and a semifinalist in Rio in between – the 22-year-old peaked at world No.14 by the end of February.

In Argentina, success included a semifinal win over defending champion Rafael Nadal – and it will undoubtedly add confidence as Thiem looks to translate such form into Grand Slam success.

There comes a point in most champion player’s careers when they ‘come of age’ in a similar way. Here are some other notable examples:

18

AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE APRIL 2016

RAFAEL NADAL 2004 Miami Masters R3 d. Roger Federer 6-3 6-3 Battling a flu and below his scintillating best, world No.1 Federer was still expected to topple the impressivelybuilt but relatively unknown 34th-ranked teenage claycourt specialist from Mallorca.

Nadal never allowed his opponent a sniff, playing near flawless tennis while attacking Federer’s backhand under instruction.

In 70 minutes it was over and young Rafa was now a man to be reckoned with.

“I was afraid that he could win 6-1 6-1 or 6-1 6-2 but I was really looking forward to playing this match because I was playing against the No.1 player,” Nadal said post-match.

“I went on court with a positive attitude, not with the attitude of ‘oh, let’s try and win one game’.

“I have much more confidence and I know that I can play at that level, that I belong to the higher level of players.”

The following year Rafa transformed his new-found belief into French Open glory, eliminating Federer in the semifi nals en route to the fi rst of his all-time record nine victories at Roland Garros.

Nadal, who has a whopping 14 major trophies to his credit, has remained a riddle Federer has had trouble solving, winning 23 of the pair’s 34 match-ups in a famous if rather one-sided rivalry.

STEFAN EDBERG 1985 Australian Open SF d. Ivan Lendl 6-7(3) 7-5 6-1 4-6 9-7

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA 1978 Eastbourne International Final d. Chris Evert 6-4 4-6 9-7 The grandest rivalry in women's tennis history wasn’t actually much of a rivalry initially.

Leading into the 1978 Eastbourne grasscourt final in southern England, Evert led Navratilova 21-4 head-tohead, was 10-2 in finals, 3-0 in majors and had already won seven Grand Slam titles to Martina’s zero.

At Eastbourne, Evert overcame a 4-6 0-3 deficit to take the second set before serving for 5-1 in the third and for the silverware at 7-6.

Navratilova saved a match point off Evert’s serve with a bold chipand-charge and confidently closed it out, 9-7.

A fortnight later, Martina’s fresh belief carried her to a watershed Wimbledon victory, prevailing 7-5 in a gripping final against Evert, who led 4-2 in the third set.

Navratilova chalked up a record nine Wimbledons in an amazing career, at the end of which she equalled Evert’s tally of 18 majors and moved ahead in their epic rivalry, 43-37.

Three years into his ATP career, 1983 junior Grand Slam champion Edberg had a middling 39-30 record and a reputation as an underachiever, seemingly incapable of capitalising on his fluid, classical style.

Edberg trumped countrymhan Mats Wilander to claim his first career title at the 1984 Milan Indoors, but five listless defeats from his next seven outings suggested this package was incomplete.

The Swedish net-rusher took just three games off John McEnroe in a horror US Open quarterfinal and suffered a tough loss to Wilander in the Australian Open quarters.

Edberg showed signs of improvement in 1985 before finishing the year in style,

serve-volleying his way to a stunning Australian Open triumph, comfortably downing Wilander in an allSwedish final.

To get there, Edberg survived a gruelling, rainaffected, four-hour semifinal against world No.1 Lendl, spread over two days, truly coming of age by saving three break points whilst serving second and trailing 3-2 in the final set.

“This could be the breakthrough that proves Stefan is made of the right stuff,” noted Edberg’s longtime coach Tony Pickard.

He was not wrong.

Edberg was victorious again at Kooyong in 1987 and collected six career majors in total.

VENUS WILLIAMS 2000 Wimbledon QF d. Martina Hingis 6-3 4-6 6-4 Venus is 105 days older than Hingis but was undoubtedly the junior rival in their early days on tour.

The Swiss Miss claimed eight of the pair’s first 11 match-ups and three-outof-three in majors.

Hingis was world No.1 and a five-time Grand Slam champion, while Venus’ best effort was making the 1997 US Open final, which Hingis won convincingly.

Confidence was rarely an issue for Venus, except when she played Hingis in big matches.

The 2000 Wimbledon quarterfinals saw Venus finally shake her Hingis hoodoo, combining calmness with aggression to prevail in a tight threesetter.

“This is great because I’ve never had the opportunity to win in a major against Hingis,

(and) this is the fourth time we’ve played (in Slams),” Venus said postmatch.

“We were always taught to believe we were the best, even if we weren’t the best.

“As a competitor, there’s no way you should believe that someone is better than you.”

Venus ousted younger sister Serena in the semis before claiming her first major with a neat win over Lindsay Davenport in the final.

Carrying her restored belief into the US Open, Venus recorded an intense, come-frombehind semifinal victory over Hingis before downing Davenport, again, in the decider.

In 2001, Venus repeated the dose with another Wimbledon-US Open double to stamp herself as a modern-day great.

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DAVIS CUP

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: New Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt had advice aplenty for Bernard Tomic during the intense tie.

Almost 25,000 fans packed the stands over three days to see Australia take on the United States in the nostalgic setting of a Davis Cup tie on grass at Kooyong. Yet the visitors proved just a little too strong.

By MATT TROLLOPE

I

f a common view in recent years has been that the Davis Cup, as a product, is losing its lustre, the fi rst round of 2016 World Group ties went some way to countering that assertion.

Across the world, the game’s biggest stars turned out to compete before heaving stadiums in thrilling matches that possessed all the passion and energy for which the competition has long been famous. But perhaps none of the ties possessed the significance or the gravitas of the one staged in Melbourne between Australia and the United States.

Held at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club – regarded as the spiritual home of Australian tennis – on a purpose-built grass court, the tie pitted the two most prolific Davis Cup nations against one another in a setting and on a surface that harkened back to the competition’s halcyon days, such as the 1953 final at the same venue featuring a spectacular takedown of the Americans by teenagers Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall.

Historically, the United States held the edge over the hosts, winning 25 of their 45 encounters. That statistic perhaps proved telling; the Americans edged the Aussies once again when John Isner posted an impressive four-set victory over Bernard Tomic, sealing a 3-1 victory and a quarterfi nal berth for his team.

“It’s breathtaking to watch (Isner) serve the way he did,” US captain Jim Courier said. “Bernie is one of the great return players in tennis … for John to serve the APRIL 2016 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

41

FEATURE

e v o L 2006

As Australian Tennis Magazine entered its 30th year, Swiss champion Roger Federer was the undisputed No.1. He won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open to take his growing Grand Slam count to nine.

Rising Spanish star Rafael Nadal had his measure on clay though, winning a second French Open. “A rivalry for the ages? Well, in time, it may prove to be,” we scribed.

American Andre Agassi retired and was remembered for his “significant influence on the modern game”. Martina Navratilova also ended her 3110 p 1 AUS Cover

14/9/06 10:20 AM

professional career, some 33 years after it began. Her astonishing effort ended in style, winning the US Open mixed doubles in her last event – a 359th pro title for the 49-year-old.

Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo made her Grand Slam breakthrough, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon to return to No.1.

Wooden racquets were long gone and Roger Federer had Pete Sampras’ Grand Slam record in sight as Australian Tennis Magazine reached 30 years of publishing. In the final of a three-part instalment to celebrate our 40th anniversary, LEIGH ROGERS relives the highs and lows we covered in the past decade …

Belgian Justine Henin won the French Open, with Russian Maria Sharapova winning her second Grand Slam at the US Open. Both players spent stints at No.1, with Henin fi nishing the season in the top spot.

An up-and-coming stars feature included Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic (who “shows a bit of guts,” we wrote).

Martina Hingis made a muchcelebrated return at age 25: “Maybe when I wasn’t around anymore, all of a sudden people realised that something was missing in the women’s game.

Now, I’m bringing it all back again,” she said .

DOMINANT: Roger Federer was breaking records and winning legions of fans with his silky-smooth skills.

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