Tennis World issue 20

N°20 -October

TENNIS WORLD Parris TODD Feature: Growing Pains into Pro Stardom

Andy Murray It’s been a difficult year for Andy Murray

Mats Wilander Living with the Worst Disease you’ve never heard of

The String Kings Roger Federer’s personal stringers reveal what it is like working for the Swiss Maestro

Parris TODD

by Sandy Mittleman

Growing Pains into Pro Stardom Pushing Through the Tennis Grind

“I HATE TENNIS!” That is the LAST thing a camp wants to hear after years of time and effort supporting a young talented player whose first love IS the game. What I’ve come to realize over the years of developing great players is that they don’t hate the game of tennis itself, but losing matches. So what happens when a young talented junior who is playing at an elite level and who accomplishes becoming #1 in every age group and in the nation, gets knocked off their high horse and goes through a losing streak once they decide to go Pro? What is so difficult about becoming a professional tennis star? What has to change?

This was the situation of top American Jr. gone pro, Parris Todd.

Parris, a young American Tennis player from Newport Beach, California was introduced to me by a long time WTA Tour friend who had practiced with Parris while playing for the World Team Tennis (WTT) Orange County Breakers in Newport Beach in July of 2013. The client and longtime friend of mine, knew I was looking to cherry pick special talent that would fit my agency’s standard of moral excellence. She was impressed how a girl half her age pushed her to work harder and said, “You need to check this girl out!”

Having worked with some of the best talent for the WTA tour, there are 3 critical questions in assessing a player I look for: #1. Does the player have talent/qualities no coach can teach? I look at their record and then research their game and if their record doesn’t match the talent, then there must be a disconnect. #2. What’s their current situation look like? Is it the typical pushy and overbearing parental situation which could occasionally taint the player’s passion, work ethic and conviction, or a coaching situation gone bad.

And Finally #3 what does the player believe about their future? Do they have passion,

character and willing to do what other people won’t do to achieve greatness…

After doing my own research #1 was accomplished; Parris could move and hit the ball well and for a girl of 14 years, her serve is what stood out. Next was her results, I saw her disconnect of losing more than twice the matches she won in a year transitioning from juniors into the ITF Woman’s Circuit.

Moving on to #2 it was time to get on the inside of the Todd Camp. After speaking every few days via Skype video conference with Parris and several phone calls with the family, Parris lacked self-confidence, self-belief and she just simply was going thru the motions. The good thing was her family dynamic was healthy and both of her parents, Angela and Charles Todd, were hard working, intelligent and very caring about her game and future.

And finally moving into #3 it was time to assess Parris in person. In April, Parris and Angela arrived in Rochester, NY so that I could get the full picture of who Parris really was. I told her to come with an open mind and when I met them at the airport I sensed some tension from Parris as she was a little timid and seemed uncertain of what she was even in for. As I dropped them off at their hotel and gave them their instructions for what was in store for the

week to come, her mother Angela was a bit surprised and I couldn’t help but notice as I shut the door to say goodbye that they were both rolling their eyes. Angela states, “Sandy said to come with an open mind but when he started to take the roll of a coach, which Parris back home had the best, I didn’t know if this was either going to be the missing link of an answer to prayer or a total disaster.”

Day 1 confirmed; I immediately saw world class talent. Parris’s ball striking was phenomenal and her ability to take the ball early and natural power was impeccable. It was like she had multiple gears. She responded fantastic to all the challenges I gave her and she gave me the impression, ‘is that all you’ve got’. So now was the real challenge, what was going on inside that mind.

We began to talk honestly about her disappointment with her results over the last year, and she broke down. Parris was so frustrated she stated, “Everyone always tells

me how good I am and I’m so tired of hearing that because my results don’t show it, I’m not enjoying this anymore.” I saw real raw emotion and how passionate she was about her tennis and career that seemed to have been lost. That conversation shook my soul, taking me back to a past turning point in my life wishing I had someone to hear me out when I was her age to offer me direction. I knew in that moment I could help her accomplish her dreams and I was willing to do whatever it took to work every day with complete direction, intention and passion for her growth and development. As we finished up the day I asked, “Tell me what you really want to accomplish in this game?”

Parris strongly proclaimed, "I want to break records." I then said, "Let's make history together!"

Although Parris has turned a corner in her mind to advance her career rekindling the desire to become the best in the world, there is much work to be done. Parris states, “If it was easy everybody would be doing it.” Growing pains into pro stardom starts in the mind as you can’t teach passion, conviction and intention but what you can do is support and direct those traits.

The key is not playing your best tennis all the time, but making your average game better and

once a player is comfortable with that, then everything else will follow suit.

Angela confirms, “It takes a LOT to impress me, and well the way Sandy worked with Parris and how he got her to blossom into her destiny is miraculous, definitely an answer to prayer.”.

Furthermore the last thing Parris said to me after our week was over, words so endearing I’ll never forget, “You know Sandy, you’re allRIGHT!” With this new partnership as her manager and as her tour coach, I truly believe that Parris Todd is a future grand slam champion. As the founder and CEO of MLJ Group, I am very proud to be a small part of the transition from successful junior, to rough first year

professionally to now burning for success and to become the best in the world! The future is so bright for Parris Todd and I’m thankful that her growing pains into pro stardom was the gift that brought her to the MLJ Group.

Murray On The Mend

by Marco Di Nardo

It’s been a difficult year for Andy Murray.

It’s been a difficult year for Andy Murray. The surgery that forced him to miss the latter part of the 2013 season has had more of a long-term impact than he had hoped. Though he has been physically healthy for quite a while, the mental impact of the surgery has weighed on him for recent months, causing him to play like a mere shadow of his old self. Marching towards the end of October, things have not completely turned around yet, but there have been some encouraging signs of late.

The British number one – and former world number two – has already won two Grand Slams in his career. Indeed, those victories

were fairly recent, but he finds himself in the uncomfortable position of not having already qualified for the ATP World Tour Final at the end of the year. In fact, if the season ended today, he would not make the cut. This is in stark contrast to previous years, when the Scot used to qualify months before the prestigious year-end finale.

Coming into the US Open, Murray had posted some severely underwhelming results. His best had come at Roland Garros, where he reached the semi-finals, but he lost easily there to Nadal.

He had not reached a final since winning Wimbledon in 2013. At the other

The streak was finally broken in China at the end of September three Slams he reached the quarter-finals before bowing out – not the kind of results we have become used to seeing from Murray in years past.

The streak was finally broken in China at the end of September. Entering the ATP 250 event in Shenzhen as the favorite, Murray finally won a tournament again. It was a small one, to be sure, and none of his main rivals were there, but it was a major step in the right direction. He followed that up with a semi-final showing at the ATP 500 event in Beijing. Though he lost decisively there to Djokovic, his 6-1, 6-4 victory over US Open champion Marin Cilic was an impressive performance that will give him confidence moving forward.

So if Murray is not quite back on track yet, he is certainly at the point where he can see himself getting back on track relatively soon.

“Earlier this year I had many ups and downs, and I lacked consistency,” he said recently. “Now I'm finally regaining some consistency and momentum. This means getting good success against solid opponents.”

All the Slams are finished for the year, so Murray cannot redeem himself on the sport’s biggest stage, but there are a number of big events coming up, including a few Masters 1000 tournaments. If he could qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals and perhaps even win it, he would be in a

fantastic position for next season.

With his physical challenges hopefully behind him, all that is left for Murray is to regain his mental edge, which saw him lift the trophy at Wimbledon just a little over a year ago.

If he can get back to that kind of form, there is no end to what this talented Scot can do.

Next year should be very interesting for Murraywatchers.

Interview with Grigor Dimitrov

by David Cox

Striving for Greatness

“That defeat still hurts,” Grigor Dimitrov muses ruefully, as he remembers his titanic Wimbledon semi-final against Novak Djokovic earlier this year. Competing in the last four of a major for the first time, Dimitrov went toe-to-toe with the world number one for almost four hours but Djokovic was a fiercely determined beast on the lawns of the All England Club this year, hunting down his first Grand Slam title in eighteen months.

The enduring success of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and to a lesser extent Andy Murray, has lengthened Dimitrov’s own path to success but over the past twelve months the 23 year old has matured into more than just a frequent fixture on the highlights reels.

“A defeat like that should sting and it feels good that it does,” Dimitrov continues. “You have to feel that way in order to want more from yourself and to work harder.

So that was a loss that I had to accept but I need to get my head down and hopefully give myself reason to even more excited next time I’m in that position.” Dimitrov is now ranked in the top 10 and in with a chance of qualifying for the World Tour Finals for the first time in his career with the Race set to go down to the wire over the coming weeks. After a season which has seen him win three titles and reach the semi-finals of multiple Masters 1000 events, he’s proved that he now belongs at the top of the game.

“Yeah I’m much better than this time last year,” he says. “I feel stronger, I’ve been spending more hours in the gym, putting those extra miles on the court so I feel good at the moment. I still feel there’s a lot of room for improvement and as I’ve said there’s a lot of hard work to be done. I’m very excited about how my coaching relationship is working, we’re really striving for greatness.”

A large part of Dimitrov’s transformation has been down to the influence of Roger Rasheed – the coach who took Lleyton Hewitt to two Grand Slam finals a decade ago.

Rasheed is renowned as one of the game’s hardest taskmasters but it’s been his ability to strengthen Dimitrov’s resolve in the biggest matches, as well as strengthening his physique, that has made all the difference in 2014.

In particular his quarter-final demolition of Murray at SW19 was a masterclass in composure in front of a partisan Centre Court crowd.

“I’d already had a match on Centre so I was used to the feeling on there,” Dimitrov says. “and I was just playing good tennis. I didn’t let anything bother me and I was trying to compete against him and the crowd as well because I knew they were cheering for him

so I just needed to be as composed as I could and everything turned out to be on my side.”

It’s that cool detachment from the heat of the occasion which is crucial to overcoming the biggest names in the latter stages of the Grand Slams and Dimitrov is steadily honing his nerve, inspired by the breakthrough successes of Stanislas Wawrinka and Marin Cilic this year, bludgeoning their way through the established dominance of the so-called ‘Big Four.’

Dimitrov has notched up wins over Djokovic and Murray over the past couple of years. He came close against Nadal at January’s Australian Open but for him, victory over Federer would be the biggest scalp of all. They met for the first time at the Swiss Indoors in Basel twelve months ago with the Swiss taking it in three sets.

“The crowd was so packed and unfortunately I had quite a few set points and break points but I couldn’t convert,” Dimitrov remembers.

“Beating Roger is definitely something that I’m aiming for. I respect him and all that but when we come face to face I want to win. Of course he’s been my idol throughout all the years and I’ve been watching a lot of his matches but there comes a time that I’m starting to realise that I can play good tennis as well.

Such has been Dimitrov’s success so far this year that it’s easy to forget how after the 2013 US Open I feel confident and I would love to have a match-up like that every time I get the chance.”

Such has been Dimitrov’s success so far this year that it’s easy to forget how after the 2013 US Open, there were considerable doubts about whether he ever had the necessary mettle to go deep in a slam. He says now that he never listened to any of the doubters.

“With social media and everything, everything is out there,” he says. “Everyone knows everything, everyone knows what you should do but at the same time, I know what I want, I know where I’m heading. I’m pretty happy with that situation and I just focus on the important things for me.”

His former coach Patrick Mouratoglou says that people were wrong to ever question his ability to make the big time.

“Grigor is a natural crowd-pleaser,” he explained. “He loves to play hot shots but people don’t always see that he also knows how to win big matches. He has natural physical abilities and, more than that, I would say that tennis runs in his blood. He lives, eats, loves and feels tennis. I believe he can win Grand Slams, he just needs time.”

Kei Nishikori: A Samurai In New York

by Alessandro Varassi

At Flushing Meadows this year, Kei Nishikori become the first Asian player to play in a Grand Slam final.

The final at this year’s US Open was one of the most surprising in many years, perhaps even decades. While much of the attention eventually settled on champion Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori’s accomplishments are just as worthy of praise, perhaps even more so. With no major weapons to lean on, and with health problems plaguing him every step of the way, he still managed to beat world number six Milos Raonic, world number four Stan Wawrinka and world number one Novak Djokovic en route to his first career Slam final.

An offensive player who prefers to play from the baseline, his speed and athleticism are his biggest weapons. Even though his forehand does not have the power of many of his

colleagues’, his ability to take the ball incredibly early makes the shot deadly from anywhere on the court.

Born in 1989, he basically grew up in the care of Nick Bollettieri and the coaches at his academy.

In 2007, at the age of 16, he showed the world his promise by beating Alejandro Falla in Indianapolis, but it was not until 2008, at Delray Beach, when the then 244-ranked Nishikori truly arrived in the public’s consciousness. He started from qualifying to eventually beat Florian Mayer, Amer Delic, Bobby Reynolds, Sam Querrey and James Blake, who was the top seed, in the final. In the same year, he recorded his first Top 10 win, against David Ferrer, in New York. Though injuries hampered him throughout much of his youth, he still managed to keep his ranking slowly climbing. In Melbourne in 2012 he became the first Japanese player in 80 years to reach the quarters of such an event.

But the true turning point in Nishikori’s career arguably came at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid this year.

It was a strange tournament, with lots of injuries and defections, but Nishikori turned a corner in a big way.

It was a strange tournament, with lots of injuries and defections, but Nishikori turned a corner in a big way. Despite suffering from a back problem, he ground his way through the draw to reach his first final at that level. Ironically, it came on his least favorite surface, clay. His semi-final against David Ferrer was particularly remarkable, and he fought through incredible pain to oust the favored Spaniard. So bad was his pain, in fact, that he revealed to the press afterwards he might not be able to play in the final at all.

Yet despite the physical setback, he still took to the court a day later, and for stretches he seemed unstoppable. In a packed Caja Magica, filled to the brim with Nadal supporters,

Nishikori made Nadal look like an amateur for a set and a half.

Nishikori made Nadal look like an amateur for a set and a half. But just as he was on the brink of victory his back seized up.

Nadal did not let the opportunity slip by, and quickly took control of the match, though is opponent could barely walk from one side of the court to the other.

After just three games into the third set, Nishikori found himself utterly unable to continue, and retired. A relieved Nadal praised his opponent, as does Toni Nadal and Manolo Santana.

The latter even implies that Nishikori had played some of the best tennis he’s ever seen over the preceding week.

That particular story did not have a happy ending for Nishikori, nor did his fairy tale in New York. However, he has time on his side, and barring any major injuries few would bet against the man from Japan to one day lift a Grand Slam trophy.

Michael Chang

by Jan Stanski

Competitive Asian American and the footwork master

French Open Championship In the 90s American tennis boomed because of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and…

Michael Chang. He used to say: “For me, I think the Lord wanted me to win to put a smile on Chinese people's faces.” And now Chang is most known of two things – he is the youngest Grand Slam Champion – at age of 17 and also that he is coach of Kei Nishikori the Japanese uprising star and already one of the most marketable player. In 1989, few people thought that young American named Michael Chang would beat the No. 1-ranked tennis player, Ivan Lendl, in the fourth round of the French Open and Stefan Edberg in the final. He beaten also young Pete Sampras in the second round 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.

The Samurai But back in the days young Michael distinguished yourself playing his clashes by bigger extended tennis racquet and one of the

best footwork on the tennis court ever. Besides he had superb forehand which given him enormous number of winners, good lob and well return. Chang implemented into the game of Kei new quality. “The Samurai” has got so far six tournament titles and is ranked in ATP TOP 10 – close to Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic when we take into consideration the players from the generation which is predicted to rule in the upcoming 5 years like some experts are predicting – and moreover he is very dangerous also on the clay courts like on the hard courts which seems to be his natural surface as he was upbringing in tennis craft in Bradenton in Florida - one of the most recognizable tennis places on the world. Chang talking about Kei interviewed by New York Times said: “He’s still learning, but I think he is definitely a little bit more calm and a little bit more relaxed than I am.”

Flying dancer With his Chinese-Taiwan origin but representing United States in competition “the flying dancer” won his first ATP tournament

His quotes like: “As long as there's pasta and Chinese food in the world, I'm okay.” having 16 years and 7 months – it was in San Francisco and “the rookie” have beaten Johan Kriek in the final (two Australian Open champion). Chang is now aged 42 but he is in great shape in general and he has great impact on Kei. His pupil is now the best ranked Asian player while Li Na of China retired from professional tennis in September (she is still active as an ambassador of WTA Championship in Singapore and iconic player for Nike company).

I don't know what they eat.” are proves that Michael pay big attention on food and he has got interesting sense of humor. Try, try, try, try, try again Here are the tips of Chang to get better in life and court: 1- „You can work really hard, but if you're not training in the right way you're not going to improve and get to the level that you want to.” 2- “If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try again.” 3- “As an athlete, I used my speed, agility and quickness to go out and play against the big guys.”

Talented Spaniards His quotes like: “As long as there's pasta and Chinese food in the world, I'm okay.” or „All of the Spaniards are really talented.

The Man from New Jersey had won 34 professional tournaments in the ATP, he achieved 24 finals including two Grand Slam finals (Australian Open, US Open).

There is no doubt that Chang as a coach and his fantastic experience is a great value for any tennis athlete having him in the box Engaged in charity actions he wrote in year 2002 his autobiography book called: “Holding Serve: Persevering On and Off the Court�. His best ranked position was number 2 player in the world in 9th of September 1996.

There is no doubt that Chang as a coach and his fantastic experience is a great value for any tennis athlete having him in the box so we could say that if Kei Nishikori will be out of injuries for the most of his career the future on the court will belong to him with Michael Chang as a friend and motivator right beside him.

Mats Wilander’s story

by David Cox

Living with the Worst Disease you’ve never heard of

“When he was lying down he started getting these blisters on his hand and his body. Then when he started moving around the blisters developed on his knees. We realised something was not quite right and then we found out what it was.” Erik was soon diagnosed with the incurable genetic disorder Epidermolysis Bullosa or EB. Sufferers are at risk of skin tears or blisters even from the most minor traumas or friction, meaning even a hug from a parent can result in open wounds. In its worst form, EB can result in life-threatening damage to internal organs.

“The disorder is little known because it’s so rare,” Wilander says. “I believe there’s somewhere in the region of 50,000 people that have it in America. It is a genetic disease so it only occurs when two people who both have the defective gene meet and have children. There are some cases on my wife’s side of the family where some of her nieces and sisters have a

slight variation of the disease as in just very, very sensitive skin. It stems from there but I also must have a defective gene somewhere in me, in my part of the family so it’s really bad luck.”

For many families and sufferers, dealing with EB can be very traumatic on a day-to-day basis and Wilander believes that’s part of the reason why so few people are aware of its existence.

Research into the disorder has been ongoing for some time at Stanford University but as of yet, there are no cures. Only one organization – the charity DEBRA which began in 1980 – exists to help support and advise families on how best to help their children cope with the condition, prevent infection and deal with possible complications.

“They refer to the kids as ‘butterfly children’ because they’re so fragile,” he says. “But when something is as rare as this, often people don’t want to know. It’s not a ‘sexy’disease because of the way it looks. The wounds look like a very bad case of eczema and often the kids are wrapped up in cloth bandages. They basically look like they’re mummified except for the face.

So people are like, ‘Can I even touch this person without getting it? Is it contagious?’”

Wilander has been fundraising for EB for almost two decades and last year he began his own foundation to try and help families. After Erik was diagnosed, Wilander moved his family to the remote Sun Valley in the state of Idaho where the low humidity and altitude makes it harder for the skin to blister but he’s keenly aware that not everyone has such financial resources.

“The American medical insurance is good when it comes to paying for surgeries but for things like this, it’s really not that helpful right now,” he says.

For Erik, now 16, living with such a condition means he has to take things on a day-to-day basis.

“He’s managing it like you or I would when there’s something that’s challenging,” Wilander says. “You know, it’s like if you have a broken leg, you find a way to live with it. But every day is completely different and the challenges are different depending on whether it’s hot or cold or whether he’s working and has to move around a lot. Sometimes he feels fine and he can go out and do stuff that he otherwise couldn’t. But then because he feels fine he does more than he should and he suffers the consequences. I guess it’s a simple way of realising that whatever you do in your life, there are consequences and for him, those consequences are physical more than anything.”

Erik is able to work 3-4 days a week at a local tennis club and his condition is not severe enough to prevent him from occasionally playing with a local hockey team or skiing once every other week but he can never throw himself into physical activity with the same abandon as his father once did.

And for Wilander that puts things sharply into perspective.

“You realise you are just incredibly lucky,”

“You realise you are just incredibly lucky,” he says. “That’s the positive part about being close to somebody who’s born with some kind of a defect. It’s a reality check for your and everyone else around that person. Health is obviously the main component of a harmonious life – physical health and mental health. We can all forget that very quickly and too often, and he reminds me every day and he’s reminded of it every single second of his life.” Wilander says that his 21 year old daughter … also suffers from a very mild form of EB but it only flares up if she pushes herself to extremes – playing football for four hours or hiking for three days. For Erik, it can occur after just twenty minutes of activity.

“To not be able to pursue your passion for sports to 100%, I just can’t imagine that,” Wilander says. “It breaks my heart but at the same time he’s still lucky because it could have been worse.

It could have been really, really bad and he could have been dead. But he’s not and he still can live his life so we have to be thankful for that.”

National Epidermolysis Bullosa Awareness Week takes place this year from October 25-31.

Swiss Sensation

by Marco Avena If you stop a random person on the street and ask them which sport Switzerland is best known for, “skiing” would be the inevitable answer given by almost everyone.

Though ski stars like Pirmin Zurbriggen, Maria Walliser, Vreni Schneider, Michael Von Grünigen and Dario Cologna still feature prominently in many people’s minds, all of them combined do not come close to Roger Federer.

Born in Basel, winner of 17 Grand Slams and arguably the player ever, he has done much to popularize the sport in his native country.

Many would argue, however, that Switzerland’s tennis acumen is only skin deep, and once Federer retires interest in tennis will nosedive in that country. But a more careful examination reveals that tennis has much more of a

foothold than many people realize. For example, Stanislas Wawrinka, Australian Open champion and Federer’s “understudy,” has just helped steer the country to its second-ever Davis Cup final. Federer was also involved this year, but it was Wawrinka who pushed him to partake, since his countryman had often shunned the Davis Cup for individual competitions. The Davis Cup is, of course, one of the few trophies Federer has not yet added to his collection.

The last time Switzerland came this close to winning the Cup was with Jakob Hlasek and Marc Rosset in 1992.

Martina Hingis may have retired from singles play, where she won five Slams, but she is still very much active on the doubles circuit.

Unfortunately for them, they came up against the unstoppable team of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier. But this time around the odds are very much in favor of the Swiss as they take on France later this year.

Of course, the men are not the only ones having fun in Swiss tennis. Martina Hingis may have retired from singles play, where she won five Slams, but she is still very much active on the doubles circuit. On the younger front, Belinda Bencic seems poised for a run towards the very top of women’s tennis within the next year or two. And then there are past stars like Hlasek, Rosset and Claudio Mezzadri.

The recent successful history of Swiss tennis really starts in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Truly a remarkable achievement for such a small country, especially considering that tennis is not even the most popular sport there.

Hlasek was born in Prague in communist Czechoslovakia, but became a naturalized Swiss, just like Hingis and Bencic later would. He won the French Open doubles in 1992 and went as high as 7 in the ATP rankings.

Marc Rosset did not achieve quite the same level of singles success as Hlasek, reaching “justâ€? number nine in the world, but did achieve something quite extraordinary: winning an Olympic gold medal in 1992. His exploits at the Barcelona Olympics include wins over Jim Courier, Goran Ivanisevic, Wayne Ferreira and Emilio SĂĄnchez. In the final he faced the Spaniard Jordi Arrese in an epic five-setter, which he eventually won 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 8-6.

This generation of Swiss players was the first to elevate their country into the elite World Group in Davis Cup, though none have ever managed to bring home the trophy, though that might soon change.

Certainly Switzerland has had a potentially devastating Davis Cup team for a long time, at least in theory.

But with Federer reluctant to sacrifice time for his singles pursuits, that team remained confined to paper and the imagination for years.

Even if they fail to win the Davis Cup, Switzerland is riding high in the tennis world right now, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The New Martina Hingis?

by Marco Avena

A star is born? Perhaps not the best phrase.

A star is born? Perhaps not the best phrase. This star was born quite a while ago, but she is certainly rising right now. A few weeks ago Belinda Bencic, who had been known to hardcore tennis fans for quite some time, became a household name by reaching the US Open quarter-finals. The Swiss flag was flying high at the stadium, and journalists were quick to draw comparisons between Bencic and her much more famous compatriot, Martina Hingins.

Hingis was also at the US Open, though she only participated in the doubles draw alongside Flavia Pennetta.

Hingis did not take much notice of the youngster, at least publicly, though Bencic was effusive in her praise of her countrywoman.

A former world number one and winner of five Slams, Hingis’ first Major victory came at the All England Club when she was just 16 years old.

Bencic was barely born then. 16 years after that triumph, Bencic would repeat her hero’s feat, even though it was only in the Junior draw.

Bencic is of Czech origin, whereas Hingis is of Slovak descent, and the two share a similar playing style. Over the past year, Bencic has improved virtually every part of her game

With her result at the US Open this year, she became the youngest woman to reach the last eight of the event since – you guessed it – Martina Hingis in 1997 dramatically, from her groundstrokes and serve to her fitness and tactical awareness. The improvement in her results have followed accordingly: instead of reaching the latter stages of the Junior Slams, she now mixes in the same company, but in the main draw of the actual events.

With her result at the US Open this year, she became the youngest woman to reach the last eight of the event since – you guessed it – Martina Hingis in 1997. Hingis went on to win the event that year for the first and only time.

“I did not know that, it's amazing,” Bencic said when told of this. “I am very proud of this achievement.” Hingis did apparently lend her expertise to the youngster during the tournament as well.

"She gave me some advice because she has played a lot here and knows the court well. She told me to control the rallies and be aggressive." The advice obviously paid off, since she eliminated Jelena Jankovic shortly afterwards.

Two lives intertwined, then, almost to an absurd degree.

Bencic is even coached on occasion by Martina’s mother, Melanie Molitor. But there is, of course, one major difference between the two: at 17, Hingis was already wining Slams, while Bencic seems some ways off from that.

That being said, her progress over the past year has been nothing short of breathtaking. Going from the quarters at the junior US Open to the quarters of the actual

Indeed, nobody knows what to do with this extraordinary young talent.

US Open in the space of 12 months is almost unheard of in the modern game. It is an upward trajectory that Bencic is well aware of.

"The last 12 months‌they were really cool to me.

I have improved my ranking slowly, step by step.

Even in Charleston I had a great tournament [she reached the semis after starting from qualifiers]. I just started to believe in myself and now...well, now I do not know."

Indeed, nobody knows what to do with this extraordinary young talent. One thing is clear, however: she has all the potential to reach the very highest echelons of the game. Who knows, she might even one day surpass her great countrywoman...

Martina Hingis

by David Cox

Her rise, fall, and resurrection

Martina Hingis is once again tasting success.

Partnering with Flavia Pennetta, who is almost 12 years younger to her, the former world No: 1 has won the WTA doubles title at Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open in China. Seeing Hingis holding a trophy brings back a lot of memories for us. She was the one of the best, teenage prodigy tennis have ever witnessed. After her, no player has been able to replicate such success in the circuit, till now. Even though she is way behind many players when it comes to number of Grand Slams, Hingis has a unique place in the history of the game. What makes her special?

The youngest Grand Slam singles champion, the youngest ever player to become World No:1...Martina Hingis had records in abundance back in the 90s. She took the tennis world by storm with her phenomenal success as a teenager. All her 5 majors, she won before turning 20.

Her achievements made tennis pundits predict she could replace Steffi Graf one day. Contrary to all expectations, she had to bid adieu to tennis at a young age of 22, thanks to injuries and controversies. A player whom the world thought would conquer the game, soon vanished into oblivion even before reaching her full potential.

What would have happened if Hingis had stayed a bit longer?

Hingis is only a year older to Serena Williams, the current No: 1 player and also a winner of 18 Grand Slams. Williams, who turned pro a year after Hingis, had won only a single major in her teens - the 1999 US Open - and had a comparatively slow start unlike Hingis. But Serena was more consistent, focused, motivated and moreover, resilient than her old rival.

Named after legendary player Martina Navratilova, Hingis’ versatile moves, accurate shots and half-volley forehands made her a dangerous player in the circuit. She could switch between attacking and defensive mode with considerable ease; watching her on court was a feast for the eyes.

She was an expert in taking the ball earlier, leaving her opponent clueless.

She was an expert in taking the ball earlier, leaving her opponent clueless.

What Hingis lacked was maturity, which in fact was no big crime considering her age. Still, sometimes her tongue-in-cheek remarks went a bit too far, especially when she described Amelie Mauresmo as ‘half a man’. The cheeky young girl with a big smile was not so modest when it came to expressing her views, bordering on the arrogant often. She took great pride in herself, which made it difficult for her to deal with failures. No one can easily forget the 1999 French Open Women’s Singles final fiasco. A disgruntled Hingis, who lost the final to Steffi Graf 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, walked off the court in tears.

Her coach and mother Melanie Molitor then had to bring her back for the trophy presentations.

Although she had a confident demeanor, she was very much like any other young teenager emotional and frustrated. The fact that she skyrocketed to fame at such a young age made it difficult for her to deal with success. When she retired at 22, she said tennis wasn’t her only passion in life, and that she had to explore many other things. But she couldn’t stay away from the one thing that defined her life for so long; three years later, she made a comeback at the age of 25. Even though she rose to No: 6 in the rankings, she wasn’t able to make it big in the majors.

She looked pretty excited after her win in Wuhan.

By then, tennis was also evolving, with power players dominating the circuit. Her second coming, unfortunately, was short-lived; she got banned by the ITF after testing positive for cocaine.

In the beginning of 2014, when Hingis once again announced her wish to return to tennis, that news didn’t create much excitement. People doubted whether she could pull off an impressive performance at her age. But she surprised everyone when she won the doubles title with Sabine Lisicki in Miami. She further proved her might by reaching the doubles finals partnering with Flavia Pennetta at the US Open in September.

Hingis has played eleven tournaments and has won two titles - Miami and Wuhan - so far. She looked pretty excited after her win in Wuhan. May be she has realised that she cannot part with tennis that easily, or it could be players like Serena and Venus, who are also her contemporaries, that inspire Hingis to set her hopes high. Whatever the reason might be, she is happy to be back.

What would have happened if Hingis hadn’t retired at the age of 22? Would she have slowed down Serena’s incredible feat? We will never know, but can only leave that to our imagination.

The String Kings

by Laura Saggio

Roger Federer’s personal stringers reveal what it is like working for the Swiss Maestro.

Nate Ferguson and Ron Yu are two unsung heroes in Roger Federer’s life. Unlike many of his other assistants, who can often be found courtside when the Swiss Maestro plays, these two men toil in the background to ensure that everything runs smoothly every week. They are Federer’s racket stringers.

Many of the top players in the world have their own racket stringers and often take them along to tournaments. These men (and women) are somewhere between magicians and confidants, and know every technical detail about how their player likes their gear. Trust and mutual respect are essential components for their relationships to work.

Of course, perfection is the only option, especially if the man holding the rackets is Roger Federer. The stringers are always present, guardian angels who cater to every whim that Federer could possibly have.

Ferguson and Yu work for the Priority One (P1), the racket company which also collaborates with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Ferguson, a well-established specialist in the field, was also the stringer for Pete Sampras when he was on Tour. He still remembers the incredible attention to detail Sampras obsessed over.

“Pete was able to figure out if the neck of one of his Pro Staff rackets was an inch higher than the other,” Yu recalls.

Indeed, while working with the best of the best is an honor and privilege, it can also be quite trying and stressful. Players can be demanding at times, and keeping a cool head is paramount.

The Babolat Star Four is the stringing machine of choice for these two, even though newer models are available. "They are just more precise and easier to handle," Ferguson says.

Federer generally takes nine frames to a Grand Slam tournament. For his first match he usually wants them strung at 26 kg, going up to 26.5kg and eventually 27kg. He prefers a mix of gut and polyester strings on his rackets.

Once the painstaking job of stringing is completed, Ferguson and Yu rush to deliver the rackets to Federer’s hotel, where they might be received with some Swiss chocolate.

Their first collaboration with Federer came in Rome in 2004. After winning Wimbledon that year, they started regularly working with the Swiss. Federer pays a lump sum of $40 000 per annum for their dedicated services during all four Slams and the nine Masters 1000 events.

P1 is located in Florida, and also caters to players like Marcos Baghdatis and Ernests Gulbis.

Gulbis in particularly can be a problematic client, because as Ferguson says:

"Ernests’ problem is that he hits his shoes with his strings.”

Though they have 12 prominent male clients, they currently do not list any women as their clients. Serena Williams had some interest, but she blanched when told the cost. Women generally earn less than the men in prize money.

In addition to women, P1 has never managed to snare Rafael Nadal as a client. Nadal prefers to keep those kinds of activities closer to home, and as Yu says, "With the results that he has had, maybe he's right."

Tennis has changed a lot over recent decades, especially when it comes to rackets and strings.

Though professional stringers will admit that the players’ talent decides who wins in the end, it is becoming increasingly important to pay close attention to every aspect of playing equipment. Matches are often decided by just a few points, and with such slim margins even the smallest detail of a racket can make a huge difference.

As technology continues to improve, we can expect people like Nate and Ron to play an increasingly large role in players’ lives. Who knows, maybe one day we will see them courtside during matches, just as we currently see coaches and physiotherapists.

Doping In Tennis

by Adriano S.

"We were never going to be caught. Our system was very simple, very conservative." Lance Armstrong

“In 2011, only 21 checks were made to surprise tennis players, against 4613 checks for cyclists.� Mark Cavendish Doping in sports is widespread, this much is certain. That being said, tennis fans have always believed that their sport is perhaps the cleanest on the planet. Recent revelations, however, have cast some doubt on the squeaky-clean imagine of tennis. As is clear in the quotes above, even top stars can be guilty of doping, and catching them extremely difficult, even with regular testing.

And regular, consistent testing is not something that tennis has always had. Athletes have in the past been able to skip up to three mandatory tests before incurring a major penalty. The time slots used for testing are also not stringent enough, creating lot of room for impropriety.

This is made ​possible mainly because of a lack of organization between tennis Federations and WADA. An argument often seized upon in defense of doping agencies and Federations is that there are not enough resources to conduct extensive testing. This, however, rings false, especially consider that Roger Federer was almost never

Perhaps the only way to effectively combat doping is to start at a grassroots level and teach youngsters exactly what doping is tested at all throughout the vast majority of his career. In other sports, major stars are usually the first to get tested, and they are tested often.

Considering that the prize money for the upcoming Australian Open is $36 million, it is hard to believe that some of that money could not be set aside for more testing.

But what about the doctors? Let us examine this code of ethics as it relates to doping: "The physician should not advise, prescribe or administer drug treatments aimed at altering the performance of an athlete, especially if such treatments are acting directly or indirectly to modify the natural mental and physical balance of the subject. Doping also includes the intake of drugs or submission to medical practices

not justified by pathological conditions, which are able to change the physical conditions of a subject in order to alter the competitive performance of that subject."

Clearly there is some vague language in such codes, which give doctors lots of leeway to willfully misinterpret it.

It would be useful to have a controlling body, or at least an education program for young people, to educate them about doping.

Perhaps the only way to effectively combat doping is to start at a grassroots level and teach youngsters exactly what doping is and what consequences there are for doping – physically, psychologically and professionally.

The silent ban imposed on Marin Cilic would also not have been known were it not for the Croatian media The other catch is the tendency of the ATP to sweep prominent cases under the rug. Andre Agassi’s drug case is perhaps the most famous one, even if it had nothing to do with performance enhancing drugs. The silent ban imposed on Marin Cilic would also not have been known were it not for the Croatian media.

Recent actions taken against Cilic and especially Troicki seem like desperate attempts to convince the world that it is doing something about doping. Unfortunately, the problem might be much larger than they care to admit.

A definite step in the right direction would be to make public the results of drug tests. But of course such action has lots of legal and ethical hurdles, and will likely never be implemented.

The hope now is that the biological passport will prove to be the ultimate and final weapon in the battle against doping. Though it made its debut in March of 2014, currently WADA believes it will only come into full force by the end of 2015.

Whether this will made a major difference in sports doping remains to be seen, but we certainly hope that it helps.

The Trick Up His Sleeve

by Laura Saggio

Does Compression Technology really make a difference?

In the beginning it took us by surprise. This soon gave way to jokes and mockery, which eventually led to curiosity and acceptance. But the question remains: what is the use of Compression Sleeves, as worn by Canadian superstar Milos Raonic?

Many people’s first response will be that it’s a fad, or that at best it can keep the muscles warm and help with minor inflammation. Others will argue that Compression Technology is here to stay, and that its effects are very real indeed.

Professional athletes are always looking for some sort of edge to get ahead. Recently, technology has been used to a larger and larger extent to make sure that athletes have everything at their disposal in order to maximize their potential.

When these two worlds meet and work together, the results are remarkable and of great help for athletes.

The latest advancement in this emerging field, or so many proponents of Biomechanics and Sports Medicine would argue, relates to Compression Technology, specifically Compression Sleeves.

Raonic might be the only tennis player making use of this technology at the moment, but it has long been on the forefront of sports such as basketball, sailing and athletics. Many athletes – particularly those in basketball, who call it a “shooting sleeve” – swear by its effectiveness.

These new garments can even be used when no athletic activity is on the cards at all. When athletes are resting or in-between training sessions, they often keep these sleeves on, claiming that it helps keep their muscles in peak condition. Others prefer to sleep with Compression Tights, which are similar to the sleeves but created for the lower portion of the body. These purportedly help with muscle regeneration and relaxation.

Compression Technology is said to be useful for the following reasons: 1) The compression effect grows the strength of the athlete, and improves the biomechanics of joints and muscle groups.

2) The compression effect allows for more effective fatigue management, and decreases the production of lactic acid during intense physical activity, which promotes faster recovery.

3) Compression improves responses to muscle contractions as well as the response to neurotransmitters. Also, compression reduces the direct vibration of the muscle fibers and prevents stress, which often causes inflammation.

All of these factors combine to allow greater performance in the athlete, which is the ultimate goal for every sportsperson.

Ironically, this technology is not particularly new.

As early as the 1950s it was used to treat sudden drops in blood pressure, and also to promote better blood circulation in the lower limbs.

Only at the beginning of the 80s, with further studies of materials and ergonomic advances in fabrics, did these start making an appearance in athletics.

It was inevitable that this path would lead to the realization (in the last thirty years) of professional sporting equipment, especially for sports where optimal performance at all times is paramount.

Whether this technology catches on in tennis remains to be seen, but this is certainly not the last time that we will see a new technological advance entering the arena of professional sports.

The Importance Of Balance And Harmony

by Amanda Gesualdi

The DBN (Disciplines Bio Natural) concerns itself with a wide range of activities and practices that have as their common goal the achievement of a global state of content. The DBN sees the human being as consisting of a body, emotions, mind, spirit and energy, and our purpose is to bring harmony, balance and consistency to all of these aspects. All of these parts of a person are interconnected, and each must be considered in its totality and completeness.

We are especially concerned about: vegan and macrobiotic food, sport and life coaching, spiritual essences and water, sound therapy, meditation, reiki, kinesiology and cyberkinetics.

Heroic archetypes, anthroposophy, psychosynthesis, transpersonal psychology, traditional Chinese medicine, religions, philosophies, art therapy, mythology, the psyche, sub-personality and holism are also areas of interest.

DBN hopes to promote the assumption of responsibility from each individual in relation to their lifestyle. All that we are and we risk becoming arises from the way we live, the choices we make, both consciously and unconscious, from the way we eat and many other considerations. Being responsible means to be aware, deep down, of our needs and the consequences of our actions! Our health and well-being are in our hands and to entrust it all to drugs or surgical procedures will not improve our relationship with our souls. It is important, therefore, to engage in a dialogue with our essence and work on our inner world in order to develop and evolve.

Doping in sports is on the increase because we are losing sight of our humanity and especially our spirituality. The goal is not to win, but to feel good about ourselves. Winning is the normal consequence of a doing a good job and living in harmony with yourself and your surroundings.

We fully support the Project Homo Pacificus, where lifestyle and diet (macrobiotic, vegan, organic) can lead to healing (wellness, joy, tranquility, consummation, awareness, etc.)

What has been said so far may sound like a good speech, but it lacks substance. But it all begins to take shape when we begin to understand how our brain works. The human brain is divided into two hemispheres that have different skills.

The right hemisphere governs the left part of the body and vice versa. Education, Religion, Politics, etc. have forced us to use our left hemisphere more and more, making us unconsciously give up many of the very things that make us human.

Are we intuitive in our everyday lives? Do we express our feelings and emotions? Do we volunteer? Do we fully experience life? Are we living in the present or constantly looking

to the future? When playing tennis, do we focus exclusively on our rackets and technique, or are we in touch with our true selves when we play?

The right hemisphere also focuses on logical planning and projecting into the future. Holism, however, focuses on the here and now. Planning and scheduling are very important because they trace a path for us to follow, but one of the biggest difficulties is that athletes live in moments of high concentration, mindfulness and motivation. There is a tendency for players to get distracted, to lose matches because they start slowly or are worried about how they might play.

The only thing that is truly real is the present, and this fact often escapes us because of our inability to stop and just take in the moment. In this sense, DBN can help by providing a number of tools to help the athlete improve performance.

Meditation, for example, leads to an increase in concentration, presence of mind, motivation, sense of fulfillment and confidence.

We find that the technique is a logical concern, while in contrast the “Holistic Hemisphere� is more focused on smooth and natural movement.

If we focus too much only on technique, the risk is that students will not truly internalize what we are teaching. This will make them rigid and insecure.

Good technique comes from the studies that have found a way to obtain maximum performance with the least expenditure of energy. The most important step for a coach is to observe his student and help him to find the best solution to technical and tactical problems.

Of course, technique alone will not make a good tennis player. There is a big difference between a good hitter (someone who just has good technique) and a good player (a good hitter with good tactical awareness). The coach has a great responsibility towards his students, and must work hard to combine good technique and good tactics in his students.

Our brains process not only conscious thoughts and actions, but also unconscious ones.

Consciousness is something we are all familiar with, but what about unconsciousness?

Unconsciousness includes: - All our experiences (past - present – future) - The heritage that comes from our family and ancestors)

- The Collective Unconscious (human history) When we say that we only use 10% of the brain, it means that the other 90% is used for the Holistic Hemisphere, or the unconscious. But access to this archive requires great courage, will and faith! Many of you might have seen the Luc Besson film "Lucy," which deals with human potential and unconscious life. The film is loosely based on what the scientists have uncovered through Quantum Physics.

Fritjof Capra, author of "The Tao of Physics," describes how Quantum Physics and Eastern philosophies such as Tao or Zen actually have very similar views of the universe.

Spirituality is another neglected aspect of life.

Where is our spirituality today? Why should we be afraid of something that belongs to us? As stated in a famous quote: "We are spiritual beings having a human experience!"

We must not forget who we are, and focus on following a deep, spiritual path. What would our bodies be without the vibration of the soul?

Einstein reminds us that matter is energy, and the different vibrations of matter allows us to see or not to see a given object.

Biofeedback

by Laura Saggio

The Psychological Aspects Of Tennis

Last time, we looked at the importance of Mental Training in controlling the various psychological aspects that tennis players face every day. This time around, we are going to examine one of the most effective mental tools adopted by professional players to control anxiety: biofeedback.

Let's start by explaining briefly what anxiety is.

Anxiety is an activation of sensations, thoughts and moods that are negative or cause alarm in the athlete. This is usually triggered by external stimuli perceived as threatening, even if they are not. Anxiety is divided into state anxiety or trait anxiety.

State anxiety is a transitory emotional state that occurs only in certain situations and is characterized by anxiety and general tension.

Trait anxiety is a transitory and subjective predisposition that perceives certain stimuli as potentially dangerous and is characterized by a strong emotional response.

The manifestations of anxiety can be both somatic (anxiety is characterized by symptoms related to the activation of the body such as tachycardia, muscle rigidity, increased blood pressure, etc.) and psychological (low selfconfidence, distorted thoughts, trouble sleeping, etc.).

From this brief description it is easy to understand how important it is for an athlete to be able to activate these mental responses to counteract or better manage anxiety. In order to do so, it is fundamental to learn some techniques for deep relaxation and control of the body.

The technique of autogenic training, developed by the German psychiatrist Schultz in 1923, is designed to use exercise (training) to achieve relaxation through mental concentration in full autonomy (autogenous).

Biofeedback acts as an instrument of change at three levels: Physiological level: rebalancing the Vegetative Nervous System and Endocrine System, which are closely related to the emotional aspects of anxiety.

Physical level: promoting a state of well-being.

Psychological level: helping the athlete restructure their reactions to negative emotions and thoughts.

During the exercises, the burdens of physical and psychological tensions are released through "autogenic discharges," including transient somatic symptoms (muscle spasms, buzzing hearing, dizziness) and psychological symptoms (positive or negative emotions). These tend to disappear completely during autogenic training.

Exercises for autogenic training: “Exercise of calm�: This is the preparatory stage for all subsequent exercises, in which you

must put aside thoughts and concerns.

"Exercise of heaviness": Allows for muscle relaxation throughout your body, accompanied by a state of disrepair. This exercise is useful for the relief of headaches, muscle-tension, cramps and vertigo.

"Operation Heat:" May result in significant changes in circulation in the various muscle groups. This leads to improved circulation.

Muscle warm-up is also useful before a match.

"Heartbeat exercise:" This exercise is more challenging, and concerns the emotionalaffective sphere. By listening carefully to your heartbeat and trying to control tachycardia, you can control your emotional state, and also bring anxiety and panic under control.

"Breathing Exercise:" Breathing allows you to achieve a deep psychological and emotional relaxation.

"Exercise of the solar plexus:" This is an exercise that covers several internal organs such as the intestine, liver, pancreas, spleen and kidney. It involves running a hand along the abdomen to the sternum. It's very useful for calming the psychological tensions.

"Facial exercise:" Complete general relaxation through charitable feelings of relief. This helps with feelings of psychological overload.

All these exercises belong to the so-called "lower cycle" biofeedback.