1

TENNIS WORLD
A lot happen in a monthnis

March
2014

ANA IVANOVIC
Rediscovering The Road To Greatness

PETE SAMPRAS
I don’t miss the stress of the tour

HOW TO PREPARE THE MATCH

The state of flow and the self – overcoming

The child who has moved

Rafael Nadal
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Contents
ANA IVANOVIC
5 Rediscovering The Road To
Greatness

PETE SAMPRAS
25 "I don’t miss the stress of the
tour"

JOHN NEWCOMBE
56 Interview

LEARNING TO LOVE LEFTIES

98 The "hand of the devil"

PREPARING FOR THE MATCH

104 For top match performance

THE STATE OF FLOW

115 The self – overcoming

KINESIOLOGY
118 Holistic approach to health and
well-being
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ANA
IVANOVIC
by Dario Torromeo
6

"Only he who knows the

destination knows the way."

"Only he who knows the destination performing the way she did six years
knows the way." ago.
This is the maxim that greets visitors However, it seems to me that her
to Ana Ivanovic’s Twitter page. The continuous search for new guides and
Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, the strategies has finally arrived at a
founder of Taoism, is the author of the decisive point.
statement. Since the summer of 2013, things have
It seems appropriate that Ana should been moving in the right direction for
turn to philosophy to help her better Ivanovic. Her team now consists solely
understand life and, ultimately, of compatriots, like Nemanja Koutich,
herself. a good player and better coach, and
She has changed coaches so often and Zlatko Novkovic, the black belt
abandoned so many strategies that all physiotherapist. "Ajde!" screamed Ana.
that is left is to look inward. She then lowered her visor and
I am no psychologist, but I've seen her tightened her fist. "Come on!" replied
play and interviewed her a few times. Serena Williams.
I do not know exactly what issues and It is a short, a universal battle cry that
insecurities are keeping her from everyone pronounces it their own

Her big break came thanks

to a generous sponsor, Mr.
Dan Halzmann of DH
Management.
He put up $400 000 for
her journey to becoming a
professional.
Some people say he never
even saw her play before
making the decision, but
only ever saw a picture of
her.
 7

language Against Serena, Ana had

never won.
She had never even taken a set from
the world number one.
Yet she managed to easily dispatch of
the American at the Australian Open
this year, advancing to the quarter-
finals of the year’s first Slam.
It was just a few weeks after she had
beaten Venus – another first for her –
in the final at Auckland.
It might just be the start of a very
special year for the Serbian. I admired
her in 2008.
I had applauded her in Paris, when she
won Roland Garros and became the
new world number one.
She tenaciously stuck to the baseline,
wearing down and often overwhelming
her opponents.
8

Her story has always seemed a bit over the

top, as if it couldn’t be more perfectly crafted
to make an emotional impact.

I compared her flat forehand to the She excites the crowd like few others,
devastating punch with which Thomas and she has made more money off the
Hearns knocked out Roberto Duran. court than on it. But then, the big
A gunshot that brooks no escape. A difference is in the results. AK did not
powerful serve, a good return and win a single one of the 127
great tactical awareness…these are all tournaments in which she
things that Ana excelled in back in participated.
2008. Ivanovic has won 12. Her story has
They won her many fans, almost as always seemed a bit over the top, as if
many as her beauty. Watching from it couldn’t be more perfectly crafted to
the stands, you cannot help but realize make an emotional impact.
why so many lose their heads for her. Her initiation to the sport came during
Her long brown hair is usually in a Yugoslavia’s bloody civil war, when she
ponytail, and her sensual face and practiced in a swimming pool filled
beautiful eyes are easy to get lost in. with dirt.
She has often made me thing of Anna She trained every morning from 7 to 9,
Kournikova. without ever skipping a single day.

Her initiation to the sport

came during Yugoslavia’s
bloody civil war, when she
practiced in a swimming
pool filled with dirt.

She trained every morning

from 7 to 9, without ever
skipping a single day.
 9

Of course, there was the NATO the rankings two years later.
bombing campaign, but as she pointed She seemed to already be of an earlier
out in an interview: "They took place time…a beautiful memory.
at noon, I had time to play." Monica Her game was clearly in crisis, with the
Seles was her hero growing up, though serve in particular being unreliable.
she also admired Martina Navratilova. Her toss was a mess, following the
Her big break came thanks to a right trajectory only a fraction of the
generous sponsor, Mr. Dan Halzmann time.
of DH Management. It was perpetually too high or too low,
He put up $400 000 for her journey to too far left or too far right. Her
becoming a professional. groundstrokes also lost some power,
Some people say he never even saw her and more than a little accuracy.
play before making the decision, but Perhaps she had simply lost her way
only ever saw a picture of her. because she no longer knew the
destination.
2008 was the year of magic. Then, Fortunately for her, family has been
inexplicably, things fell apart. On top able to help her. She comes from a
of the world at age 21, she found
herself down to number 65 in
10

middle class family.

Her mother was a lawyer, and one can
immediately see where Ana got her
looks and charms. Her father is a
former basketball player who now
works as a financial advisor for a
telephone company.
They never put pressure on her, and
she has never been lacking for support.
When she decided to follow her tennis
dreams, they stood right beside her
every step of the way.
But just when she thought she had
found the man she would spend the
rest of her life with, Fernando
Verdasco and Ana split up.
Many speculated that this also had an
effect on her performance. Yet she has
tried to put all of that behind her now.
Ana started the season on fire, winning
nine matches in a row. Her Australian
run ended at the hands of Eugenie
Bouchard, but her momentum is still
strong.
Ivanovic seems like a new person. She
appears to be at ease with herself, her
game and her role as a celebrity. She
also seems to be fully recommitted to
tennis in every way.
She watches her diet carefully, and
only drinks water.
The only thing she fears? Dogs, not
opponents. Ana has realized that her
life should be nice. After all, she earns
a very good living from traveling
around the world, playing a sport she
loves and having her picture taken. She
is ready to be happy.
"The Monk who Sold His Ferrari" is
one of her favorite books now, and
when she looks inwards, she likes what
she sees.
She once again knows what the
destination is.
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Muguruza Blanco
To Be, Or Not To Be Spanish

T
he future of Spanish tennis was born in 1993 in Caracas,
Venezuela. At least, that is what many of the sport’s greatest minds
believe.
While people like Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Juan Carlos

She is not sure whether she wants to

represent Spain or Venezuela
Ferrero have brought glory and prestige to men’s tennis in Spain for over a
decade, the women’s side has not been as lively.
Carla Suarez Navarro is the only Spanish woman of note at the moment, and
even she can barely stay in the Top 20. Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco, however,
might just change all that.
But Spanish fans cannot celebrate quite yet. Apart from still needing to
produce big results, there is another issue with Blanco…she is not sure
whether she wants to represent Spain or Venezuela. The indecision is due to
the fact that her own family is divided between the two countries: her father,
who is Spanish, works in South America, while her mother, who is
Venezuelan, now lives in Barcelona.
Having ended the 2013 season early due to a bad foot injury, Blanco flew to
Hobart at the start of 2014, where she started from qualifying and eventually
went on to win the title, to the surprise of everyone – including herself. She
beat the Czech Klara Zakopalova 6-4, 6-0 in the final.
It was a great moment for her, as in addition to winning the title, she entered
the Top 40 for the first time.
Winning begets winning, and Blanco went on to post an impressive
performance at the Australian Open. There, she beat Kaia Kanepi, the
Estonian who is always a tough opponent for everyone. Even more significant
was her victory over Caroline Wozniacki in the third round – Blanco’s first
Top 10 win in a Grand Slam.
It was a tough victory, and she had to come back from a deficit a number of
times, but she eventually managed to get home.

by Diego Barbiani
 13

It was perhaps ironic that Radwanska should

stop her in Melbourne, since it was the Pole who
also defeated her in her first big tournament back
in 2012.

Agnieszka Radwanska proved to be too What makes Blanco most interesting

much in the fourth round, but it hardly to watch is that, unlike so many of her
mattered. Blanco had made her mark. compatriots, she does not care for top
It was perhaps ironic that Radwanska spin and defense.
should stop her in Melbourne, since it Her shots are hard and flat, and work
was the Pole who also defeated her in very well on the faster courts where
her first big tournament back in 2012. Spaniards traditionally struggle.
Back then, Blanco was just 17 years Her game is similar to the Puerto
old, and had caused some serious Rican Monica Puig, another rising star,
waves by beating Vera Zvonareva though Blanco is more capable of
(ranked 9) and Flavia Pennetta (25) in controlling her power than Puig is at
Miami, before losing in the quarter- the moment. Perhaps the most
finals. important thing Blanco has to work on
2014 will be very important for Blanco. is her tactics. Her inexperience can
She has no points to defend from July often be seen on the court, when she is
to October (due to her injury last year), outwitted by her opponents’ strategies.
so there is a very real possibility that But once she addresses that issue,
she can make a run to the Top 20 by there is no limit to what she will be
the end of the season. able to do.

Her game is similar to the

Puerto Rican Monica Puig,
another rising star, though
Blanco is more capable
controlling her power than
Puig is at the moment.
Perhaps the most
important thing Blanco has
to work on is her tactics.
Her inexperience can often
be seen on the court, when
she is outwitted by her
opponents’ strategies.
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She knows the road will be long and

hard, especially considering the
decision she has to make regarding her
nationality.
“I'll end up making enemies,” she says.
“Someone will not like one or the other
choice.”
But that does not seem to bother her
too much. Her focus now is squarely
on her tennis, where it should be.
________________
Coached by Alejo Mancisidor.
Began playing at age 3.
Aggressive style of play; favorite
surface is hard; favorite shot is serve.
Speaks Spanish and English.
Enjoys cooking, reading, listening to
music.
Favorite tennis players growing up
were Serena Williams and Pete
Sampras.
 15

Taking A Riske

A
merican tennis might be in a crisis as far as the men are concerned,
but the women are experiencing something of a Renaissance.
Of course, some promising stars have quickly faded away, such as

Alison Riske might be a late bloomer, but

she is making up for lost time
Melanie Odin, who failed to build on a quarter-final showing at the US Open
in 2007 at the age of 17.
But many others are showing consistent results at the highest levels, which
might soon translate to Grand Slam success. In addition to Sloane Stephens,
who is already blazing a trail to the Top 10, players like Jamie Hampton,
Madison Keyes, Christina McHale, Lauren Davis and Alison Riske are all on
the rise.
Renewed confidence
Of this group, Alison Riske is particularly interesting. Born in 1990, she
reached the third round of the Australian Open this year, and recently broke
into the Top 50 for the first time in her career.
Alison plays particularly well on grass. Curiously, her first 11 WTA wins came
on the grass courts of Birmingham.
In 2010, she reached the semi-finals after coming through qualifiers and, and
made it to the same stage again in 2013.
For most of her career, Riske has earned her points on the ITF circuit, with
occasional ill-fated forays onto the WTA Tour.
However, after her run in Birmingham last year, things have changed.
The American won her first match at a Grand Slam (reaching the third round
at Wimbledon, the second round at the US Open and the third round in
Australia) and her ranking has taken off. In some respects, she is the most
promising player in America apart from Sloane Stephens.

by Giulio Nicoletti
16

The key to the breakthrough is mental, An early start

as is so often the case. Until the results Alison was born in Pittsburgh, and is
of last summer, Alison did not feel like the daughter of an FBI agent and a
she belonged to the elite of world schoolteacher.
tennis. She started playing tennis at the age of
This change of mind-set has come, in three, and played through college,
part, due to working with Yves Boulais, becoming the top ranked player in the
who she also worked with as a child. category in 2008.
He helped her understand that even if That year she accompanied the
she does not play well on a particular national Fed Cup team as a sparring
day, she can always play better the partner to the semi-finals against
next day. Russia, which was her first taste of
Now, with the help of other emerging professionalism.
young Americans, with who she has Her love for playing aggressively from
formed a close-knit group, she knows the baseline caught the eye of Billie
she can hold her own in any and every Jean King when she was just a
tournament. teenager.
 17

King also praised her tactical vision

and ability to play each point with a
purpose.
Allison came late to the Top 50, at age
23, but has arrived with the freshness
of a young girl.
During her run to the second round of
the US Open, she won the hearts of
American fans by revealing that she
still carries her baby blanket with her.

Great expectations
In Australia, she beat both Vesnina
and Wickmayer with authority and in
searing heat, before succumbing to
Kerber in a tight match.
With few points to defend until July, it
would not be surprising to find her in
the Top 30 by the start of the clay
season.
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The Law of the

iron wire
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T
The new Tennis World he new Tennis World
Champions starts: Champions brings back the
PS4’s and many same feeling of the old
other prizes up for Tennis
grabs. Manager, with players facing each other
in a real scoreboard, with a ranking
divided into master and general, with a
season’s ranking that recalls the ATP’s
concept.

The law of the iron wire.

Besides, depending on the tennis
player’s
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The new Tennis World Champions

starts: PS4’s and many other
prizes up for grabs.

“specialization”, it’s possible to develop strategies both in case you are the
a real schedule so that you can increase challenger and the challenged.
your surface’s training and improve There has been an increase of
those skills that allow you to value importance for abilities such as: mood,
your playing style. experience and surface training!
The game keeps its arcade’s imprint, These abilities increase or decrease
not particularly managerial, as the according to the tennis player’s trend
challenges on the scoreboard don’t in the tournaments.
consist of a single match, but every The shop hasn’t changed and it allows
tennis player will be able to challenge to buy equipment and to increase the
the opponent 10 times and the one that skills. Everything is possible thanks to
will have scored more points will go to the credits that can’t be won through
the next round. the tournaments anymore, but only
through friendly matches in the
Unsrew the neck, tear off the Ranking Championship: every hour
head the points will be assigned based on
Simultaneously to out player’s the position!
“technical” growth, there will also be
the strategic one, as for each match it
will be possible to set the best

Tennis World Champion

evolves also in terms of
prizes: not only one
Master but 3 Masters in
one calendar year. At the
Master you can win many
prizes among which Ps4’s,
Wii’s, tennis racquets…
Every tennis season is
formed of 54 play rounds.
Every round lasts 2 days.
During these two days the
players will face each other
in order to proceed round
after round and get to win
the tournament.
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RIGHT, LEFT; LEFT, RIGHT

In this new version every user will be
able to choose which way to follow and
the best player’s strategy will cause the
possibility to be the best player in
Tennis World Champion.
At the end of the season there won’t be
a score’s reset: the game will be
perpetual.
Once a season is ended, the points
scored during the previous season’s
rounds will have to be confirmed or
improved in the following one…
otherwise you will relentlessly lose
positions and so you won’t be able to
reach a good position in the
tournaments (among the first 8
seeds!).
At the end of every season there will be
a master. The first 64 best players of
the final master’s specific Ranking will
take part in it. This Ranking is based
exclusively on the points scored in the
top Level tournaments
22

A Bright
Future
by Alessandro Varassi
 23

Though Eugenie Bouchard has enjoyed

great success on the court, she might very
well have an even brighter future off the
court. Is she the new Maria Sharapova?

The new face of women's tennis. Indeed, Sam Duvall, Bouchard’s agent,
That is the gift that the 2014 is already playing up these hopes, and
Australian Open gave the world. is looking to translate his client’s
Li Na might have taken the title, but it personality, playfulness and beauty
was Eugenie Bouchard, the 19 year-old into the kind of long-term commercial
Canadian, who stole the show. success that Sharapova is still
She now finds herself in the Top 20, an enjoying.
incredible achievement considering Among her fans, Eugenie can count
that this time last year she wasn’t even Stacey Allaster, the CEO of the WTA.
in the Top 130. Allaster is no fool, and knows how
Though her tennis achievements have popular someone like Bouchard can
been great of late, it is for another make the women’s Tour. The BBC has
reason that advertisers and already pointed out that many
tournament organizers are excited companies feel the same, and say that
about Bouchard: her looks. she is "an incredible talent, and a good
Many have already pegged her as the ambassador for any company that
true heir to Maria Sharapova. wants to offer her a contract."

The Canadian’s star is

rising at an incredible
rate, with her Facebook
page getting more than
100 000 new likes during
the Australian Open
alone.
She also got 107
thousand followers on
Twitter.
24

Of course, Maria Sharapova knows the

power of a beautiful spokesperson
better than anyone, and reportedly
asked Nike to have Bouchard wear
Sharapova’s clothing line on court.
Both players are under contract with
Nike.
But which sectors would be interested
in a partnership with Eugenie?
Surely the world of fashion and
entertainment would be at the top of
the list, but car companies, financial
institutions and countless other
businesses would love to have this
young face, so graceful and confidence-
inspiring, to promote their products.
There is currently a void at the top of
the WTA, with no young player really
making it big enough to become a
superstar. Bouchard seems more than
happy to fill that void.
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“I miss the moment,

I miss the last weekend of a major.
I miss the excitement.
I don't miss the stress.
I don't miss the pressure, the expectations
I put on myself.
I miss the game, but
I don't miss the stress of it.
It's a tough sport.
I feel like I walked away at the right time”
26

Pete
Sampras

‘I don’t miss the stress of the tour’

It’s 12 years since Pete Sampras hung Sampras gave a wry smile as he quickly
his racket up for good, assured of his dispelled any hopes that he might
place as one of the greatest in history, follow suit at Flushing Meadows,
and he says he hasn’t once been preferring to compete solely in the hit
tempted to return. and giggle environment of the
At times, rumours have circulated that exhibition circuit these days.
Sampras was planning one last hurrah He pops up every so often at the
on the lush lawns of SW19 and majors these days as a VIP or analyst
although he admits he occasionally but with two young children, he's keen
misses the unique adrenaline rush that to avoid anything which requires
comes with the business end of a regular touring commitments, which is
major, he couldn’t imagine dealing why we won’t be seeing him join the
with all the pressure that goes with growing number of A-list coaches on
being a top level athlete, anymore. the circuit right now.
“I miss the moment,” he said. “I miss “It’s not for me,” he said. “I've been
the last weekend of a major. I miss the asked by a couple guys. But the travel,
excitement. I don't miss the stress. I to go on the road, do all that they're
don't miss the pressure, the doing is not something that I'm
expectations I put on myself. I miss interested in.”
the game, but I don't miss the stress of Sampras remains an intrigued
it. It's a tough sport. I feel like I spectator of the game and he was
walked away at the right time.” delighted to see Stanislas Wawrinka
Sampras’ old rival Pat Rafter made a pick up his first major at this year’s
surprise comeback of sorts at January’s Australian Open, predicting that the
Australian Open, teaming up with Swiss is even capable of going on to
Lleyton Hewitt in the men’s doubles. win a couple more.

by David Cox
 27

The single-handed backhand is making

a bit of a resurgence these days with
Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Richard
Gasquet and Grigor Dimitrov among
those flying the flag at the highest
level.

Sampras believes that his own game

could still have made an impact in the
current era, believing that 21st century
racket technology would actually have
aided serve-volley.

“Yeah, why wouldn't I serve-volley

against these guys?” he smiled.
“Serve and volley on both serves.
That's the only way I know how to
play. People say it's harder to do it,
the technology. But I think technology
would have helped me out. If I used
these racquets that Rafa is using, it's
easier to serve, easier to volley. I could
serve harder, longer. It would have
been easier. So it all evens out."

“But I think serve‑and‑volley tennis, it

would have been just fine today. I just
think you need to know how to do it.
You have to start about 13 years old.
You can't start at 18 or 19. I started at
13. That's when I changed to the
one‑handed backhand. It takes a feel.
It just takes a certain intuition out
there that you have to figure out. It
doesn't happen overnight.”

Sampras was at his pomp during the

era of big servers with the relentless
bullets from the likes of
Goran Ivanisevic, Greg Rusedski,
Rafter and Richard Krajicek leading
some to complain that the sport was
becoming a little tedious and one-
dimensional.
28

However Sampras feels that things

have gone a little too much the other
way over the past decade, with
everything ending up as one big
slugfest.
“The serve‑and‑volley tennis is a lost
art,” he said. “No one is really doing it.
Everyone is staying back and hitting
the crap out of the ball, which is fun to
watch. You look at Wimbledon these
days. It is one‑dimensional.
It's just the nature of technology,
maybe the nature of how everyone is
growing up with technology.
They're used to not having to volley,
serve and volley.
It takes time.
It doesn't happen overnight.”
“Seeing Stefan, he was a great serve
and volleyer.
Boris, Goran Ivanisevic.
Now everyone plays the same way,
there's just four or five guys that are a
lot better than the rest.
Roger has a little more variety, to
come in, you know, slice it,
chip‑and‑charge occasionally, show a
little bit of that.
For the most part it's just everyone
staying back and throwing rocks.”
_______________

Sampras debuted on the professional

tour in 1988 and played his last top-
level tournament in 2002, when he
won the US Open, defeating rival
Andre Agassi in the final.
He was the year-end world no. 1 for six
consecutive years (1993–1998), a
record for the Open Era.
His seven Wimbledon singles
championships is an Open Era record
shared with Roger Federer, while
Sampras' five US Open singles titles is
an Open Era record shared with both
Federer and Jimmy Connors.
 29

South Africa
The World
in a Country
30

Just 5 minutes drive from the

picturesque town centre (or 20
minutes by walk)

* ITALIAN WARM & FRIENDLY Secure parking, 'honesty bar' with cool
WELCOME IN STELLENBOSCH * drinks and snacks available.
A warm and friendly Italian welcome The Guest House is ideally located to
awaits you in the quite exclusive explore the famous wine lands and a
residential area of Mostertsdrift, just 5 lot of other excursions and day trips!
minutes drive from the picturesque
town centre. A beautiful atmosphere is created
'The Stables Lodge' Guest House using a fusion of Italian & African
offers panoramic views overlooking the styles make this affordable stay one to
mountains. be remembered and repeated!
Accommodation in 4 comfortable
rooms with en suite bathrooms, all Italian and English spoken..German in
equipped with air-conditioning- progress!
heating, coffee and tea facilities,
hairdryer, radio cd players, free Wi-Fi
and a safety-deposit box. One self-
catering unit is also available.
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and relax in
a cosy common area.

Accommodation in 4
comfortable rooms with en
suite bathrooms, all
equipped with air-
conditioning-heating,
coffee and tea facilities,
hairdryer, radio cd players,
free Wi-Fi and a safety-
deposit box.
One self-catering unit is
also available.
 31

Our adventure started and we

hope that can be part you too!
We are waiting to welcome you
and to try to get you what we
have lived us during our stay in
South Africa!
32

Pete Sampras
The lord of the grass courts

I
n the breakthrough period of 90’s and far then American tennis
has its boom time because of great tennis players like Pete
Sampras - the mastering champion of Wimbledon, Andre Agassi –
with his one of the best return in the history, Jim Courier –

He started swinging racquet at the age of 3 and…

achieved the 14-time Grand Slam championship.

great clay court player, Michael Chang – the youngest Grand Slam champion
and Todd Martin – the one of the tallest competitior on the court and big
server.
All of this players lifted the level of the game for spectacular.
The first one born in Washington and growing up in California started
swinging racquet at the age of 3 and… achieved the 14-time Grand Slam
championship.
One of the best of Wimbledon and US Open player ever. His worst tournament
of majors was French Open but the lack of winnings in this case was fulfilled
by Courier, Chang and Agassi.
Sampras with his Greek roots made with one year older Agassi one of the most
fascinating rivalries in the history of tennis in general – having overall 34 of
clashes, 20 wins for Sampras and 14 for Agassi.
Started professional career in 1988 when he was sixteen! The first match
versus Agassi in 1989 he lost earning only three games but in his first
important US Open and last performance in New York he beaten in finals the
man from Las Vegas. In 1993 became the ranking leader for the first time. On
the #1 spot he remained for 286 weeks and it was the record till Federer (302
weeks).
“Pistol Pete” for many considering as the one of the greatest in the history for
others as one of the most boring players. Why? The American always
wanted to prove his value on the court and then off-court he used to be calm
person with no eccentric and extravagant actions or behaviors.

by Jan Stanski
 33

In the comparison to Agassi which was In the year 2007 name of Pete
one of the most “colourful” player ever Sampras was written on the list of
that could be understandable for that International Tennis Hall of Fame.
reason. Coached in professional tennis
And maybe that contrast was more adventure by Tim Gullikson and Paul
attractive for the sponsors and Annacone.
marketing issues and the whole rivalry Having very various style of game with
of both ‘Nike’ sportsmen which made “serve and volley” plus extremely
lots of commercials in that matter. dangerous forehand from the baseline
With his extraordinary talent Pete which was effective on fast surfaces.
rewrote history books by holding the For many tennis fans and experts his
#1 ranking for six consecutive years. matches against Agassi, Courier, Boris
The worst season was year 2001 with Becker, Goran Ivanisevic or Pat Rafter
no Grand Slam titles. were the most exiciting in the history.
Engaged and married in year 2000 We can only regret that Pete was
with actress Bridgette Wilson. playing earlier at the time without
“Marrying Bridgette was the best thing Federer (they played only once), Nadal
that ever happened to me. Now I have or Djokovic. He dominated the game at
good balance and stability in my life” – his peak.
was saying Sampras back in the days.
34

In his book “Champion’s Mind” he

says: "But if you want to be the best at
something, then something needs to
become a sense of your life. You can
not have everything. It is impossible to
lead a rich social life, reconcile
scientific ambitions with sport and
still focus on all of them. To become
good at tennis, you need a lot of time
and work, and the most important are
the youngest years".
_________
Sampras was born in Potomac,
Maryland, the third child of Sammy
and Georgia Sampras. His mother
emigrated from Sparta, Greece, and his
father was born in the United States to
a Greek father and a Jewish
mother.[2][3] He attended regular
services of the Greek Orthodox Church
on Sundays
 35

Lukasz Kubot
The last of the Mohicans

T
Began playing at age ill the great performance of Jerzy
nine...Father, Janusz, Janowicz in Paris Bercy Lukasz Kubot
is a soccer coach; was the long time polish number one
mother, Dorota... tennis player in the world.
Has a younger sister, He is well known for his afterall dance
Paulina, who is
studying called "cancan" or serve&volley strategy. Thats why he
physiotherapy... is the one and only because his game even not so
Strengths of game are effective is very liked by older fans of tennis especially
serve, return and Wimbledon fans - the ones remembering Stefan
forehand and favourite Edberg or Patrick Rafter "trips" to the net. Beautiful
surfaces are clay and style. Good old game. But not always effective as
slow hard courts... attractive.
His best junior Grand The man from Boleslawiec (Lukas was born there)
Slam result was QF at although he was growing up in Lubin is very
Wimbledon in singles appreciated doubles player. He was the one to get text
and doubles in 2000... message from experienced Swede - Robert Lindstedt to
Players he admired play together in this year’s Aussie Open at Melbourne
growing up were Park.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov, The debut of never playing before polish-swedish duo
Stefan Edberg and was tremendous. They won six matches and triumphed
Jonas Bjorkman... in Grand Slam for the first time in careers of both
In July 2013, he was players.
awarded the Gold Even Lindstedt had before three finals the fortune
Cross of Merit by comes to him with Lukas Kubot. "Luki" - because its
Polish President Lukas nickname - admitted that he prolonged his time
Bronislaw on the court after unexpected quarterfinal at
Komorowski... Wimbledon last year when he lost in polish match
Fitness trainer is Ivan against Jerzy Janowicz.
Machytka. The dream came true for him that day even he lost. He
was dreaming to join to the elite club of quarterfinalist
in All England Club in London and he did it.
After the tournament both Poles in July 2013 were
awarded the Gold Cross of Merit by Polish President
Bronislaw Komorowski..
Because father of Lukas was working as football coach
over the years the Pole had like few of tennis
players great dilemma what sport to choose for better.

by Jan Stanski
36

The polish former number one is coaching by Czech team

- Jan Stoces and Ivan Machitka (fitness).

“When I was 16-17 years old I had to Swinging of legs was one of the
decide what I want to do with my life. exercises that my coach Ivan
I chose tennis and as you can see and Machitka advised to me”- Lukas
it was a good choice. But to this day, I replied.
still like to kick the ball” “Today it is like my card”.
The polish former number one is “The first cancan was in 2011, just in
coaching by Czech team - Jan Stoces Australia. I had beaten the eighteenth
and Ivan Machitka (fitness). The ranked tennis player Sam Querrey
mentioned earlier exceptional dance then. It was fiveset thriller, so I
"cancan" is an effect of the bet with one expressed a tremendous joy that day”
of them to prove by Lukas that he is – he added.
able to do it after great performance on His adventure with tennis was not as
the court. “Where did you get this way well as the way of professional should
of showing joy?” – asked journalist. be so he needed to start practicing
“From the beginning of my career abroad for having chance to boom
I had much of importance to put on his career - in Austria and then in
my physical preparation. I am a tall Prague where he met his coaches and
player, so I have to stretch a bit more started rebuild his idea about tennis.
than the average player.
 37

Nowadays Kubot is original player. As

he admitted he can play in doubles
couple of years more and he does not
resign from singles in spite of much
worse results.
Taking into consideration the careers
of fantastic players like Roger Federer
or Rafael Nadal Kubot's way could be
estimated as grotesque but especially
for the compatriot observers - which
appreciete hard work, the passion for
the game and his style - Lukas gained
also the historic thing - not only the
Grand Slam title in doubles and
quarterfinal of Wimbledon but - he is
the first polish player to win the title in
Australia since Wojciech Fibak did it in
1978 with Australian Kim Warwick.
“For such moments I live and train
hard” – admitted Kubot
“I dream of tennis academy where The 31-year old right-handed “Polish
young people could combine sport Bull” said that his favourite surface is
with the school. Even if the kids clay or slow hard court although seems
wouldn’t achieve success in sport, it is that good results he had also on the
a great capital. Pulling them from the grass courts (his best junior Grand
problems of drugs, alcohol. The Slam result was QF at Wimbledon in
Czechs, who have several times singles and doubles in 2000)
smaller country, laugh at us, that we Growing up Lukas admired such great
have no real infrastructure for tennis. competitors like Yevgeny Kafelnikov,
There are living about 10 million Stefan Edberg and Jonas Bjorkman.
people, and regularly have their Apart title in Melbourne Park he won
tennis players best ranked and best in eight titles in doubles competition and
the world. And it highly." achieved seven finals. Also two finals
On the press conferences and during in singles.
interviews is very nice person always The Pole during the off–season time is
trying to answer well for the questions. competing in Czech and German
A few know that as a young kid Lukas tennis league. He plays for TK Neride
had to get up early in the morning to and Rot-Weiss Erfurt.
wait for the bus which took him to the
tennis courts.
It was not easy the circumstances
because in the area where Lukas
were practicing was not the good
tennis center to improve his skills.
After many years later the situation
has changed.
38

Bogomolov Jr.
A Rollercoaster Career

I
t is not easy to summarize the career of Alex Bogomolov Jr. The
Russian is immensely talented, and has enjoyed significant success
in his time, but he still struggles to produce the kind of consistency
that would keep him in the Top 50.

At 30 years of age, Alex Bogomolov Jr. is definitely a veteran of the ATP Tour.
But his career has hardly been a simple one, as he has experienced periods of
extreme ups and devastating downs. However, with so many older players still
posting good results, he is hoping that the final stretch will be his best one.

Each and every match is almost a microcosm of his time as a professional

tennis player: a good amount of risk, with moments of magic contrasted by
periods of sheer lunacy.
Bogomolov was born in Moscow in 1983, and his career began as early as
1999, when he played in his first Futures tournaments.
His first Grand Slam appearance came at the US Open in 2001, where he lost
to David Nalbandian. He officially turned pro in 2001, and won three
tournaments on the Challenger and Futures circuits. However, the biggest
result of his young career came at the ATP event in Los Angeles, when he beat
then world number 3 Tommy Haas in straight sets. Though he lost in the next
round to Nicolas Kiefer, the experience gave him a great deal of confidence. It
also showed that he could beat the best players in the world, but usually not
with much consistency.
In 2003, Bogomolov stagnated a bit, winning only three Challengers in Leon,
Forest Hills and Tiburon. In Bangkok, he managed to snatch a set off world
number one Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round, but ultimately lost in
three. From 2004 to 2010, Bogomolov failed to make any major strides with
his game. Though he still regularly won at Challenger level, that success rarely
translated onto the main Tour. He only won his first Grand Slam match in
2006, when he beat Fernando Gonzalez in five sets.
2011 was the best in Bogomolov’s career so far. After failing to qualify for the
Australian Open, he had some success on the Challenger circuit
before reaching the quarter finals in the ATP 250 event in Zagreb. The month
of March was the best one Bogomolov ever had.

by Marco Di Nardo
 39

Knowing his past, it would not surprise us if

he had his best year in 2014, but it might
also just be his worst.

He won a Challenger in Dallas, then Los Angeles, then the second round at
qualified for the main draw of the ATP the Masters 1000 events in Montreal
1000 tournament in Indian Wells and Cincinnati.
Masters, before performing the same He beat word number 10 Jo-Wilfried
feat in Miami. He beat world number 5 Tsonga in the latter tournament. At the
Andy Murray in the main draw before US Open, he reached the third round,
eventually falling to John Isner. after which he made it to the quarter-
On clay, he reached two Challenger finals of the ATP 250 event in Moscow
finals in Sarasota and Prague, losing to and the semi-final in St. Petersburg. At
Blake and Rosol respectively. that point, he reached a career-high
Bogomolov also played well on grass, ranking of 33 in the world.
reaching the quarter-finals of the ATP In 2012, as might be expected,
250 tournaments in 's-Hertogenbosch Bogomolov could not be reproduce the
and Newport, as well as the magic of the previous year.
third round at Wimbledon, his best After reaching the second round at the
career result in a Grand Slam. In the Australian Open, he suffered a series of
summer swing in the US, he reached defeats that saw him drop out of the
his first ATP 250 semi-final in Top 100 by year-end.

The USTA is trying to

recoup the money it spent
on Alex Bogmolov, who
recently switched to play
under the Russian flag.
"The American side did in
fact issue us with an
invoice for $75,000,"
Alexei Selivanenko, vice
president of the Russian
Tennis Federation, said.
"This is the amount that
was spent by their
federations on Bogomolov
all these years."
40

In 2013, he had to start almost from Bogomolov Jr. is currently ranked 88

scratch, but returned to the Top 100 in the world, and continues to
thanks to good results on the alternate between positive and
Challenger circuit. His best negative results.
tournament was the Masters 1000 in His aim is to return to the Top 50 this
Montreal, where he qualified for the year with some good results on the
main draw after coming through American hard courts, where he
qualifiers. He went on to beat Michael usually plays his best tennis.
Llodra and David Ferrer before losing Knowing his past, it would not surprise
to Davydenko. He also reached the us if he had his best year in 2014, but it
second round of the US Open. might also just be his worst.
So far, Bogomolov Jr. has gotten off to You can never tell with Alex.
a slow start in 2014. He failed to
qualify in both Doha and Sydney, and
didn’t win a match at the Australian
Open. However, at the ATP 250
in Memphis, he showed some fight,
defeating Sam Querrey and Ryan
Harrison to make it to the quarter-
finals. He lost to defending champion
there, but did manage to take a set.
 41

New Season,
New Champions

T
he beginning of the new tennis season has already
crowned some unlikely new champions, with Stan
The Man and Fabio Fognini leading the pack.

Fabio Fognini had high hopes as a junior, often

playing on par with future superstars like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
But at the age when most players make their biggest strides, at around 18-20,
Fognini stagnated. After years of crazy on-court outbursts, no doubt
manifestations of his frustration, the Italian had earned a reputation as an
underachieving drama queen.
Yet recently, he seems to have calmed down a bit, and his results have
improved as a direct result. He now often exhibits the calmness of a confident
veteran, much of which can be ascribed to his coach, Jose Perlas. Perlas had
another hothead, Nicolas Almagro, as a previous student, and seems to have
applied the lessons he learned there on Fognini.
As well as mental strides, Fognini has made some technical ones as well. His
second serve has much more bite to it, and he has become more patient in
constructing points. Of course, Fognini has had memorable moments in his
career before, such as reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, and his
incredible win over Monfils there in near-complete darkness.
But now he achieves such moments of magic with much greater consistency.
One need only re-watch his second round match against Sam Querrey at the
Australian Open this year as proof of the changes he has undergone. His title
win in Vina del Mar was also mighty impressive, along with his solid Davis
Cup performances. It seems that, for the first time in his career, Fognini might
live up to the Top 10 potential he once showed as a youngster.
Swiss sensation
Another late bloomer also grabbed headlines early in the season. For the first
time in its history, Switzerland has two players in the Top 10, and
surprisingly, Roger Federer is not the higher ranked of the two. Instead,
Stanislas Wawrinka, who for years labored in the long shadow of his friend
and compatriot, is the best tennis player in Switzerland.
It didn’t come easily, however. In order to achieve this milestone he had to
win the Australian Open and make the highest ranking jump of any player in
the Top 10 in more than a decade (the last player to climb more than 5
positions in the Top Ten was Agassi in 2002).

by Adriano S
42

It was nothing personal, of course. The fact that he did so by defeating

Roger cheered happily, enjoying the Djokovic and Nadal back-to-back
defeats of Nadal and Djokovic. makes it even more extraordinary.
He also decided to join Stan in the That’s an achievement that even his
Davis Cup this year, hinting that he great friend can be envious of.
would make his first ever serious His new coach, Magnus Norman, who
attempt to capture the cup. led Robin Soderling on a similar
Were the frustrations of a life spent in journey from promising-but-flawed
the background behind this late player to genuine superstar, also got
blooming of Stan The Man? Perhaps. his first Grand Slam. He has had much
But then again, he has always flirted to do with Stan’s improvement.
with being a top tier player. The Swiss champion’s serve is stronger
A few years ago he reached the final in and his groundstrokes are harder, but
Rome and broke into the Top 10. He most of all he is mentally tougher than
lost his way for a while after that, but he’s ever been.
in 2013 reached his first Grand Slam The Swiss champion’s serve is stronger
semi-final. and his groundstrokes are harder, but
Of course, his efforts culminated in his most of all he is mentally tougher than
lifting the trophy in Melbourne, he’s ever been.
becoming the fifth oldest man to win We hope he can sustain this run for the
his first Slam. rest of the year. After all, the more the
merrier.
 43

Wawrinka stopped attending regular

schooling at age 15 to focus full-time
on tennis. However, he continued his
schooling by distance education with
the French organization CNED, which
offered him greater flexibility
Wawrinka considers clay his best
surface and his serve and volley his
best shot. He won a gold medal for
Switzerland in the men's doubles event
at the 2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing, partnering Roger Federer, by
beating Swedish team Simon Aspelin
and Thomas Johansson in the final.
They were also honoured with the
2008 Swiss Team of the Year Award.
John McEnroe believes that Wawrinka
has one of the most powerful
backhands he has ever seen and
describes him as having "the best one-
handed backhand in the game today"
44

The Bosnian Breaker

«In Sarajevo there is only one hard court, and so far I have
been training on surfaces
that do not exist on the ATP Tour.»

Born in Sarajevo in 1992, during the “I was lucky because my father is a

war, Damir Dzumhur lives in Rome. At coach and worked at a club,” he
the age of 21 he has a number of firsts recalls. “I started with him, going to
under his belt already, such as being the courts since I was three years old.
the first Bosnian to both make it to the I love this sport and I play with all my
main draw of a Grand Slam and win a heart. At first my parents helped me
match. And given his recent successes, financially, but over the past two
he seems destined to become the first years I have found a couple of
Bosnian man to reach the Top 100. sponsors. There is not much money
Today he trains in Rome because "in but enough to cover some expenses.
Sarajevo there is only one hard court, But I do not think about the money. I
and so far I have been training on just try to play better. Now with the
surfaces that do not exist on the ATP third round in a Grand Slam, I can
Tour." pay for the rest of the season."
In Rome, he trains with his father, Damir is very honest and open in
Nerfid, and Alberto Castellani, a interviews, and the passion he has for
former coach of Marc Rosset and Ivo tennis shines through both on and off
Karlovic. Castellani has been of huge the court. It is, perhaps, because it has
help to him, especially in terms of taken him so long to get here.
improving his mental game. After a decent junior career (he was
"Now I'm at a level where I cannot ranked as high as number three), he
stay in Bosnia, and Italy is a logical only recently started performing well
choice," he said recently. at a professional level. Last year, he
His first contact with tennis came reached his first Challenger finals, in
early, thanks to a stroke of good luck. Poznan and Kosice. At the end of 2013
in Bratislava, he also beat his first
upper tier opponent in Jiri Vesely.

by Daniele Malafarina
 45

His Australian dream was finally

stopped by Berdych. It was his first
match against a Top Ten player on a
major stage. After the match, Djokovic
also stopped to congratulate him: "He
told me that I will have success in the
future. Novak is one of the best ever
and the fact that he said that is very
important to me. I had already met
him when I was 16, but I do not
remember him. He also told me that if
I continue to play at this level, even in
the Challengers, I will soon be in
major tournaments. I came home with
a memory that I will always carry
inside. Bosnia did not sleep for a
whole night. Everyone watched the
match against Berdych."
As a child he loved Pat Rafter, for his
In Melbourne, he started play and his elegance. In recent years,
from qualifiers, where he beat Dustin however, Federer has become his hero.
Brown (the top seed) in the first round. "I do not think there is anyone who
"I had good preparation. They told me does not like how he plays. But the Top
that I had nothing to lose, he had 10 are all exceptional players and great
played the quarter-finals in Doha, but people. They greet me. I am 180 and
somehow I thought I could play well." they stop to say hello."

As a child he loved Pat Rafter, for his play and his elegance.
In recent years, however, Federer has become his hero.

After beating Ivo Karlovic in the first When he started the season, he did not
round, he got a free pass into the third know where to play. Being 188 in the
round when Ivan Dodig retired from world is not enough to get into most
their match due to cramping. Challengers, but he did not want to
"It takes a little luck," he said happily play Futures events.
afterwards. Then, speaking of the large "I chose two minor Challengers, but
Bosnian community in Melbourne, he didn’t go. So I did not know what to
said: "They were like another player do. Now everything is different. Now I
next to me and helped me a lot. But have to choose carefully because I
Ivan is a friend, a fighter and has have a chance to get into the Top 100."
helped me in the past. "
46

His goal for the season, which was to Now I hope that my needed results
reach the Top 150, has already been bring some people to see the next
reached. After his trip to Australia, he round. Tennis is not very popular in
was 144 in the world. Bosnia, but I love the Davis Cup."
Damir is very proud of his passport ____________
and to represent Bosnia. His result in
Australia is comparable to the As a kid Džumhur was practicing
qualification of the Bosnian skiing and football to addition to
national team for the soccer World tennis. He admired Patrick Rafter and
Cup in Brazil. "Bosnia is a small Roger Federer the most, and also he is
country, but it deserves to be known, a keen football fan and he supports
and I hope that my example may Bosnian team FK Željezničar. In his
encourage more children to watch or childhood he acted in two movies –
play tennis." Grbavica (2006), as background actor
Damir is also part of Bosnia’s Davis and Mörderischer Frieden (2007),
Cup team. "Last year against Moldova where he played major role as Durcan.
in Mostar I played three matches in He speaks Bosnian and English and
two days, for twelve hours straight. studies political science at the Faculty
They took me to the hospital at the of Political Science in Sarajevo, at the
end, and we lost, but it does not University of Sarajevo
matter.
 47

Never
Say Never
by Fulvio Consoli
48

Connor Stroud’s incredible journey to

becoming a tennis player and an
inspiration.

Conner Stroud is a 12 year-old boy who "The story of Conner touches all of us,
plays tennis. The one thing that sets and everyone he meets," his mother
him apart from all the other boys his added. "The disability has made him
age playing the sport is that he has no more determined. Other children let
legs. themselves break down, instead he is
He realized a long-standing dream at the opposite. His extraordinary
the US Open recently, when he got to personality helps him and I think
meet Rafael Nadal, who was impressed that's what inspires people."
by his example and strength of will. The young American was born with a
"It means a lot to me to play," Conner serious genetic defect. Conner has
said at the time, "because I realize that almost no legs, and the upper part of
many people see me and are inspired his body is basically attached directly
by me. Everyone who has seen my to his feet.
videos say that they are happy to see Despite this severe disability, the
me play. I just try to enjoy myself as youngster has succeeded in developing
much as possible." a technique that allowed him to play
tennis, one of his great passions.

Helped by his father, who

wanted to give his son as
normal of a life as possible,
Conner learned to hit with
a western grip, which has
proven to be very effective,
despite the fact that he has
to hit the ball so low.
 49

Thanks to his talent and a lot of “I ​love tennis because it is a sport that
training, he has become quite the puts you alone against your
player, and has even participated in opponent,” he said of his passion for
some junior events. He recently got his the game. “You need to get the best out
first win in a doubles match. of yourself in every situation if you
Conner’s determination shows that want to win the match.”
with passion and a positive attitude, Nadal concurred with his sentiment.
anything is possible. Nadal certainly “It's amazing the way it manages to
did not hide his admiration for the cope with life and combat problems,”
young man. the world number one said. “He
"Conner proves that you can be happy enjoys, plays tennis and is part of the
no matter what, even if Mother sports world.”
Nature has not given you everything. Conner has even beaten some able-
He is a great example for me, and I bodied children. “I wouldn’t be
am sure for many other people." surprised if one day he plays in the US
Meanwhile, Conner has received Open wheelchair event,” his proud
countless messages of congratulations mother concluded.
and admiration on Twitter.
Conner will soon play in his first
wheelchair tournament.
50

Goran Ivanisevic
The Dream That Wouldn’t Die

T
He turned professional ennis will remember him for many
in 1988 and later that things. His 1477 aces in 1996, for
year, with Rudiger example, and his 22 tournaments wins.
Haas, won his first And let’s not forget about that
career doubles title in incredible Grand Slam victory.
Frankfurt, but he
focused more on his But above all, tennis remembers Goran Ivanisevic as
singles career, one of the most extraordinary characters the sport has
yet had some success ever seen.
in doubles, winning His exuberant personality was something to behold. In
nine titles and a press conference, no one could beat him, and I will
reaching a career high never forget his reaction after triumphing on
ranking of 20. Wimbledon’s Center Court in 2001. When Goran
Ivanisevic retired from tennis, the sport did not just
He is the only person lose a great player, it lost a fascinating actor.
to win the men's But that Wimbledon…it defined his career. It was the
singles title at ultimate fairytale story. He was the warrior prince who,
Wimbledon as a tired of relying only on memories, decided to start
wildcard. He achieved living in the present. The journey had started nine
this in 2001, having years earlier, when he first lost to Andre Agassi in the
previously been Wimbledon final, and it ended with him lifting the
runner-up at the trophy to the sky, and saying to himself, “This is for
championships in you, Drazen.”
1992, 1994 and 1998. Drazen Petrovic was a basketball player who died in
His career-high singles 1993 in an automobile accident. Goran was a like a boy
ranking was World again. “I do not want someone to come to wake me up
No. 2 (behind Pete to tell me, ‘hey, you've lost again,’” he said tearfully
Sampras) in 1994. afterwards. Patrick Rafter smiled, happy with his
status as runner up at that particular moment.
Tears had accompanied the entire match, with even
Croatian fans crying in the stands. It was played on a
Monday because of persistent rain over the weekend.
The stadium was completely covered with flags, mostly
Australian, but quite a few Croatian ones as well.
Sdrjan Ivanisevic, his father, had made the trip.

by Dario Torromeo
 51

Goran was crying as he served for the

match. The last game was a thriller full
of surprises. At 15-30, the Croatian
served two aces and earned a
Championship point.
Then, he double faulted. Another
match point, another double fault.
Twice he had been one point from
victory and had failed.
Dad lowered his head.
He feared a similar conclusion to that
of the other three finals (all lost) in
which he had also come close, but
ultimately failed.
Ivanisevic kissed the ball and spoke to
it – begged it – to let him win just this
one point.
There was an intense silence. The
crowd held its collective breath, as
some Australians quietly waved their
flags.
52

He also had to deal with Andy Roddick

in the third round, who was a up-and-
coming star. It was a tough match, and
Ivanisevic was struggling to close it
out. He eventually had two match
points, but double faulted on the first
one, and made an error on the second.
What was he thinking at that
moment?
“God, give me another chance,” he
laughs.
The three Gorans
"I felt myself I wondering, ‘what am I
even doing here?’ I wanted to move
but could not. The two Gorans in me
started to fight one another. They
were both nervous. I said, ‘guys, calm
down.’ But they do not listen to me. I
felt that I would not come out alive
The Croats prayed, and dad Sdrijan from that situation."
lowered his eyebrows, clutching his And then what?
nose. He seemed to want to disappear, “Well, then the third Goran took
as if a single sigh could ruin the spell. charge. He arrives when there are
Finally, the serve came, and Rafter emergencies, the one with the brain,
made an error. Game over. and said: ‘guys we are in a good
Goran Ivanisevic should not even have position. Relax.’ I hit in three aces in a
been in the tournament. His ranking, row. It began a new stage of my life.”
at 125, was not high enough to After winning the match, Ivanisevic
guarantee a spot. So, the All England took off his shirt and threw it into the
Club, out of a sense of nostalgia, crowd. On his right shoulder, a tattoo
granted him a wild card. He rewarded of a rose was visible. He had done it in
their confidence by becoming the Los Angeles, but when the tattoo artist
lowest ranked winner in the event’s asked if he wanted it to be colored in,
history. the Croat jumped up. "No, friend.
He had not even been playing well Thanks, but that's enough."
coming into the tournament. He left Seventy minutes of pain was all he
should had been giving him lots of could stand. In the fourth round, he
trouble, and he was struggling to post faced Rusedski. It was one of his more
good results. straightforward matches.
At the time, it seemed as if he would "It was nice to see: 15-0, 30-0, 40-0,
have to start playing qualifiers or game. Then the other guy serves, 15-0,
Challengers to get his ranking back up. 30-0, 40-0, game. Tie-break.
Then came Wimbledon, and after 213 Finished. I hoped he was more
aces, and victories over the likes of nervous than me. I had become the
Jonsson and Moya, he made history. quiet type. I did not protest calls so
much.
 53

Even on doubtful points, I was calm. though the doctors had forbidden him
To tell you the truth, one of the two to come. I think in the last ten years I
Gorans wanted to go to the referee gave him a lot of trouble" Goran might
screaming his case. have been calm, but Safin was not.
Fortunately, the other would stay The Russian could not control his
calm." temper, or the match, and Henman
Safin was up next. awaited in the semi-finals.
“In my life, I have always played for "They said that I had not made ​the
someone,” he recalls. “When I started most of my talent. But I am most
my career, Srjdana, my sister, was proud of being number 2 in the world
very sick. She had cancer and I was behind Sampras. My problem is that
playing for her because she did not in every game I have five opponents:
have the money to treat it. Now, the referee, the crowd, the ball boys,
thankfully, she is fine. Then the war the court and myself. It is no wonder if
came, and I had to play for my sometimes my mind wanders."
country, for my people. Before coming “It's great to touch the trophy,” he
here, I said to myself after 12 years smiles. “Whatever I do in my life,
around the world, now is the time to wherever I go, I will always be a
play for yourself. Maybe I could play Wimbledon champion. I want to live
for my father. He was there, with his every moment and to remember
heart condition, even everything."
54

“Whatever I do in my life, wherever I go, I will

always be a Wimbledon champion. I want to
live every moment and to remember
everything."

The bookmakers had given Goran a **

66/1 chance of winning Wimbledon, Ivanišević played football for the
and boy did they regret those odds at Croatian team Hajduk Split in 2001.
the end of the fortnight. Goran supports English team West
The final was a match full of anxiety Bromwich Albion. He became a fan
and excitement. Each shot could have after the Midland club's escape from
been the decisive one. Premiership relegation in 2005.
Twice Rafter was two points from the He wore an Albion shirt whilst
match, but this time it was Goran’s warming up prior to the 2006
match. In December 2001, he BlackRock Masters final and finally
announced that he would reflect for six watched his first match in December
months, and then retired. 2011, as West Bromwich Albion played
Today, Goran has a family. Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.
In 2009, he married Tatjana Dragovic, Ivanišević also participated in an
with whom he has two children, exhibition match of the Croatian
Amber and Mary. national team of 1998 versus the
He keeps busy with many things. International football stars on 7
October 2002 in Zagreb. It was the last
career match of Croatian midfielder
and team captain Zvonimir Boban.

Every now and again he

thinks back to that
wonderful day, when he
shocked the world and
himself by finally winning
Wimbledon.

We are still waiting for a

similar moment, but it was
so special that it might
never come again
55
56

John Newcombe was the last of the Great

Australians who dominated tennis for two
decades in the 50s and 60s.
He won Wimbledon three times (beating even
the great Rod Laver) and was also world number
one. Today, at almost 70 years of age, he is still
filled with passion for tennis.
He recently made headlines for suggesting that a
fifth Grand Slam be created in China.
 57

An interview with
John Newcombe

He made headlines for suggesting that a fifth

Grand Slam be created in China

John Newcombe was the last of the Li Na has already won two Grand Slam
Great Australians who dominated titles, and won at the Australian Open
tennis for two decades in the 50s and this year. I think in the future we will
60s. He won Wimbledon three times also have a Chinese male winner of a
(beating even the great Rod Laver) and Grand Slam."
was also world number one. Today, at
almost 70 years of age, he is still filled What other changes would you
with passion for tennis. like to see in tennis?
"I wish that the Davis Cup would
He recently made headlines for become a two-week long competition
suggesting that a fifth Grand Slam be for the Top 8 nations. It should then be
created in China. played every two or four years on the
continent. For example, the quarter-
“It depends on the other Slams, but finals in Rome, Paris, London and
why not?” he explained over the phone Hamburg, then the semis in Paris and
in an interview. "It would open the Wimbledon, and the final at
doors to the sport in China, a huge Wimbledon. All the TV coverage would
country. If China was willing to pay a be huge."
billion dollars to the current four
Slams, it would be a deal for You were also an avid doubles
everyone." player. Do you agree with John
McEnroe that the discipline
But the Grand Slams are a matter should be abolished?
of tradition, not money... "I think John has spoken more with
"It's true. But if it started tomorrow, in his heart than his head. You cannot
50 years the Chinese would have abolish the doubles, because it is a
tradition for their Slam. Moreover, breeding ground for tennis players.

by Stefano Semeraro
58

Radaek Stepanek is a good example:

He was born as doubles player and
twice earned the money needed to
become a good singles player. More
people in the world play doubles than
singles. When Federer played doubles
in Brisbane, there was not a single
empty seat...
But the problem is that the big
names do not play…
"An idea would be to have the singles
players at the Masters team up against
the qualified doubles teams."
Who do you think is better,
Federer or your great friend Rod
Laver?
"Impossible to say: who can know how
Laver would have played with the new
rackets? They were the best in their
time, and that's that."
What do you think of the new
coaching trends? Becker and
Edberg with Djokovic and
Federer…and also Lendl and
Murray. Is it just a fad?
"It depends on Djokovic and Federer.
Murray needed someone like Lendl,
who showed him the path to the
summit. Small details, but important,
and Andy was willing to listen to the
advice of Ivan. Now when Murray
plays he no longer looks to the stands
too often, and doesn’t complain as
much. As for Becker, I do not see what
he could do more than sit in Djokovic’s
box."
And Federer?
"If he wants to come back to beat
Djokovic and Nadal, he must go to the
net more often. Groundstrokes do not
do it anymore.
When he won his first Wimbledon he
played serve and volley on every point.
 59

"I think so. In recent weeks he has

trained a lot, and the back problems
that have plagued seem to be gone.
The body and head are ready, I do not
know if the court is. In Sydney I saw
too many forehand mistakes. His best
chance is at Wimbledon."
It is true that to prepare to beat
Connors you ran five miles uphill
each day and drank beer? "The
‘Connors Hills’ are still there. The beer
story seems to appeal a lot to
reporters."

Today, tennis is lacking

personality like his, don’t you
think?
"No, Nadal has many fans, Djokovic
After that, it was enough to win from brought a new breath, even Ferrer is
the baseline, and he lost the habit of fascinating for his mettle as a fighter.
going to the net. But he has lost the art The game yes, it has become boring.
of the volley and is not consistent A match like Ferrer - Berdych is not
enough. If he does serve and volley, he fun. But I like to see someone like
does not do so with conviction. I Murray: behind every shot there is a
noticed this in Brisbane. Edberg can thought, not merely a big shot."
help with this, but we need to see if
Federer is ready to listen."

It is true that to prepare to beat Connors you ran five miles

uphill each day and drank beer? "The ‘Connors Hills’ are still
there. The beer story seems to appeal a lot to reporters."

The court today does not seem There aren’t as many top
suitable to serve and volley… Australians as there used to be…
"I never said he has to play that way "We have some interesting youngsters,
every point. In Sydney Stakhovsky especially Kyrgios Kokkinakis..."
confused everyone with his speed and
his volleys, alternating between the But the thread of tradition is
baseline and net. It puts pressure on broken, what happened?
the opponent." "It happened in 1968, with the arrival
of professionalism. We then had
In 1975, at age 31, you beat the 22 maybe 6 of the Top 20 in the world.
year-old Connors in the final of The federation, however, decided that
the Australian Open. Can the 32 the "pros" could no longer play the
year-old Federer still win a Davis Cup, and all of us could not play
Grand Slam? it for five years.
60

"It depends on Djokovic and Federer. Murray

needed someone like Lendl, who showed
him the path to the summit"

it for five years. We stopped traveling How would you play against
with the young people of that time - Nadal?
Alexander, Dent, Case, Masters. We "Against Nadal you must serve & volley
were unable to transmit the culture on at least half of the points, and make
and the secret of our play. When a the points really short. When Federer
tradition is broken, it is difficult to can play short points against him, he
rebuild it. We started to do it, myself can make Nadal play a game he doesn’t
and Roche, in 1980, and the results want to, and often wins a set 6-2, or 6-
have been seen with Rafter, Hewitt and 3. But if he is bogged down in rallies,
Philippoussis. Then after another 10 Nadal takes over.”
years, everything has been lost. Now
Pat Rafter has resumed the process by Would you consider coaching?
becoming Davis Cup captain. It is work "No, look: I am married for 46 years, I
that is beginning to pay dividends, and have six grandchildren and a business
that maybe in two years Hewitt will in Texas with my tennis ranch. And
undertake to carry on. It is a most of all I have to improve my golf."
reconstruction that within five or six
years will bring Australia into the Top
10 again."

If you were forced to

choose a student for
coaching?
"Any young Australian, like
Kokkinakis."
Not Bernard Tomic?
"Bernie has a coach: his
father. He has talent, I like
him, but must learn to use
his power, especially on the
forehand and the
backhand."
 61

Nicolae Mishu

I
n tennis, those champions that have been able to hit the big time,
leaving a well-marked sign in history, are many. This month, I will
tell you about a not very much known personality, who however
proved his worth during his years.

Bill Tilden said about him “The tennis

performed by Mishu was out of this world”
Born in Wien in 1893, but Rumanian by adoption, Nicolae Mishu, was a tennis
player during the 20ies of the last Century and also an appreciated diplomatic
in much of the world. Bill Tilden said about him “The tennis performed by
Mishu was out of this world”.
Formerly, Ian Tiriac and Ilie Nastase, were certainly the two most known
names, like now Cirstea and Halep in women’s tennis, but only few know that
during the Twenties, Rumenia found in Nicolae Mishu an idol to adulate. If
today he is not even remembered by Wikipedia it’s because during his period
in Rumania tennis wasn’t relevant, compared to the political problem of the
country. The government kept changing: twelve changes from 1918 until 1928.
However, his professionalism was appreciated from both political tendencies,
liberal and conservative. His peers considered him “the most expert and
capable diplomatic man of Rumania”.
And in those years Mishu the champion had the biggest rewards, both political
and in sport, among which a crushing victory in Monte Carlo, 6-2 6-0, in 1919,
against world’s champion Max Decugis.
In the same year the victories went on in Mentone (also in 1920) and in
Cannes, once again against the French Decugis.
In Great Britain he won in Hurlingham and in Hendon.
1919 was, for Nicolae, a very productive year, with more finals played in
different international tournaments.
In his record of achievements there is also a defeat in 1926 in a final match
against the Italian Placido Gaslini in Cernobbio.

by Salvatore Sodano
62

Going over some newspapers of those In 1921 he defeated André Gobert in

years, it seems like the first real St. Cloud, once again a French world
Rumanian histrionic player was champion. This result had a
Mishu. remarkable journalistic resonance,
He served with slice or with power, he insomuch that, in 1922, the news about
used to hit topspin forehands and he his presence among the public during
sank his opponents with lethal the Davis Cup final in Forest Hill made
backhands, but also with serve and a sensation.
volleys, smashes and half-volleys Praised by the newly born Daily News
under the net. and by the New York Times, the
He delighted the public with Rumanian star, as the sport journalists
spectacular shots and he was never used to call him, had become the most
described as an unfair player, on the cherished personality of tennis, the
contrary, the organizers esteemed him opponent that all champions wished
also because of this characteristic. for in a “Final Challenge”.
His opponents liked him mainly In his record of victories also a title as
because of his congeniality and World’s Vice Champion on clay in a
elegance, both on the court and double match with Marcel Dupont and
outside. In other words, he was the defeated by the usual couple, Cochet-
Federer of the 20ies, and it was a real Borotrà.
pleasure to play against Nick.
 63

In 1925 he went to the Roland Garros ***

in Paris as number 7 seed, defeated in Mişhu completed a law degree in
the last sixteen by the champion Hanry Germany and political science studies
Cochet; in 1927 he was number 9 seed in Paris.
but he retired in the last sixteen He was the first envoy of the
against Totò Brugnon after losing the Romanian monarch in Bulgaria.
first set. He also served as the Envoy
Obviously, if he never met these Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to
French champions that blocked his Vienna, Constantinople and London.
path, today his name would be While in London, he lobbied for
in history among the tennis’ protection of interests of Aromanians
champions or at least in the in Pind Mountains.
International Tennis Hall of Fame’s He was also involved in discussions on
list of famous players, in Newport. rights of Jewish minority of Dobruja
Mishu was also the last famous when it was split between Romania
Rumanian player before, thirty long and Bulgaria
years later, the name of Ion Tiriac From October 15 until November 30,
came to the fore. 1919 Mişu was Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Romania within the Artur
Văitoianu cabinet during which
Romania became a signatory to the
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
64
 65

The best gift of my life

Djokovic-Nadal
Australian Open 2012

di Brent Kruger
66

A
Novak Djokovic t that moment, at that precise
successfully defended moment, I was not yet so sure
his title after he that what Uncle Vladi had
defeated Rafael Nadal given me was
in the longest final in best gift of my life. Of course, my
history. certainty had been growing for quite a
The 2012 final passed while, but I wasn’t quite ready to admit it
the 2008 Wimbledon yet.
final for the record, However, after 313 minutes of a
finishing after 5 hours gladiatorial challenge that had
and 53 minutes of transformed Rod Laver Arena into the
play.
 67

Djokovic had an opportunity to become the first man

since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slams at
the same time, after winning the previous two in 2011.
Nadal went on to become the first player to lose three
Grand Slam finals in a row in the Open Era.

Colosseum, I knew that Uncle Vladi’s I started school in 2001, a week before
gift would never be topped. The nail in September 11. I was 7 years old, then,
the coffin of my doubt was one single and the primary school cycle lasted
shot, which I knew I would remember nine years. Eventually, in 2010, I left
for my whole life. high school and left for Belgrade, even
First, though, I have to tell you why I though my father wanted be to stay
was there. and become an agronomist.
My name Slavko Dragojevic and I was I started playing tennis in 2008, year
born in Smeredevo, a city of seventy zero for us Serbian lovers of the racket.
thousand poor inhabitants. It was the In January, Djokovic won the
capital of Serbia in 1430, and remained Australian Open, and in June, Ivanovic
so for nine years, until the Ottomans won Roland Garros. I'm not good, but I
conquered it after a long siege. I live have a great passion for the sport, and
with my parents and sister in an that's what counts. At least that’s what
apartment building near the station, a my mother says. And it is this passion
short walk from the fortress where the that has brought me here.
Jezava dives into the Danube.

It was the longest match in

the history of the
Australian Open, and in
fact, the longest ever
singles final in the Open
Era in Grand Slam history;
clocked at 5 hours and 53
minutes and ending after
midnight with Nadal
memorable saying after the
match "good morning."
68

Many have an uncle in America, but I

have an uncle in Australia: Vladi, my
father’s brother, who moved there
many years ago.
He is a bigwig over there now, and
works for one of the companies that
sponsor the Australian Open.
He lives here in Melbourne, where he
started a family, and when he heard
that I am crazy for tennis and
Djokovic, he organized the trip.
“You only turn 18 once, and I want it to
be really special,” he told me over the
phone, after announcing the trip. I
took an Etihad flight from Belgrade to
Melbourne via Abu Dhabi, where
everything is upside down. Even the
stars in the sky are different!
"If you want you can go to see the
tournament," my uncle had also said
on the call.
 69

"At my company, they reserve a certain because Nadal had played his semi-
number of free tickets. They are good final on the Thursday.
ones as well." But Nole was not as angry as I was at
I would have swum across the ocean to this injustice. "This is just another
get there. match, and the past does not count,"
In order to not miss too many days of he simply said at his press conference.
school, I arrived the second Sunday, He was, of course, also speaking of his
when the tournament was already in history against Nadal, especially the
full swing. After I recovered from the previous year, when he had beaten the
jet lag, I was there on the Monday Spaniard several times. Today, while I
night for the evening session. I saw was walking through the stands after
Maria Sharapova play Lisicki, then watching the final of the mixed
Nole against the darling of Australian, doubles, I thought to myself that the
Lleyton Hewitt. There was not an past does matter. For me, but not just
empty seat in the stadium. Just like for me, the six losses last year seemed
now. to have left a mark on Nadal.

"I would have swum

across the ocean to get there."

Of course, Uncle Vladi could not have After failing several times over the
known that the final would be between years to close out matches against
Nole and Rafa. Nadal, Djokovic started beating him at
The draw had hinted at such an every turn. It all began in Indian Wells
outcome, since they were the top two in 2011. After that, he went on to beat
seeds, but there were two other serious his rival on the clay in Madrid and
contenders for the title: Federer and Rome, not to mention Wimbledon and
Murray. New York. He seemed to have the
But the Swiss, as usual, ran afoul of Spaniard’s number.
Nadal, while the Scot lost to Nole in an But in their personal history, in
epic semi-final. twenty-nine previous installments of
It was a close-run thing, but after this series, they had never gone to five
nearly five hours of play, Nole knelt on sets, and as we all know, Nadal is the
the court in victory. king of the fifth set.
My idol (my mom does not like me We come then, finally, to the precise
calling Djokovic that: "Your father, moment when the fairy tale could have
who for thirty years has woken up turned into tragedy, when the princess
every single day at four in the morning could have kissed the prince and
to go to work, yes, he is an idol") had turned him into a frog.
one day less to recover than Nadal,
70

It was fifty-five minutes after midnight Instead, Rafa served out wide, and his
on January 30, in what was already the backhand was hit back towards Nole’s
longest final in the history of the backhand, hoping to wrong-foot him.
Australian Open. Nadal, who had all The shot went deep, close to the
the momentum on his side, was baseline, and Nole could only tap it
serving at 4-2 in the fifth set, and at back into play. The rally continued
30-15. Nole’s body language did not from behind the baseline, but it was
bode well. In the preceding five hours, not long before Nadal hit a weak
he had earned many chances, but his backhand that landed short. Nole,
rival had, one way or another, found almost unwillingly took the ball early
his way back into the match. Not even and approached the net.
a fantastic cross-court return could Unfortunately, his approach was not
stop Nadal on the previous point, as he very good, with little power and too
easily put it away for a winner. much spin, it went straight towards
Nole’s legs were tired, and I wanted Nadal’s forehand.
something to happen…anything, as Without overdoing it, Nadal hit a
long as the torture ended. A sudden surgical passing shot down the line.
storm, a meteorite in the middle of the Although I hated it, I had to sportingly
court, a cramp in the left hand of the admire the Spaniard’s power and
Spaniard. Anything. accuracy.
 71

My hero could do nothing but stick out That the momentum had switched
his racket and hope for the best. As it from one player to another, one last
turned out, his hopes were not time.
realized, and his volley limply floated Suddenly, it seemed that everything
straight towards Rafa near the service that had happened before, the first set
line. Nadal quickly pounced on it for a won by the Spaniard, 7-5, the two
routine backhand winner…or at least central sets dominated by Djokovic, 6-
that was the plan. 4, 6-2, and the fourth where he had
In hindsight, I can now say, that this three break points to go up 5-3, it had
was the decisive moment. I had seen all built up to this. Every long rally,
Nadal play at least a hundred times every change in momentum and twist
and a shot like that he had never of fate, it all seemed somehow
missed. He was positioned perfectly, meaningless. This was the defining
and had a ton of space to hit into. It moment.
was a can’t-miss proposition. But he Only the present remained. And the
missed. future.

The two giant big screens revealed what

everyone knew already – Nadal had missed

Nole was simply a spectator, as the Two heavy cross-court forehands from
passing shot flew by him and out. Nole forced Nadal into an unlikely
The linesperson’s call was clear for recovery mode, and the Serb suddenly
everyone to hear, and Nadal’s had a break point. A strong return that
expression turned from delight to Nadal could not handle saw the break
horror, as he realized what he had back. 4-3 Nadal, who now shook his
done. He pointed to Pascal Maria, the head. He thought he had finally
chair umpire, to request the infamous exorcised the Djokovic demons, but
"hawk eye." But the grimace on his lips now they were back to haunt him.
betrayed the awareness of an After the change of ends, Djokovic
opportunity lost. The two giant big motioned for a ball boy to bring him a
screens revealed what everyone knew towel, and for a fleeting moment I
already – Nadal had missed. thought our eye met.
At that moment, at that very moment, "I'm at school with your brother
as I watched Djokovic ambulate like a Djordje," I wanted to shout at him, but
zombie to the baseline and Nadal walk instead I was reasonably limited to
briskly to his end of the court, I watching him stretch his back. Now we
thought that the match had changed were entering the home stretch.
course.
72

The pain and torment was almost over, The ninth game opened with thirty-
but not quite. two strokes of pure suffering, the last
After making an error on the next of which was an off-balance backhand
point, Nole hung his head sadly. Even that Nole missed. He slumped to the
the recovery of the break and the rest ground, destroyed. It was no longer a
between the change of ends was not game of tennis, it was a test of survival.
enough to inject new blood into his Djokovic did his best to shorten rallies
system. Then there was another as much as possible. A bunt that died
exchange, with superhuman Nadal on the tape, a backhand winner, a
relentlessly beating on Nole’s great return and finally some mistakes
backhand. But the Serb somehow from Nadal, and suddenly Nole had
managed to stay strong. some break points. But the Spaniard’s
Nole did not hit any first serves, but tenacity quickly cancelled it, and at the
Nadal could not capitalize, and was not change of sides the Spaniard was
aggressive enough. Another ahead 5-4.
opportunity missed. So we arrived at I had a bad feeling, but the short break
4-4, and Djokovic kissed the crucifix seemed to revitalize Nole,
around his neck.
 73

and only one double fault prevented Nadal relied on a banana, Nole on fruit
him from closing the tenth game to juice, for energy. The first two points
love. With a grunt, Nadal hit a went to Djokovic, without too much
forehand winner in the next game. It trouble, but then Nole hit a forehand
seemed impossible, after nearly six long – 30-15. The next point, a smash,
hours, but his technique remained also went to Nadal, and it was 30-30.
unchanged. He continued on with his Some incredible defense from Nadal
pre-point rituals: a couple of bounces and an incredible passing shot, and it
of the ball, arranging his shorts, was 30-40. Break point. A nightmare.
brushing his hair back, then touching Nole displayed some incredible
his nose and adjusting the hair on the courage on the next point, hitting a
other side. All of this before serving. crazy cross-court backhand that was
On the second point, Nadal again tried too much for Rafa. It was deuce, and
to hit a big forehand, but slipped and my hand went to my heart as I looked
lost the point. The next exchange, up. Nole did the same.
following a second serve, was

It does not get any better than that. Thanks Uncle Vladi,
for the most beautiful birthday gift of my life.

dominated by Djokovic. Now it was 15- Another crosscourt backhand and Nole
30. The Serb tried a lob, but Nadal was was within a point of triumph. He
quick enough to cut it off. It seemed raised his finger to the sky.
impossible, but even after all this time, A point. One point. A first serve lands,
Nadal was still everywhere on the and the return is in the middle of the
court, tenacious and fierce. court. Djokovic hits a forehand, and it
Another exchange and another hard is over.
forehand saw Djokovic pushed back, Nole fell to the ground, and then
but on the next point he created yet hugged his rival. After that, he tore
another opportunity, when the apart his Sergio Tacchini shirt to show
fatigued Spaniard couldn’t quite reach off the body that had brought him this
on a defensive backhand. I was at the far. It was the seventh labor of
very edge of my green seat. I was Hercules, the hardest one. It was the
fascinated by the look on Nole’s face, first time Djokovic had beaten Nadal in
which was screwed up in a fifth set.
concentration, completely focused on It does not get any better than that.
putting an end to this duel. He got the Thanks Uncle Vladi, for the most
break, and was now within reach of the beautiful birthday gift of my life.
goal. Just one more game, but how far
that game seemed!
74
 75

Arabesque
Tennis is Dance
by Andrea Guarracino
76

In tennis, the most graceful and plastic

movement is certainly the position of
the arabesque that tennis players
perform at the end of the serve
movement, where, after having looked
for the maximum height in the
moment of contact with the high-
forward ball, they fall inside the court
with the front foot, obviously only after
the contact with the ball,
counterbalancing the movement inside
the court and the overturn of the
shoulders’ level with the back leg,
imitating the marvelous arabesque
position that is performed by
ballerinas in classic dance.
Here we see the most admirable
performer of this marvelous tennis
movement, the strong and beautiful
Russian tennis player Maria
Sharapova.

Do you perform the arabesque at the

end of your serve movement?
 77

"Looking Ahead"
An interview with Chris Kermode

M
en’s tennis in 2014 is a billion dollar industry so you
could forgive the new chief executive of the ATP for
feeling a little nervous as he began his post at the
helm of what he calls ‘the greatest sport on the planet’
at the start of this year.

However while this may be a considerably daunting challenge for Chris

Kermode, the popular 49 year old Brit could hardly be more equipped for his
new role having already enjoyed successful stints as tournament director for
two hugely successful tournaments in Queen’s and the ATP World Tour Finals.
His work on both events earned him the respect of Roger Federer and Andy
Murray both of whom voiced their approval at his appointment.
However while this may be a considerably daunting challenge for Chris
Kermode, the popular 49 year old Brit could hardly be more equipped for his
new role having already enjoyed successful stints as tournament director for
two hugely successful tournaments in Queen’s and the ATP World Tour Finals.
His work on both events earned him the respect of Roger Federer and Andy
Murray both of whom voiced their approval at his appointment.
“To go into the job with this much support has been fantastic,” Kermode said.
“It’s been quite overwhelming actually, with players sending great messages
off support when the news came through.”
One of the many challenges Kermode faces is trying to satisfy everyone’s
concerns, with the elite wanting various tweaks to the calendar while the
tour’s journeymen are largely concerned with making the sport financially
viable for more players.
Kermode himself knows all too well how difficult life can be as a lower ranked
player, having once competed on the futures tour (the third tier of men’s
tennis) back in the ‘80s, never making it inside the world’s top 700.
"For me, it’s about listening to everybody - everybody needs to have their
voice heard, so it’s about being as engaging and as approachable as possible,
and then building any decisions through consensus,” he said.
“I think my past experience as a player is hugely important. I got a taste of
hacking around as a very average player, but I understand what players go
through. I clearly don’t have the experience of a Top 10 player because I was
never a Top 10 player, but I have an understanding of where the players are
coming from, and the struggle and the difficulties playing the qualifying
rounds of tournaments.”

by David Cox
78

Despite the huge revenue streams that If you look back through the past few
men’s tennis generates these days, one decades, men’s professional tennis has
of the problems so far has been the fact had a habit of generating some of the
that the cash doesn’t filter down to most recognisable athletes and
support the game at the lower levels captivating rivalries in sport – from
and Kermode is planning to tackle this the likes of Borg, McEnroe, Becker,
by increasing the prize money at Sampras, Agassi, Federer, Nadal and
challenger tournaments. “This year, Djokovic.”
we’re increasing our minimum prize “People talk about the changing of the
money levels on the Challenger Tour guard, and it’s going to be very
to $40,000 and we hope to eventually exciting to see who emerges in the next
increase that to $50,000. Ensuring few years.
growth across the Challenger Tour is Just as recently as this year’s
incredibly important so that will be a Australian Open, we’ve seen how well
key focus for the organization moving the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Kei
forward. Nishikori and Milos Raonic
performed.

“We’re one of the few truly global sports, with 61

tournaments across 30 countries throughout the year,
featuring many of the most iconic athletes in all sport”

One of my main responsibilities in And we’ve seen the emergence of two

leading this organisation is to ensure young Australians in Nick Krygios
that we see growth across all levels of and Thanasi Kokkinakis – two very
the sport, and that we make the sport exciting prospects.”
more appealing and financially viable “As an organisation, we have to be
to younger players who are starting ready from a promotional and
out in their careers.” marketing perspective to build on the
Kermode says that one of the next generation of stars, and the
important parts of his job is building strength of our global platform of
for the future and right now he’s tournaments on the Tour will
looking to ensure that the game certainly help us to do that.”
remains successful even after the end Kermode will also be adding a little
of the hugely popular more variety to the tour, both in terms
Federer/Nadal/Djokovic/Murray era. of court speed and geographical
“We’re one of the few truly global location with the addition of a number
sports, with 61 tournaments across 30 of new events in China.
countries throughout the year, “There’s been tremendous growth in
featuring many of the most iconic the game in China in the past 10-15
athletes in all sport,” he said. “Many years,” he said.
people have asked me what we’re
going to do after this golden
generation of players retires.
 79

“There’s been tremendous growth in the game

in China in the past 10-15 years"

“This year, China will become the first But when it comes to court speed, he’s
tournament outside the United quick to remind us that essentially we
States to host ATP events across all always want what we can’t have.
three tournament categories, with a “When you look back, court speed is
new ATP World Tour 250 event in something that has continuously
Shenzhen joining the Tour, alongside evolved – I remember in the 1990s
our ATP World Tour 500 event in when everyone was talking about how
Beijing and our ATP World Tour fast the courts were - too much big
Masters 1000 event in Shanghai. serving and not enough rallies,” he
There’s a huge amount of appetite for points out. “It’s true that there’s been a
growth in the region, and we need to tendency to slow down the courts. But
look at ways of facilitating and in terms of on court spectacle, I think
encouraging that growth in order to we can all agree that we’ve seen some
create the biggest and strongest events of the most incredibly titanic battles
possible. That can only be good for the over the past 10 years or so. The guys
game overall, but whether that means are moving quicker and hitting the
reaching Grand Slam status is a ball harder than ever before, and the
different matter.” battles they’ve had have truly
transcended the sport.”
80

Male tennis
Curiosities

NOVAK DJOKOVIC
The Serbian tennis player is known for his
very peculiar humor. His increasing
impersonations of his circuit’s colleagues
on YouTube are just an example of his
personality.
Another feature of his character that maybe
you didn’t know is his strong
sentimentalism. He defines himself as an
authentic romantic and he tells us he is
deeply in love with his partner Jelena Ristic

ROGER FEDERER

Pete Sampras’ successor was born in

Binninge (Switzerland) on August 8th 1981,
in Basle’s canton, from a South African
mother and a Swiss father. Since he was a
child, he stood out for his character and
when he was 16 he decided to quit school
and exclusively devote to tennis. This didn’t
prevent him from perfectly learning 3
languages: English, French and German.
“Big Roger” is smart both inside and
outside the tennis court.

by Stefania Grosheva
 81

ANDY MURRAY
Do you know what this Scottish guy always
brings along in his endless journeys?
His iPod. He is very fond of music and his
best technological friend contains a huge
amount of songs among which there are
Black Eyed Peas, Eminem and 50 Cent.

DAVID FERRER
Only few know that the guy from Javea has
a deep passion for literature. In particular,
he says he is fond of Arturo Perez-Reverte,
even if he doesn’t want to pick just one
favorite book by this author. Besides, when
he first entered the professional circuit, it
wasn’t easy for him: in fact, he quit tennis
for some time because of some negative
results and he started doing odd jobs to
survive.

RAFAEL NADAL
If there is an adjective that can define Rafa
outside the tennis court, that is, without a
doubt, homely. In fact, he likes to spend
time with his family, in his home town,
Manacor.
He also likes fishing and enjoying his city.
On the top of being a Real Madrid fan, he
can spend hours playing futsal, both
outdoor and on the Play Station with his
friends, among which Juan Monaco and
David Ferrer.
82

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO

Did you know that “Delpo” dreamed of
becoming a soccer player when he was a
child?
He started playing soccer when he was
very young and only when he turned 12 he
decided to grab a tennis racquet. Currently,
soccer keeps being one of his big
passions.
Can you imagine “Delpo” as a soccer
player?
TOMAS BERDYCH

Do you know this tennis player’s habits?

Now we’ll reveal you one.
He doesn’t shave his beard, together with
his team, when he loses a match.
Will we see Berdych with a Robinson
Crusoe’s beard one day?

JANKO TIPSAREVIC
Something very different from making balls
bounce on the tennis court. He tells us he
likes to make his friends dance when he
performs his second passion: the deejay.
He assures that this hobby might continue
after he quits tennis.
Can you imagine a DJ Janko with his
sunglasses in one of the most famous
privée?
 83

Female Tennis
Curiosities

SERENA WILLIAMS
The current queen of the female tennis
circuit says that some of her passions
are fashion and shopping with her sister
or with her girlfriends. Last year she
started working as a fashion designer. In
fact, Serena attended various Fashion
Design courses and later she also
launched her own clothing line with the
name “Aneres”, her name spelled
backwards.

VICTORIA AZARENKA

Even professional tennis players have

idols, if these are also world’s “number
one”.
For Victoria Azarenka, since she was a
child, Steffi Graf was one of them.
In addition, outside the tennis court, she
is still a fan of Madonna, Justin
Timberlake, disco music and Russian
music. Could you imagine?

by Stefania Grosheva
84

AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA

Who said that professional

sportswomen and sportsmen have
never studied in their life?
Among the many hard steps of her life,
this top player loves studying
languages.
Do you know which ones she can
perfectly speak? Polish, English and
German.
MARIA SHARAPOVA

The gorgeous Russian tennis player

travels all over the world during her
tennis tours, but do you know her
favorite city? New York.
Maria reveals us that she loves
spending as much time as possible in
the “Big Apple” enjoying fashion,
shopping, jazz, the company of a good
book like Sherlock Holmes or Harry
Potter or watching a good film.

SARA ERRANI
We don’t know if it is true, but it seems
that Sara Errani has origins from
Alicante, or at least a bound with that
land. Why?
She speaks Spanish and her coach is
Pablo Lozano from Calpe, a small town
half an hour from Alicante. But he’s not
the only one from Alicante that she
admires, among others there’s also
David Ferrer.
 85

ANGELIQUE KERBER

One of the things the player from

Bremen loves is sleeping a lot and she
admits it. She says that when she
sleeps more, also her efficiency on the
court improves. Also, during her free
time she loves hanging out with her
girlfriends and the next day recovering
with a long sleep.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

Who said that girls don’t like soccer?

Caroline loves playing soccer,
swimming and playing golf. She is a
very active girl, who apart from
practicing sport, she likes to watch it.
One of the sports she adores watching
on TV the most is boxing, which
deserves to be watched by a very tough
girl, isn’t it?

SAMANTHA STOSUR
Where to take this tennis player that
travelled the whole planet?
On a marvelous beach.
She adores the sea and her dream
vacation is on a small yacht with her
closest friends.
86
 87

Winners from
Valencia
by Stefania Grosheva
88

The Valencia’s Community region, as

confirmed by its traditions, is offering to the
tennis review more and more excellent
quality players.

The Valencia’s Community region, as DAVID FERRER

confirmed by its traditions, is offering New Year, New Life
to the tennis review more and more David Ferrer was born in Javea, a
excellent quality players. Juan Carlos small town near Alicante, on April 2nd
Ferrer or Marat Safin are some of the 1982.
names that grew and made this land Named “Ferru” by his fans, he reached
famous. his career’s maturity around his 30’s.
Currently Ferrer, who recently won in He won his first Master 1000 title in
Buenos Aires against Fognini, made Paris, a tournament that had never
stable among the world’s best players; been won by a Spanish player before.
Tita Torrò Flor, a young promising He ended 2012 as the ranking’s player
player from Alicante, is the third with more victories and he is the
Spanish in WTA’s ranking, Silvia Soler current number 4 in the ATP’s
Espinosa, who has been part of the ranking.
Iberian national team since last year, The year 2012 was his year: the player
offers a highly competitive tennis that from Javea gathered 7 titles, becoming
is intended to improve. Now let’s for three times the champion of the
analyze this area’s best players and the “Abierto Mexicano de Tennis”.
new promising ones that will have to
replace the old players.

Once, as a teenager, when

Ferrer did not practice
hard enough, his coach,
Javier Piles, locked him in
a completely dark 2m x 2m
ball closet for several
hours, giving him only a
piece of bread and a bit of
water.
After this incident he was
fed up with tennis and
went to work at a
construction site, but after
a week he returned to Piles
to play tennis
 89

In fact, Ferrer revealed us in different

occasions that that was a unique year.
In 2013 he won in Buenos Aires and in
Auckland, getting to the final in Miami
against Andy Murray after a 3 set
endurance race.
Right now, David, who has recently
changed his memorable coach, Javier
Piles instead of José Altur, is back to
the 4th position in the world’s ranking,
looking for a further growth in his
career.
MARIA TERESA TORRO FLOR
Waiting for her consecration
Maria Teresa Torro Flor was born in
Villena, on May 2nd 1992.
Tita was built in Juan Carlos Ferrero’s
academy and now she’s the 21-year-old
main hope for the Spanish female
tennis. Currently, she keeps the record
of wins in the history of Spanish
female tennis on clay, amounting to a
90

total of 36, surpassing Conchita (a tendonitis in her left knee).

Martinez who got to 26 wins. The According to her statements to our
young player from Alicante won 11 ITF magazine, she feels very proud of
tournaments and in 2012 she won for having been called to play for the
the first time the Absolute national team in Alicante, her home,
Championship of Spain. and being a national team’s strong
This victory arrives after winning 6 point, despite the recent defeat against
consecutive championships in which the Czech Republic.
she showed her top level. Her career is
based not only on individual SILVIA SOLER ESPINOSA
competition, but also on the double. "Outsider" in singles, a
In fact, she plays with Garbine guarantee in doubles
Muguruza and in 2013 they triumphed Silvia Soler Espinosa was born on
in Australia at “Moorilla Hobart November 19th 1987 in Elche.
International” beating Timea Babos She won 4 titles in the ITF circuit in
and Mandy Minella in the final. To this the individual category, but we can’t
day she is number 63 in the WTA’s forget her path in doubles where she is
ranking, an excellent position, currently number 44.
considering that she started in 2012 The seasons before 2012, when she
being number 459 and with a serious entered the first 100 positions, helped
injury that stopped her for 6 months her in becoming stable in the ranking.
 91

Also, after a serious injury, she took

part to the Olympic Games
representing the Spanish female
tennis, even if with little luck, since she
lost in the first round.
However, as she assures, it was the
most important experience at that
point in her life.
Currently she has lost some positions
in the single ranking, going to number
77, whereas in doubles her level stays
stable keeping number 42 as her best
position.
Besides, together with her
countrywoman Tita Torro, she was
called last year by the national team
for the match against Ukraine in
Alicante.
92

Learning To Love
Lefties

W
hen he first started winning on the ATP Tour, many
reporters compared Rafa Nadal to another clay court
monster, Thomas Muster. Nadal, with the half-smile
that accompanies all his press conferences, insisted
that the similarities ended with the fact that

they were both left-handed.

At the end of 2013 season, when Nadal again closed out the season as world
number one, it was as clear as ever that his left-handedness had a massive
impact on his career.
Of course, Rafa uses his left hand when he plays tennis, and he also kicks with
his left foot. But he does everything else with his right hand, such as eating,
writing and playing golf.

The envy of McEnroe

But on the court, his left hand does the talking. His forehand is his most
devastating shot, and he can generate inhuman amounts of top spin with it.
"Well, that's a shot that I would have liked," John McEnroe has said of
Nadal’s forehand.
Of course, McEnroe also plays left-handed.
Yet perhaps Nadal’s biggest weapon on the court is his toughness. He is
capable of carrying on when most of his peers would have already thrown in
the towel.
A prime example of this is the final in Rome in 2005, when the Spaniard
played against Guillermo Coria. Nadal had a series of blisters on his hand that
were tormenting him, but instead of letting it get him down, he fought
through the pain in an epic five hour marathon. He won in a fifth set tie-
break.
Some time later, when I was interviewing him, I asked him a question. "Rafa,
which of all your titles in Rome were the most special?"
He did not hesitate. “Those of 2005 and 2006,” he replied. “Winning two
battles after more than five hours, the matches that you feel are out of hand
but then you are able to win in the end. These are the matches that give you
joy. The danger averted, the recovery and victory. Who could ask for more in
a match of tennis?"
Nadal is not a masochist, he is just a fighter.
Perhaps it is also because of these kinds of stories that lefties are seen as
whimsical warriors.

by Dario Torromeo
 93

It was called "the hand of the devil" in many

parts of the world, and parents often tied
their children’s left hands behind their back,
forcing them to use the right one.

Parents against it In Greek, they call left-handers

It was not too long ago that being left- "skaios," which has an ominous
handed carried with it massive stigma. undertone to it.
It was called "the hand of the devil" in In German, the two terms that indicate
many parts of the world, and parents lefties are "links" and "linkisch," which
often tied their children’s left hands are also used to describe someone who
behind their back, forcing them to use is clumsy.
the right one. In Islamic culture, left-handedness is
Even today, many references to left- not seen positively, as activities such as
handers are negative. eating or brushing are always
For example, in Italy if someone is a performed with the right hand.
delinquent, you say that they "look The left is given to the cleaning of the
left," and if you are in a bad mood private parts.
during the day, you say that you "got Distinguished scientists in the past
out of bed on your left foot." claimed that left-handedness was a
In French, they say "qu'il east gauche," hereditary condition (as if it were a
which means "he is awkward." disease), while others claimed that it
In Spanish, "no ser zurdo" means "to was a symptom of a mother that gave
be not left-handed," but also "to be birth at too advanced an age.
smart."

Another interesting note relates

to Grand Slam wins. Of the 183
Slams played in the Open Era,
left-handers have won 42 times
(22.9%), although 29 of those
victories came from just three
men (Nadal, Connors and
McEnroe).
All lefties have a common
difficulty when it comes to
playing against other lefties.
The only exception is Rafa
Nadal, who has a winning
percentage of 82.9% against
right-handers (590 W/122 L),
while against lefties he has won
90.5% of his matches (67 W / 7
L) .
94

But there is also the other side of the But that doesn’t mean they aren’t
moon. The positive side. Many think fierce: Marvin Hagler, Manny
that left-handers are more creative, Pacquiao and Bruno Arcari were all
with greater imagination. lefties.
In boxing, being a left-hander means
Talented lefties that someone is a “southpaw.”
The sports world has never had a It is also sometimes called the “false
shortage of left-handed players. Diego guard,” since some people believed
Maradona, Bobby Charlton, Gigi Riva, left-handed boxers could not properly
Mariolino Course, John McEnroe, protect their vulnerable body parts,
Jimmy Connors, Rod Laver, Ayrton like the heart, mouth, stomach and
Senna and Valentino Rossi are just a liver, in their guard stance.
small sample of famous sports people
who were lefties. Addressing a lefty
Jimi Hendrix was also left-handed, but Facing a lefty in sport is often difficult,
had no trouble playing with his right because it is upsets the usual dynamics
hand when the mood took him. of combat.

The right hemisphere of the brain (which controls the left hand)
is the one that is traditionally associated with creativity and
artistry.

And then there is Bob Dylan and Paul This is especially true in individual
McCartney, the Heads of State Bill sports like boxing and tennis.
Clinton, Fidel Castro, Ronald Reagan, The left-hander, of course, has no
George H.W. Bush, Harry Truman and problems.
Barack Obama. The actors Charlie He is accustomed to dealing with right-
Chaplin and Robert De Niro. The handers, because they represent such a
artists Leonardo da Vinci, large part of society.
Michelangelo, Picasso and Raphael. But centuries of superstition is finally
Leaders such as Julius Caesar, falling away, and left-handers are no
Napoleon Bonaparte and Alexander longer seen as strange or bad.
the Great. A study done in the early years of the
twentieth century reported that only
The creative hemisphere 3% of the world was left-handed.
The right hemisphere of the brain Today, that percentage has nearly
(which controls the left hand) is the quadrupled to around 11%.
one that is traditionally associated with So people are no longer forcing their
creativity and artistry. It has among its children to be right-handed when they
functions the perception of three- are actually born as lefties.
dimensionality, creativity and
imagination. Lefties are the noble wing
of mankind.
 95

The (un)natural forehand STATS

Nadal used to play right-handed. But We analyzed the data of the 150
one day he decided to try as a lefty. players in the Open Era that have had
Soon he found that his forehand the best winning percentage. This
became incredibly explosive when ranking is led by Rafa Nadal with 659
played from the left. The Spaniard is victories, 129 losses and a win
capable of generating as much as 4900 percentage of 83.6%.
RPM on his forehand, whereas most There are 17 left-handers in the list,
players are lucky to generate half that which equates to about 11% (the same
on a normal shot. % of left-handers in the world). Of
The legend is that his uncle Toni these, 10 are in the Top 50, and 5 in
forced him to make the change to a the Top 11.
lefty. This is not true. Among these 17 players, 14 were in the
Toni still likes to joke that “Rafa would Top 5 at some point in their career, 10
be better as a right-hander.” were in the Top 2 and 6 were #1 (or
Use of "the devil's hand" was 24% of the total). Here's the list:
considered almost a sin until recently. Top tier: Laver, Connors, McEnroe,
In the 1920s it was associated with Muster, Rios, Nadal.
dementia and in the 1940s with Second tier: Orantes, Vilas, Korda,
dyslexia. Only since the 1970s has this Ivanisevic.
view truly ceased. Third tier: Tanner, Gomez, Rusedski.
Fourth tier: Leconte.
96
 97

360 Ball
A new racquet sport

by Stefania Grosheva
98

T
360ball, as the name ennis lovers, we are lucky:
of the game alludes to, 360 ball is coming. This new
is a racquet and ball sport, created in South Africa,
game played in a consists of a blend
circular court and was between tennis and paddle.
developed in the You play inside a sort of round cage with
Garden Route, in one disc in the center of the field.
South Africa. It’s a racquet sport played single or
double and the goal is to hit the person so
that the ball bounces in the center.
Currently, this sport is played in South
Africa, Spain, France and Germany.
 99

“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, si

dici consectetuer adipisci elit
mpendere integre.”

360 ball exists in different versions: RULES

pro-court, mobile (portable court), and
practice (pitch version). - Each player will be free to move
Pro-court: this is the professional around the central disc.
version. - Every team must hit the ball twice.
Mobile: it refers to a court that you can - If it’s a double match, each player
carry to the beach, to the field, must hit the ball once before it’s the
wherever you want! opponent’s turn.
With a total setup time under 25 - The double hit is mandatory before
minutes this will bring the sport to the you throw the ball against the central
people. The new Mobile Court will disc.
allow players to experience 360ball on
a fun and social level, and at the same
time act as a stepping stone to the Pro-
Court version.
Practice: it was conceived to train and
you can do it everywhere and without
walls.

Although the game in a

circle has its origins as a
back yard contest between
brothers Mark and John
Collins who used to bounce
a ball of a circular wooden
disc, it is today hardly
recognizable from its
original format.
100

Gosh, I so feel it
today !

I
t’s 12.30 p.m. and my mother calls me for lunch. At 4 p.m. there’s
my tournament’s match.
As usual my meal consists of 100 grams pasta with tomato sauce
and 100 grams raw ham without bread.

This is life, we learn and we grow up through sensations, that is to say

the changes of our neurological system caused by the external
environment that comes into contact with us through our senses.

The smell of tomatoes gets into my room, I come to the kitchen and the
intense and salty taste of ham reminds me, as always, of the upcoming match.
It’s 3.30 when I get to the club for my match.
I run slowly for 10 minutes around the court to warm up.
I feel my heart beating hard because of tension.
I concentrate on breathing in order to relax.
It’s 4 p.m. and I’m on the court to warm up. I intensely look at the ball to get
into the match, I inhale and exhale in rhythm with the shot. I concentrate on
feeling my footholds on the ground and keeping my center of gravity under
control.
I have a strange feeling of a slight pain in my elbow, remains of the previous
match, but I try not to lend weight to it. I listen to the sound of the ball on my
opponent’s strings, on my court and on my strings, to improve my timing. I try
to feel the grip of every shot and relax it between each shot in order not to
tense up.
The match begins, I still feel a bit nervous during the first games.
I think positive, when I feel like this I am full of energy and after a few
minutes I will relax and I will play very well.
My prediction comes true and I clearly win in two sets, playing my best tennis.
This is life, we learn and we grow up through sensations, that is to say the
changes of our neurological system caused by the external environment that
comes into contact with us through our senses.
Each one of us elaborates this information in different ways.

by Andrea Guarracino
 101

Sport champions are able to analyze A great tennis player is able to

within few seconds an incredible perfectly feel the perfect stance, the
amount of information coming both grip, the unit turn, the shoulders’
from the outside and from their own incline angle, the strings’ pattern
body. incline and I could go on and on.
The canals through which we receive A great cyclist can perfectly feel and
this information are: visual, auditory, handle the heartbeat and breathing
tactile, olfactory, gustatory, the and so he can improve the neuro-
kinesthetic and balance canal and the muscular effort.
canal of well-being or pain sensations. It is important to know that we are all
It is very important to know that each born with a particular preference for
individual has its own preferential the kinesthetic canal, compared to the
hierarchy when using these canals. Big auditory and visual one, and that
painters, for instance, use the visual during the course of life this preference
canal first, great musicians use the is reversed.
auditory one. For instance, currently in Europe 55%
Great athletes are almost all of people are preferably visual, 20%
kinesthetic, so they mainly learn auditory and 25% kinesthetic. For us
through the sensations that the tennis teachers it’s important to know
movements make them feel in their which is our junior players’ preferred
bodies while they perform the athletic channel through which they elaborate
action.
102

information (in this regard I invite all

of you to read Umberto Longoni’s book
“Questione di testa”) and if you are in
doubt you better use all three of them,
explaining your junior players what
they have to do, showing them the
correct technical action, but above all
trying in all ways to make them feel the
most efficient biomechanical action in
their bodies, because, as I’ve already
said, it is through this channel that in
tennis you will get the most important
information.
If we will be good teachers one day
also our junior players, while winning
a match playing perfectly, they will
exult by saying: “gosh, I so feel the ball
today”.
 103

Hit a Forehand Winner Like Roger Federer

Watching the best in the world is like
watching poetry in motion.
They have become maestros at
performing plays to perfection.
The Slice backhand set up for the inside in or inside out
forehand winner is one of Federer's favorite plays.
If you learn to put it together,
you will develop a weapon everyone will fear.
Watch the video
104

Preparing
for the match

W
hat is required in order for a player to be
physically, mentally and tactically ‘ready’ for
the match?

What little tricks can help us achieve top match performance?

Here's how a tennis player should get organised. From stretching exercises to
food advice. From facilitating concentration to care of the equipment.
Everything a tennis player needs to be perfect right from the first ‘fifteen’.
’Preparing for the match’ refers to a series of measures which allow the player
to give his best because he is physically, mentally and tactically ‘ready’ to face
the match. If it is true that matches are won on the court, it is equally true that
the better the approach to the match, the easier it is for the tennis player’s
competitive performance to be positively affected.
1. Physical preparation. Warming up, stretching.
2. Mental preparation. Relaxation, visualisation, establishing rituals designed
to promote concentration.
3. Tactical preparation. Establishing goals, establishing a match strategy, how
to leverage the pre-match rally.
4. What to eat. Following clear rules for food and beverage intake.
5. Equipment. Packing of the bag; checking and maintenance of equipment.

Physical preparation.
Let’s learn to warm up. On many occasions I have seen players (especially
among the very young) starting off a match and losing the first game because
they are insufficiently ‘warm’ to give their 100% right from the first point.
It is absolutely wrong to play down the importance of the first game thinking
that "the match has only just begun" and considering it almost an extension of
the warm-up or even a time to calibrate one’s shots.
A game given away at the beginning of a match may not seem too important,
but it might cost the loss of a set.
In some situations (e.g. a match played on a fast surface, mental fragility of
the opponent) a break in the opening game may prove decisive for the final
outcome of the match as it may positively or negatively shift its psychological
and tactical equilibrium.
If the organisation of the tournament allows it, the ideal would be to warm up
on the court prior to the start of the match.
 105

Professionals rally before entering the damaging the sensitivity of the arm-
court; they play a few points and racquet system and the general
basically revisit the game tactics muscular fluidity, fundamental
during a period that can vary between prerogatives to best expressing one’s
a minimum of 30 minutes and a potential.
maximum of one hour. Considering Stretching is synonymous with
that the organisation of smaller relaxation, therefore it is
tournaments can hardly afford to recommended to perform the exercises
reserve a court for training (especially in a quiet place, in the club gym or
while the first rounds are being even better in the shade of a tree.
disputed), it is appropriate to explore The time of stretching is closely
alternative warm-up methods. Even 10 connected to the mental preparation
minutes of jogging are enough. for the match.
Weather permitting and if the club While stretching, a player must
where the tournament is played has a increase his concentration and focus
green area - or in the absence of spaces his attention on the tactical pace of the
available, even on the tennis match, revisiting his intentions

Stretching is synonymous with relaxation, therefore it is

recommended to perform the exercises in a quiet place, in the club
gym or even better in the shade of a tree.

courts - 5-10 minutes of jogging and the goals he aims to achieve

followed by footwork drills are during the match.
sufficient to set the body in motion. Stretching exercises must affect all the
The more common types of drills are: more important muscular groups used
heel kicks, sidestep slides alternatively by the tennis player: muscles of the
facing the centre and the outside of the arms (biceps and triceps muscles), the
court and skipping. deltoid and the articulation of the
If the warp-up is done around the shoulder, pectoral muscles, muscles of
perimeter of the tennis court, after the upper and lower back, the glutei,
several minutes of continuous jogging, ischiocrural muscles (rear of the leg)
one can alternate a slow run along the the femoral quadriceps (front of the
short sides of the court with the above leg) and twin muscles (calves). Every
mentioned drills on the two long sides. muscle group must be stimulated
Don't forget the stretching. gradually (progressively increasing
Doing some muscle stretching muscle elongation until optimum
exercises shortly before the match is tension is achieved), starting from the
very important. upper limbs and ending with the lower
Before an important match, nervous or vice versa.
tension is often so high that it is
transmitted to our muscles, thus
limiting the ability of movement and
106

Many professional players say that 20/30

minutes of relaxation before starting the pre-
match warm-up are of great benefit for a
positive approach to the match.

Mental preparation. dedicated space reserved to them

How to achieve good relaxation? Many named "players lounge".
professional players say that 20/30 This room is particularly valuable in
minutes of relaxation before starting major tournaments such as the Grand
the pre-match warm-up are of great Slam where all players, be they famous
benefit for a positive approach to the or not, are literally assaulted by fans,
match. enthusiasts and autograph hunters if
At this time, self-analysis observations they go outside the reserved areas.
and self-criticism are best received if Match visualisation. "I would start
one is physically and mentally calm. thinking about an important match the
This condition can be facilitated by night before. I would imagine the
staying in a secluded place with few points that I would play the following
distracting elements (e.g.: gym, club day". As we can gather from these
gardens, etc.), or in the absence of a words of Serena Williams,
quiet corner, one can isolate oneself visualisation is one of the most
from the outside world by listening to important aspects of mental
one’s favourite music on an iPod. preparation for the match. Visualising
Professional men and women players is useful for building self confidence,
prefer to await the match in a focussing one’s attention to the

Tutti sappiamo che il tennis è

qualcosa di più che semplice
superstizione, ma secondo
me non si dovrebbe
sottovalutare l’importanza di
questi piccoli rituali che i
campioni hanno in comune
con i giocatori della
domenica.
Questi comportamenti
all’apparenza inutili hanno la
capacità di far sentire bene il
giocatore aumentando
inconsciamente la sicurezza
nei suoi mezzi.
 107

match, bringing the right level of effectively, attacking the opponent,

nervous excitement, revisiting match executing a serve at the right pace,
strategies. anticipating the return, etc.
Visualisation helps with: The third aim of pre-match
1) Reinforcing match strategy visualisation is to focus one’s attention
2) Gaining confidence and sensitivity uniquely on the match. When the
in one’s shots player imagines himself on the tennis
3) Focussing on the match court while playing the match, he is
Pre-match visualisation is a good automatically focussed on what he
opportunity to revisit the match plan, needs to do during the match in order
to strengthen the execution of to win, and in doing so he removes
technical moves, select the shots that thoughts of other nature.
one wants to use. For example, if you
want to attack the opponent on the Rituals that encourage
backhand, imagine yourself hitting concentration.
from the baseline whilst waiting for the A player’s pre-match routine has at
right opportunity to attack and close at least two purposes:
the net with a winning volley. 1) Organising most effectively the time
The second purpose is to "feel" one’s preceding the beginning of the match
shots. The tennis player must see in order to promote concentration.
himself hitting the ball fluidly and
108

superstition, but in my opinion one

should not underestimate the
importance of these small rituals that
champions have in common with
Sunday players. These seemingly
useless behaviours have the ability to
make the player feel well by
unconsciously increasing his
confidence in his resources.

Bjorn Borg
Bjorn Borg’s superstitions is related to
one specific tournament, Wimbledon,
the one he won five times in a row
between 1976 through 1980. Borg
would always grow a beard for the
tournament and wear the same Fila
shirt.
Serena Williams
While Serena is generally aggressive
2) Removing doubts and on court and has one of the most
uncertainties. effective power games on the women’s
A routine approach to the match can circuit, you would think that would be
be crucial in ensuring that a player is enough for her but it isn’t. Serena’s
best prepared. When a professional superstitions include bringing her
player is due to play in a tournament shower sandals to the court, tying her
match, his entire day becomes centred shoelaces a specific way and bouncing
on the match as a point of reference. the ball five times before her first serve
layer and coach together establish and twice before her second. The three
times for wake-up call, breakfast, final time Wimbledon champ will even wear
training (with related bookings of the same pair of socks during a
transport from the hotel to the club), tournament run. She is also believed to
lunch, and so on until the player enters use the same shower during a winning
the court. In other words, every single streak.
time of the day is scheduled in such a Rafael Nadal
way that the player may arrive at the Rafael Nadal borders on obsessive
match in the most rational and best compulsive behaviour, I’m not even
possible frame of mind. sure this qualifies as a superstition.
A second pattern of behaviour is Rafa is fixated with arranging the
certainly less ‘scientific’ but it may be water bottles with the labels facing the
equally important. same direction, meticulously arranged
A tennis athlete is likely to create on the floor in front of him
habits, patterns of behaviour, repeat Marat Safin
actions that have in the past been Russia’s Marat Safin is said to always
associated with winning performances. travel with an ‘evil eye’ to ward off evil
We all know that tennis is something spirits and bad karma. I hope no one
more than simple ever gets to see his “evil eye” whatever
it is.
109
110

The rationale for Mental

Training

W
hat it is, what are the components involved,
why it is essential to an athlete’s
performance. Above all, it is a key factor for a
step improvement in quality.

Not many may have heard about Mental Training.

Let us begin by clarifying what are the psychological dimensions involved,
which have in common the fact that they are cross-cutting (later on we will
look at what exactly this means): anxiety, aggression, concentration, level of
activation, and many others, but these are the most commonly recognizable.
Cross-cutting elements
First let us have a look at why we have defined them cross-cutting: we could
imagine any situation in our daily life; for convenience, let us assume we are in
our car on our way to work.
Depending on several factors, we have a certain level of activation while we
drive (we are sleepy or alert, or nervous, etc). Similarly, we can be more or less
concentrated and traffic conditions can make us more or less anxious or more
or less aggressive towards other drivers.
There it is, the same type of reasoning can be applied to any other type of
situations: which explains why the psychological dimensions involved are
called cross-cutting: they cut across all situations and all aspects of our lives.
This is also the reason why we instinctively think that it is not worth training
these psychological dimensions, and automatically assume the belief that
there is nothing to do because it is a given.
What are we made of?
People usually behave more or less the same way, and not much is achieved by
urging them to behave differently from the way they are.
This is a good point from which we can start describing Mental Training:
Sports Psychology (and Psychology in general) assumes that there are
different ways to ‘be’ and feel with oneself: few determining factors are
genetically defined; the rest can be changed.
But ‘what’ exactly are we?
Many would try to answer by describing either what they believe is their
character or their personality: which is correct from a certain point of view.

by Federico Coppini
 111

But what is character, or face reality and reduce the complexity

personality? of the world around us. And each has
In order to keep the explanation really their own: some people handle a
very simple, we can reduce the concept certain situation with some patterns,
this: us, all of us are mostly a collection others will use different ones, and once
of patterns. again we can return to the car
In line with the first example, if situation.
someone tries to overtake us from the And why so many different patterns as
wrong side, we generally have a certain opposed to a ‘right’ one for every
way to respond; if we are in a hurry, we situation? Because obviously each of us
behave in a given way; if we are going develops different patterns for the
shopping, in another, and so on. And - same situations: in other words we all
someone will identify with this - there develop different associations to the
are those who are always driving in a various situations in our lives.
hurry because they are always late, and We cannot understand exactly how or
those who cannot press on the why. However, we do know with
accelerator even if their wife is about to certainty that some people associate
give birth. certain emotions and certain
behaviours with a particular situation,
Patterns and then repeat them continuously
Many, small or large patterns help us each time that situation occurs until
112

It is not by chance that we talk about mental training and

not psychological interventions, so as not to give the
illusion (equally widespread as other false belief) that one
can change things as if by taking a medicine it goes away
completely. We need to commit, on the court as in the
gym.

they convince themselves that this is Then perhaps I grow up, and reacting
how it is done. to frustration with anger stops being
useful, but in the meantime I have
Associations, repetition and developed a habit of reacting this way,
habits. Got the trick? and I can’t do otherwise.
Ever since small children, we spend If I am a tennis player, it could be that
our entire life associating emotions I am unable to manage my matches,
and behaviours to situations, and we always reacting with anger to
do not know why, nor does it matter. frustrations, but what can I do about it
Most probably, the first time we make if I am convinced that ‘this is the way I
an association, this makes sense, but at am’.
other times maybe it doesn’t. That is And instead it is just habits: patterns
why some of our present behaviours that are repeated time and time again,
may not be appropriate for what we patterns that are formed through
are doing. associations.
Let me be clear: if the first time that I
feel frustrated I react with anger and
this improves my situation, I will
repeat this next time and maybe this
will work for some time.

Association of behaviour +
situation
= pattern
Repeated situation +
repeated patters
= habit

Collection of habits
= ingrained beliefs.
 113

We can be different too; but we

need training.
We have seen that not everything is
genetically predetermined. Without
claiming to be able to change people,
or people’s personality, we can
reasonably consider changing a few
habits. Not all, only those that ‘don't
work’ in the competition and do not
help us feel good nor win.
In order to do this, we must first
understand what the habits are and
really want to change them, because
that can be painful, and in most cases
it is.
A habit takes years to become deep
rooted: changing it should not
necessarily take too much time, but it
certainly takes perseverance and
commitment.
It is not by chance that we talk about
mental training and not psychological
interventions.
114
 115

The state of flow

and the self – overcoming

W
hen a tennis player is well trained and
During the flow, the the mental strength is at an optimal
match becomes a level, there won’t be emotional or
challenging goal mental issues during the match and the
that rallies all the challenge also represents a chance of
resources and the self – overcoming.
technical, mental, In fact, during the match, players reach the so called
muscular and state of flow.
emotional In general, this is characterized by a close combination
competence of goals and competences.
acquired during Such combination determines the best concentration
training and and focusing possible, without distractions or
interruptions that could disturb the performance
determines the oriented to the desired goal.
focusing of all During the flow, the match becomes a challenging goal
energies on that rallies all the resources and the technical, mental,
optimizing the muscular and emotional competence acquired during
sport performance. training and determines the focusing of all energies on
optimizing the sport performance.
As Weineck says: “For top players, the stress of the
challenge and the state of flow caused by it, let the
player use the body and mind’s hidden stocks,
allowing the reaching or the passing of individual
performance limits.”
So the flow is a state of absolute concentration on the
task that takes athletes to the self – overcoming. It’s
the magic moment, when the athlete’s global capacities
exactly correspond to the task’s difficulty and the
athlete tends to develop higher abilities depleting all
interior potentialities and energies.
During the flow athletes get to outdo themselves. It’s in
that sort of trance that they score passing shots that
they have never tried before, flying volleys, impossible
salvages.
Very important aspect: during the flow, the activity
itself is satisfying and fulfilling.
The flow is tightly connected to the enjoyment, to the
pleasure of doing what you are doing, so that its
discoverer, Csikcszentmihalyi, initially defined it as an

by Stefano Massari
116

It’s because they know that, whatever is the final result, so both
if they win or lose, they will leave the court as better players
than before

autotelic experience, which means or also while cooking a dish that we

something that you do just for the sake particularly like to cook, whereas the
of it. In this sense the flow seems macro flow shows up in more
strongly connected to the intrinsic complicated situations.
motivation. Speaking of which, Vincenzo
One of the flow’s fundamental Santopadre’s opinion, former Davis
characteristics is the total attention to Cup and now supervisor at the
the task and not to one’s self. In other Aniene’s Rowing Club, is interesting.
words, you are totally absorbed by the “When you are in the flow” says
game and you don’t look at yourself Vincenzo “you’re so concentrated that
from the outside. you don’t even realize you’re there,
It’s a state of hyper-concentration, in just because you don’t see yourself
which athletes do what they have to from the outside. On the contrary, you
do. Csikcszentmihalyi distinguishes realize very well when you’re not in
between micro flow and macro flow. the flow, because everything starts
he micro flow is connected to the daily bothering you: the smell of a
experiences, to the everyday life, the spectator’s cigar, the laugh of
little challenges that we face maybe someone walking 100 feet away from
against time or against a rival at work your court, the chatter of the people
 117

on the bleachers, the noise of gravel

under a child’s feet while running
away.”
So the flow is hyper-concentration, but
also hyper-awareness and hyper-
participation on the court.
If you try to ask a top level tennis
player what happened on 3-3-, 15-0 in
a match played one day earlier, they
will perfectly remember everything,
because the flow means full immersion
in the match. Just because of its
nature, because it’s connected to the
challenge and to the total engagement
in it, it’s hard to measure the flow. To
make up for it, I notice that it creates a
certain, positive dependency in some
young tennis players.
What do I mean? I mean that when
athletes try the flow during a match,
they can’t wait to be in that same
situation again, so they are dying to
play another match.
118

The Wonders Of
Kinesiology

K
inesiology is a discipline that is of great therapeutic
effectiveness. Since its introduction by Dr. George J.
Goodheart over 50 years ago, it has been used in a
wide variety of disciplines and for various
applications.

It stands today as one of the most effective ways to improve and preserve the
well-being of each person and athlete. Kinesiology is based on the use of tests
which allows therapists to evaluate the response of the nervous system against
different factors, such as structural, biochemical, emotional and energetic
elements. It highlights the existence and possible therapeutic use of specific
neurological connections, which are maintained by individual muscles in the
body. Any action or change to these can have effects on the entire body.
Kinesiology is therefore a holistic approach to health and well-being, the aim
of which is to stimulate the body's natural ability to regenerate. During
coaching and training sessions, or during therapy in general, the use of
Kinesiology as a tool is very useful. Using kinesiology for muscle testing is a
manual procedure which is based on feedback gain. It allows you to check an
athlete’s reactions to a range of factors. This test measures the ability of the
athlete to control his muscle response.
The proper use of tests allows therapists access to aspects of the athlete that
the athlete himself might not be aware of, but which are negatively affecting
his performance. Each of the tests are described below, and can be used to
improve both the physical and mental wellbeing of the athlete.
1. Water balance
This test will determine whether the bioavailability of water in the athlete is
adequate. The human body is composed of about two-thirds water, and the
brain of about 90%. Water plays an essential role in many bodily processes,
including the elimination of toxins and harmful substances. It is essential in
maintaining the electrical polarity in the membrane of cells throughout the
body. The body needs hydration, and must never be allowed to need for water.
2. Re-balancing for the plight of switching
Stress can be amplified if we are not hydrated, and in this case the test and
rebalancing described above is essential. In Kinesiology, the term "switching"

by Amanda Gesualdi
 119

is used to indicate a state of Vessel are associated respectively with

neurological confusion in which we the Brain and Spinal Cord, which
encounter if we are stressed, such as together constitute the fundamental
during a match or tournament. This components of the nervous system.
condition can be tested and rebalanced The test is intended to verify the
to get an immediate resolution. absence of stress while promoting the
Rub vigorously for about 30 seconds flow of energy to the brain.
the two points of Acupuncture Rene 27
(below the clavicle and sternum side) 4. Manual stimulation of the
and at the same time maintain your energy flow in the system of the
free hand in contact with the navel. Twelve Meridians T
This treatment is also useful as self- his technique is an "energy shower" for
management, and will resolve any the system that stimulates the flow of
confusion or stress. the meridians, giving energy
throughout the body.
3. Re-balancing the flow of
energy in the Meridian 5. Muscle rebalancing through
Conception Vessel and Governor stimulation of the periosteum The
Vessel periosteum is the membrane of
The Conception Vessel and Governor connective tissue that surrounds the
bone.
120

Kinesiology is applied in areas of health and fitness

for all levels of athletes, but more often found with
training of elite athletes. All too often biomechanical
analysis focuses on the kinetic energy or the
working numbers in execution of technique.

The technique is based on the short way to rebalance his muscles, which
and vigorous stimulation of the border will make him feel much more
area between tendon and bone. Such a energetic. The test is performed on the
"shock" will make the muscle more following muscles: Supraspinatus,
toned and ready for exercise. The areas Large Round, Pectoralis clavicular,
to be stimulated from time to time will Spine, Subscapularis, Quadriceps
depend on the muscle in question. femoris, Tibialis Anterior, Psoas,
Gluteus Medius, Small Round, Front
6. Rebalancing spinal massage Deltoid, Pectoralis chest pad, Middle
Sheldon C. Deal and John F. Thie, two Deltoid and hamstrings. These 14
kinesiologists from the US, developed muscles were chosen because they are
a technique in the late 1970s that associated with the main meridians of
stimulates the spinal region, which is traditional Chinese medicine, as well
particularly beneficial for athletes. as the fact that they are strategic to the
body’s well-being.
7. Testing and rebalancing of the
14 major muscles 8. Improve emotional stress,
This test provides the athlete with a tissue and posture
The RSE in the athlete facilitates the

Test to verify food

reaction This test is used
to determine the specific
reaction of an athlete to a
type of food. This will fall
into the following
categories:
- Biogenic → when taken
muscles are exhausted
- Biocidic → when taken
muscles experience more
stress
- Biostatic → when taken it
does not change the result
of the test
 121

reorganization of bodily resources in a

creative manner with respect to a
stressor (emotional) or to an area of
the body that is uncomfortable
(tissue). Another application of the
technique is in the presence of postural
stress, or bodily memories maintained
in reference to a traumatic event.
The traumatic memory is stimulated at
a subconscious level every time the
posture is implemented, ensuring that
the person compensates defensively.
9. Re-balancing mechanism for
neurological gait
The rebalancing of gait allows you to
prevent excessive fatigue during all
activities involving ambulation
(walking, running, jumping, etc).
It also supports the athlete in case of
coordination problems.
122

Tennis Elbow

It is especially common in people who perform actions where

there is repetitive twisting of the forearm
and/or extension of the elbow and wrist.

Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) is It can also lead to cystic degeneration.

an overuse injury that was originally A tighter tendon around the elbow is
observed in tennis players, but is very also one of the common after-effects.
common in all sports, occupations and Any activity which requires the
hobbies. particular muscle to contract or stretch
It is especially common in people who will result in a very painful elbow.
perform actions where there is
repetitive twisting of the forearm What causes Tennis Elbow?
and/or extension of the elbow and Overuse usually means doing too
wrist. While casual tennis players often much, too early, too soon. But in this
experience Tennis Elbow, case it can also mean bad technique
professionals are more susceptible to and equipment. The days of slice
Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis). backhands, heavy wooden racquets
(with grip sizes up to 5 ½) and very
fast all-weather tennis courts are gone.
Why does Tennis Elbow develop? These days, overtraining and the use of
Tennis elbow is a repetitive strain stiffer frames are the major causes of
injury of the big extensor muscle group tennis elbow.
in the forearm. Tennis Elbow affects
the long extensor muscles of the wrist What are the symptoms of Tennis
and fingers at the part of the muscle Elbow?
which originates in the humerus. With Tennis elbow manifests itself through
overuse, tiny micro-tears develop in intense pain in the upper part of the
the tendon part of the muscle. When forearm during physical activity such
the micro-tears heal, scarring occurs as tennis. Maximum tenderness is
that leads to decreased blood flow and usually experienced on the outside
stiffer tissue. This diseased tissue can prominence (lateral epicondyle) of the
sometimes give way, rupture, or even elbow.
soften.
by Daniel Morkel
 123

The pain is aggravated when the wrist

is extended or turned upwards
(supination) against resistance.
Prevention is better than cure
Keep the arm flexible: Older players
especially need to stretch and tone
their upper arm and forearm muscles
regularly.
Right technique and training: It is
essential that the right basic shot
techniques are learned from an early
age.
Changes in intensity of training and
number of matches played should be
made gradually. In younger players,
where growth plates are still open,
special care must be taken with regard
to their training schedule.
Right equipment: More flexible and
forgiving racquets with shock
absorbers are essential. Grip size, a
forgiving frame and relatively loose
strings are also important. Be wary of
stiff, light frames.
Cure
1) Rest and reduce activity until pain
subsides (3-4 weeks).
2) Correct biomechanics: Stretching
and strengthening exercises.
3) Correct racquet, grip, strings and
technique are all essential.
4) Counterforce braces can be used to
dissipate force away from the affected
tendon.
5) Local cortisone injections can
facilitate revascularization of the
diseased tendon.
6) Platelet enriched plasma injections
are available in South Africa and the
latest studies show better results than
cortisone infiltration.
124