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Rafa's uncle and former coach is in Roland Garros to support his nephew
Throughout Rafael Nadal's career, his uncle, mentor and former coach, Toni Nadal, has been an instrumental figure in guiding the Spaniard to success. Nadal, winner of 78 tour-level titles, has never downplayed the importance of having Toni by his side. His uncle stepped down from coaching duties at the end of last season and has since primarily focused his time into running the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Mallorca, Spain.

Last year, Toni led coaching duties as Nadal defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to lift his 10th title on the Parisian terre battue. This week, however, Toni is in Paris solely to support the World No. 1 in his quest for an 11th championship at the event. He was in the stands for his nephew's first three matches at Roland Garros, including the Spaniard's 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Richard Gasquet on Saturday.

"This new phase of my career is completely different," Toni told ATPWorldTour.com moments after attending Rafa's practice session with current coach Carlos Moya on Court 24. Also present at the workout session was retired player Carlos Costa, who acts as Rafael's agent, and physiotherapist Rafael Maymo. "Before, I'd be coaching Rafa during his practices but I'm as a visitor, and only for a few days.
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This is the first time since 2005 that Toni isn't serving as coach to his nephew at Roland Garros. Rafael captured his first of 10 titles at Roland Garros that year. Toni has fond memories of both his coaching duties and the success Rafael achieved at the Grand Slam.
"I loved coming here to Roland Garros, as well as other cities like Monte Carlo and Barcelona," Toni said. "It felt so good to be a part of something that made history [Nadal became the first player to win 10 titles at the same Grand Slam event]. I'm no longer on the road as much since I turned over coaching duties, but life at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar keeps life interesting."

Although he might not be on site at events nearly as often, Toni still closely follows what happens on the ATP World Tour.

"I'd say, besides Rafa, the most serious contenders are Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev. The usual suspects," Toni said of the favourites at Roland Garros. "And I'd throw Juan Martin del Potro into that group as well."

Of that list, it's the seventh-seeded Thiem who stands out in bold letters to Toni, considering his success on clay. The Austrian was 6-2, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 winner over Kei Nishikori on Sunday and will face No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. Thiem defeated Rafael in the quarter-finals at the Internazionali BNL id'Italia in 2017 and in the quarter-finals at the Mutua Madrid Open this year.

"Dominic is the only player who has managed to beat Rafa in the past two years on clay," Toni said. "He's a complete player with no glaring weaknesses and is tough to defeat."

So is Thiem the clay-court heir to Nadal's throne?

"Dominic adapts well to clay, but the reality is you have to play well against all competition and on all surfaces. Rafa is much more than [just a clay-court expert]," Toni explained. "There are so many emerging talents right now in the game."

Marian Vajda był trenerem Novaka Djokovicia w latach 2006-17. Dzięki współpracy ze Słowakiem belgradczyk z tenisisty utalentowanego przemienił się w jedną z największych gwiazd rozgrywek. Zdobył 12 tytułów wielkoszlemowych i awansował na pierwsze miejsce w rankingu. W maju 2017 roku ich drogi się rozeszły. Od kilku tygodni jednak znów współpracują ze sobą. Djoković zwrócił się do byłego szkoleniowca z prośbą o pomoc, a ten mu nie odmówił.



- Novak zaskoczył mnie, dzwoniąc i prosząc, abym dołączył do jego sztabu - mówił Vajda w rozmowie z portalem telegraph.co.uk. - Miałem mieszane uczucia, bo nie dość, że przez ponad rok byłem z dala od tenisa, to jeszcze chciałem spędzać czas z najbliższymi. Przez trzy dni rozmawiałem o tym z moją rodziną i doszedłem do wniosku, że powrót do współpracy z Novakiem będzie dla mnie dobry i ważny.Słowak wznowił współpracę z Djokoviciem w trudnym momencie. W kwietniu, kiedy Serb po walce z kontuzją łokcia i po przejściu operacji był daleki od optymalnej formy. - Jego gra nie była na właściwym poziomie i musieliśmy zaczynać od nowa. Ale to dla mnie ekscytujące wyzwanie - wyjawił szkoleniowiec.


- Novak od zawsze był wielkim wojownikiem i wspaniałym czempionem. Jeśli chodzi o osobowość, to pozostał taki sam, jak wcześniej. Jest miłym facetem, który uwielbia kontakt z publicznością i rywalizację - dodał.


Efekty pracy Vajdy już są widoczne. W ubiegłym tygodniu w turnieju w Londynie Djoković zanotował pierwszy od roku finał (przegrał z Marinem Ciliciem). - Jestem zaskoczony, że Novak dotarł do finału i jednocześnie bardzo zadowolony z tego, jak się zaprezentował. Sądziłem, że stać go na dobrą grę, ale nie spodziewałem się, że dotrze tak daleko - ocenił Słowak.

A source has revealed that Alexander Zverev is currently working this week with tennis legend Ivan Lendl.

The two were photographed at the famous tennis resort Saddlebrook and are working together. It’s not known if a long term deal has been agreed to between Lendl and Zverev or if this partnership is just a short term union.

Ivan Lendl is the former ATP world no. 1 and a multiple grand slam champion Hall of Famer. He previously coached Andy Murray to his first major title wins.

Zverev is currently ranked number 3 by the ATP but has yet to achieve any notable success in grand slam play. The 21-year-old German has won eight ATP singles titles but his best result in a major was quarterfinals at Roland Garros this year. So far, the talented Zverev has won three Masters 1000 titles, two last year in Rome and Canada and this year in Madrid.

US Open

Alexander Zverev

2018

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Ivan Lendl
German is looking to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final in New York
Alexander Zverev has brought eight-time Grand Slam champion Ivan Lendl on board to help him take his game to the next level. The No. 4 player in the ATP Rankings made the announcement on his Instagram account.

“Welcome to the team Ivan Lendl”, Zverev wrote. He also shared photos of his entire team, including Lendl, and of Lendl watching him practise at the US Open, which starts Monday.

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The 21-year-old German is also coached by his father, Alexander Zverev Sr. Alexander Zverev split with former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in February after eight months with the Spaniard.

The 58-year-old Lendl brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience. The American spent 270 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, third all-time behind Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. He works for USTA Player Development and helped Andy Murray ascend to No. 1 for the first time, win three Grand Slam titles and a pair of Olympic golds.

Zverev has won three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles and reached a career-high No. 3 in the ATP Rankings. But the 6'6” German has made only one Grand Slam quarter-final (2018 Roland Garros, l. to Thiem).

Andy Murray uważa, że dzięki współpracy z Ivanem Lendlem, Alexander Zverev stanie się jeszcze lepszym tenisistą. - Sascha wiele razy mówił, że w turniejach wielkoszlemowych osiąga złe wyniki i właśnie w tym Ivan może mu pomóc - ocenił Szkot.
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Legenda w sztabie Alexandra Zvereva. Ivan Lendl pomoże Niemcowi
- Jeśli chodzi o tenis, niewiele osób ma takie doświadczenie, jak Ivan, który przez wiele lat był w ścisłej światowej czołówce - powiedział Andy Murray na łamach "The Times".
Brytyjczyk doskonale zna Ivana Lendla. Przez wiele lat współpracował z nim i to właśnie pod wodzą Amerykanina o czeskich korzeniach odniósł wszystkie największe sukcesy - zdobył trzy tytuły wielkoszlemowe, dwukrotnie wywalczył złoty medal igrzysk olimpijskich, zwyciężył w Finałach ATP World Tour oraz awansował na pierwsze miejsce w rankingu ATP.

Teraz Lendl będzie pomagał Alexandrowi Zverevowi. Zdaniem Murraya, dzięki tej współpracy Zverev stanie się jeszcze lepszym tenisistą oraz będzie osiągał bardziej satysfakcjonujące rezultaty w turniejach wielkoszlemowych.

- Sascha wiele razy mówił, że w turniejach wielkoszlemowych osiąga złe wyniki i właśnie w tym Ivan może mu pomóc. Zverev awansował już na trzecie miejsce w rankingu, wygrał kilka turniejów ATP Masters 1000, a teraz chce mieć lepsze rezultaty w Wielkim Szlemie - dodał Murray.

Sobkin has been a coach to professional players since 1982, but he is best known for his 25-year partnership with Youzhny, who is set to retire at this week’s St. Petersburg Open

Boris Sobkin does not mince his words. The professor, a doctor of science, has always taken a systematic approach to his coaching, centred on discipline and hard work in productive practice sessions. It’s that intensity that first attracted the no-nonsense Muscovite to Mikhail Youzhny, who, as a 10-year-old, would play tennis each day with his brother, Andrei Youzhny, for six hours per day, with few breaks and no distractions.

“His technique was a disaster,” recalled Sobkin to ATPWorldTour.com, upon first setting his eyes on Youzhny at the Sparta Club, where he was the head coach. “But he was a hard worker.”

Three coaches had already come and gone by May 1993, writing off Youzhny as crazy, a player who could never make it. But Sobkin was intrigued by the 10-year-old.

“Could you imagine a 10-year-old kid playing, not shouting or running around, but just playing points?" said Sobkin. "I was really surprised. Because normally kids play for 1-2 hours, then they get distracted and play other games. He was absolutely different.”

So he reconstructed Youzhny's game stroke-by-stroke.

“He struck his forehand with a backhand grip and did not quite have the right coordination to serve,” said Sobkin, who began working with Youzhny in 1993. “It was terrible. I told him, he couldn’t play professionally if he did that. I had to teach him the forehand grip. I started to learn about his character, what he liked and didn’t like. It took some time, then we began to work on his technique and serve. He had no clue. I started to think about building a game for his character.”

But Youzhny, always a strong character, was a natural winner. “When he is playing, he could not imagine he could lose – even if he is 0-6, 5-5, 0/40,” admitted Sobkin. “He not only wanted to succeed, but he pulled out all of the stops to get better. He would practice 24 hours a day if needed, but I have always attempted to balance his own motivation.”

Youzhny confirmed to ATPWorldTour.com, “When I was a kid, I never wanted to lose the last point. I kept fighting – and have done so throughout my career – as anything could happen.”

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It was the kind of drive that led him to arguably his career-defining moment, the fifth-rubber comeback from two-sets-to-love down to beat France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu in the 2002 Davis Cup final in Paris. Youzhny’s father, also Mikhail, would sadly miss the triumph as he passed away in September 2002, just two months prior to Russia’s first trophy in the competition.

Reflecting on his remarkable fifth-rubber comeback in November 2002, Youzhny learned to comprehend the enormity of his accomplishment for Russia’s historic moment. “I was 20 years old,” Youzhny told ATPWorldTour.com. “I understand now how big it was, but it was tough to explain the emotions at that age. It was a tough year as my father passed away two months before. I did not feel 100 per cent happy.

“I am asked about that match every day of my life. People remember the match, my emotions and what it meant for Russian people. Russia had a good tennis tradition, but had never won. People watched tennis for the first time, perhaps that’s why it’s remembered.

“Yet I lost to Roger Federer 17 times and I never beat him. There was a lot of good and great players – [Pete] Sampras, [Andre] Agassi, [Rafael] Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic – I played throughout my career. I know I played at a great time for the sport. I feel very lucky.”

When Youzhny was a teenager, Sobkin had told his father that he was preparing the youngster for the future, over any success as a junior.

Sobkin told ATPWorldTour.com, “I have followed all my life that I must prepare for the best, but fear for the worst. At the beginning I just saw the kid, a hard worker, a fanatic of tennis – like me. For me it was really good to do something together. I tried to prepare him for a professional career, not worry about junior results. I told his father I didn’t think he would have great results as a junior, but the work we’re doing is for years to come. He didn’t play too badly, he was in the Russian national teams, but his best result came when he was 16 1/2, when he reached the [1999] Australian junior final [l. to Kristian Pless].”

Sobkin paid attention to the details, taking one small step forward to improve. There was no time to be patient. He imagined for himself, Youzhny aged 14 or 15, calculating how he may play and beat some of the leading players of the 1990s – Sampras, Agassi, Jim Courier and others. It’s a philosophy Sobkin adhered to the whole of Youzhny’s 20-season professional career.

“I always prepared for every practice, writing things down on paper,” said Sobkin. “I had a system of using computers, so the practice and tournament schedule were organised – three months, a year, etc. Every practice we did something I thought was important. We didn’t practice just to hit balls. We always did something. This week, for example in his final tournament in St. Petersburg, we undertook how to finish points. I always had a main goal, then 1-2-3 smaller goals."


The 36-year-old Youzhny, who calls time on his career this week, won 10 ATP World Tour titles and was a member of the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings (peaking at No. 8 on 28 January 2008). He remained loyal to Sobkin throughout his career and their relationship changed from coach, father figure, partner and to it's finale stage of long-lasting friends.

Youzhny told ATPWorldTour.com, “Boris has been the person with me almost all my life, from 11 years old – the good, bad or disaster. He has been a terrific supporter, who always told me the way it was. He helped me the whole of my career – on and off the court.”

“Our relationship could not be the same all the time,” said Sobkin. “When I took him on aged 10, to being now the father of two children, I told him what to do, and he did as the teacher told, but he became a solider and me a general.

“After some years, I told him not to be a soldier, ‘You win or lose. You’re a general now’. We became like partners, he told me more and more – what he liked and didn’t like. We discussed everything as partners. I did my part of the job, he did his part of the job. If he prepared poorly, he would play badly. In the past few years, we became friends as well as partners. We will go together in the future."

Today, Youzhny and Sobkin, who also coaches Evgeny Donskoy, will move forward to the next phase of their lives. “We won’t finish our work or relationship,” Youzhny told ATPWorldTour.com. “We are one family. We will still go forward together with some projects. I hope the next chapter will be really interesting as well.

“I have begun working with a tennis school in Siberia, which had been opened in 2010. At the end of each season, I’ve attended 5-6 days to hit with the kids. There’s now a few players who are looking to turn professional. It’s interesting. I also work with a tennis academy in Australia.”

Having overcome injuries (back, elbow, thigh) during his 1,260-match career, Youzhny never used a protected ranking. It is the attention to training and looking after his body, that both Youzhny and Sobkin will next begin to focus on. “We have a project launching next month about junior injuries in sport, explaining to parents and coaches about how to be ready for professional sport, a healthy life,” said Youzhny.

The tour will miss the steely, intelligent Russian.

NICK Kyrgios says he has hired American James Cerretani to travel with him as a coach through his Asian swing, which started on Wednesday with a first-round win in Tokyo.

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Kyrgios rode a good serving day, including 20 aces, to beat Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka, a winner of an ATP title in China last Sunday, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).

The Australian No. 1 and world No. 27 has had short stints with several coaches on tour over the years, and is trying out Cerretani, 37, a current doubles player who has posted four ATP doubles titles in his career, reaching No. 45 in the doubles rankings in 2008.

Kyrgios and Cerretani also played doubles in Tokyo, losing in the second round of qualifying.

“James is my coach now — you can quote me on that one,’’ Kyrgios told The Courier-Mail.

“We have been working for a while now, especially the last couple of weeks.

“We’ve been talking on the phone a lot (in recent weeks), but starting in Tokyo it’s the first week we have been working together officially. It’s going well.’’


Nick Kyrgios smashed down 20 aces to beat Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka in Tokyo.
Australian No. 3 Alex de Minaur wore down Frenchman Gilles Simon in 3hr 5min for a 6-7 (1-6), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory which added to his excellent history of deciding-set dogfights.


But West Australian Matt Ebden lost his way in a Tokyo first-round match to fall to Wimbledon runner-up Kevin Anderson 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2.

Kyrgios, the 2016 Tokyo champion, saved two set points to avoid being taken into a deciding set by Nishioka.


Nick Kyrgios, the 2016 Tokyo champion, saved two set points to avoid being taken into a deciding set by his Japanese first-round opponent.
“It was tough. He’s obviously riding a lot of confidence from last week. Playing in front of his home crowd, he was probably looking forward to it today,” Kyrgios said.

“I’ve had success here before but I think the conditions are a little bit different to the last time I played this tournament — it’s a little bit faster this year. It probably suits my game a little bit more.’’