INDIAN WELLS Observations & Comments Nadal was in the locker room with his baseball cap pulled way down. It was as if he were trying to hide. Wishing not to be disturbed, he had both hands on the wall with his arms up blocking his face. No doubt he has to find ways to not be disturbed. For a long time, he was staring at one piece of stationary that was among many taped to the wall. With his position, no one else could see the single sheet of paper. No, it was not the rankings list. It was the ATPs weekly year-to-date stat sheet. The report lists many facts. Uncle Tony is clever like a fox. It is a safe bet Tony assigned his nephew this task years ago. It is probably another of his many rituals. Rafa leads in many categories, including 8-2 in tiebreakers. I love Hewitts warrior mentality. He is all business. It seems like with so many practice sessions, one player says to the other, Im good. A mutual agreement that no more practice is needed. Typically the tour coaches politely shag balls for their player, but Hewitt had two people picking balls up during his allotted one hour of court time. My guess is he is at the top of the list for most practice balls hit and most practice points played. He certainly has holes in his mechanics, but his mind is rock solid. I once heard a coach tell a group of juniors that so few will ever have the fundamentals, flair, and finesse of Roger Federer, but everybody, by choice, can have the competitive spirit of Lleyton Hewitt. Goran Ivanisevic is coaching Marin Cilic. They are two players who have worked with Bob Brett, a disciple of Mr. Hopman. From practice, it looks like the influence of Hopman and Brett is strong. Lots of reps, and since not too many practice courts were being used in the late evening, the two Croatians have put in long evening practices. It is great that the willingness to just hit rhythmical cross-courts still exists. Gorans honesty will be a plus from a coaching standpoint. Just to make sure I am never called politically correct...I cant believe James Blake is coaching Jack Sock. I thought James went to Harvard. Certainly he can read that on Jack Socks forehead is stamped uncoachable. But perhaps that is exactly why James is coaching him. Good luck. Martina Hingis playing doubles with Sabine Lisicki is not an issue of retirement. Why not take advantage of the system? must be their thinking. Play less than an hour and a half of doubles and pick up nine grand. Li Na has the Great Base. She is a great example of ball striking. Thanks for the sharing. Steve Smith
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 12:54:07 +0000
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