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Dec/16

24

She Won’t Give Up: Junri Namigata’s Example of Perseverance Rewarded

166 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios

Junri Namigata

By Scoop Malinowski

Junri Namigata’s perseverance has been rewarded. The Japanese veteran qualified for the Australian Open main draw in doubles (with her partner Chin Wei Chan) by winning the Asia Pacific Wildcard tournament in China 1-6 6-4 10-8 over a pair of young Asian players Ching Wen Hsu and Kei Chen Chang.

The now 34-year-old Namigata’s career has not been your typical journey. She played college tennis in Japan at Waseda University and turned pro in 2005.  Success has been sporadic. She reached the third round of US Open qualies in 2006. The five-foot, seven inch tall Namigata actually reached the doubles finals in Bangkok in 2007 with Ayumi Morita but lost the final by walkover.

In 2008 Namigata lost in the first round of Wimbledon main draw doubles. In 2010 she reached the third round of Wimbledon and US Open singles qualies for the second time.

In 2011, Namigata reached the main draws of the Australian  Open and Roland Garros but lost in the first rounds of both. She has never reached the second round of a Grand Slam main draw.

Finally, three years later in 2014, Namigata’s perseverance paid off as she won her first and only WTA title, in doubles at the inaugural Jiangxi tournament, winning the final with partner Chuang Chia-Jung 76 63 vs. Xu Yifan and Chin Wei-Chan.

 

In her eleven year professional career, Namigata’s career high ranking in singles was 105 (in 2011) and 101 in doubles (2015). Right now she’s ranked 253 in singles.  Her career prize money according to Wikipedia is $459,390. Overall, Namigata has won six ITF singles titles and 18 doubles.

But her career received a new surge this week by winning the Asia Pacific doubles wildcard final which was contested in China.

It was a fascinating match. The quality of tennis was outstanding. All four players were ripping rockets all over the court and it was hard to believe all four players were unknown to even the most devoted tennis followers. Namigata, playing with a Prince racquet and wearing a no frills brand outfit with white adidas shoes, stood out in that she was the most expressive, often smiling and showing “anxiety” as the TV commentator Todd Woodbridge commented.

Namigata and her partner got smoked in the first set 1-6, losing two no-ad deciding points.  But in the second set they managed to change the flow of the one-sided match and won a key no-ad deciding point at 4-3 and then finished the set to force the ten-point super tiebreaker. At 8-8, the opposing team double-faulted into the net and then on the final point of the match a volley winner by partner Chan, set up by Namigata’s relentless and powerful baseline ground strokes, clinched the victory – and the slot into the Australian Open main draw of women’s doubles.

Namigata raised her arms high like a champion boxer and flashed a bright smile. For only the fourth time in her eleven-year pro career Namigata will compete in the main draw of a Grand Slam event.

 

Junri Namigata 1, 2015 Wimbledon Qualifying - Diliff.jpg

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166 comments

  • Dan Markowitz · December 24, 2016 at 6:18 pm

    is Lindsay Davenport really back to coaching Madison Keys? Wow, Keys is setting a record for coach hirings and firings. i can think of Billy Martin in baseball as a manager who came back and managed the Yankees three times, but I can’t remember in tennis a coach being re-hired by a player.

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 24, 2016 at 7:02 pm

    Hogstedt is back with Bouchard – Red Ayme was with Haas for a couple of stints I believe – F Lopez was with Clavet more than once I believe – Lendl has had two runs with Andy –

  • Dan Markowitz · December 24, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    Wow, completely forgot about Lendl-Murray. What do you make of Craig Kardon? He’s Coco Vandeweghe’s coach. I’ve never particularly like Kardon since 2005 when I was writing “Break Point” and Kardon came on to coach Vince late in that season captured in the book.

    I don’t think Vince particularly like Kardon either. But wow, that guy had, probably still has, an ego. An article a couple years ago, where Kardon predicted Coco could win Wimbledon one day and maybe become the top American player, I think was far-fetched. Vandeweghe obviously has a healthy ego too, but her game is very up and down.

    Still, I like her aggressive play and she’s the only “big girl” American woman who’s had success when you think about it, after Serena and Venus. Well, I guess, Keys too, but the others have not fared all too well.

  • catherine bell · December 25, 2016 at 3:27 am

    Didn’t Kerber fire and rehire her coach a year or so ago – the guy who set her on this year’s run ? Torben ?

  • Hartt · December 25, 2016 at 5:54 am

    Another interesting rehire was Sampras bringing back Annacone, obviously a good decision.

    Andrew, there are 3 new videos with Bouchard on opencourt.ca. One is the interview that the Toronto Star article was based on. In it she talks a bit more about her relationship with Hogstedt and how he helps her with things like not being so hard on herself. There are also a couple videos of her practice session with Hogstedt and her physical trainer.

  • Dan markowitz · December 25, 2016 at 6:38 am

    Thinking about Lendl, the big difference between Davenport and him is Lendl was not fired. Davenport was so it makes it stranger because if a coach is fired there’s usually bad blood.

    I don’t remember Sampras bringing Annacone back. Paul had never been his coach before Sampras hired him. I’d say the weirdest coach hiring in my memory was when Bollettieri became Becker’s coach. Nick had only coached American players and was known as Agassi’s coach and Andre and Becker had bad blood. Then Johnny Mac coaching Davis Cup wa strange as Mac apparently wanted to play doubles against Spain and the players thought his serve wasn’t potent enough.

  • Hartt · December 25, 2016 at 7:49 am

    Sampras split with Annacone in 2001 and then worked with Jose Higueras in 2002, brought Annacone back in 2002 and of course finished his career with the big USO win.

  • Dan markowitz · December 25, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    Good call, Harrt. I just think of Gully and Annacone as his. Is he’s. I don’t think there ever was a player who needed or used a coach less than Pete. He was just a rare cat. I guess his first main coach was Pete Fischer, who Sampras kind of screwed, not mentioning him when he wo. His first slam.

  • Hartt · December 25, 2016 at 1:18 pm

    I didn’t know that about Sampras not giving Fischer credit. Disappointing to hear. In his autobiography Sampras acknowledged he’d made a mistake in splitting with Annacone and was grateful that Annacone agreed to work with him again.

  • Andrew Miller · December 25, 2016 at 1:41 pm

    Hartt saw B. practicing with Mladenivic and a Brit whose brother made Jr Wimby finals, that was with SavianNick . Seeing her hit around with other wta players made me rethink the talk of Bouchard and her not being on good terms with wta players…totally false . Bouchard is a practice a holic. Work ethic isn’t issue. I’d like to see her take a big cut on returns, go for new kinds of combinations.

    Generally her issue is same for all players that experience great quick success followed by muddling. They stay with the game that brought them. They don’t add. It is the jc ferrera complex he was by far, by miles, spains best player. Even saw himself with worlds top ranking following a French championship and us open final that, if Nalbandian had made it instead of Andy Riddick, we’d be talking about his multislam career . Fast as a hornet, big fh, big bh, sweet dropper ) a faster Hewitt with more bh options.

    What happens? Chicken pox but also game changes, suddenly need a way to put pressure on opponent off serve. Game becomes harder for players without stamina. And he faces competition in Spain beyond Moya, Al Costa and Corretja. Nadal, Flipez, Verdasci, other young players Nic Almagri, the guy who beat Kyrgiis a few years back…they all caught up and passed JCF

    JCF now does NOT belong in Hall of Fame. Because he kept a high level but his highest was brief and underwhelming.

  • Hartt · December 25, 2016 at 3:12 pm

    I always thought the she does not get along with other players idea was exaggerated – she and Taylor Townsend had played doubles together and seemed to have a genuine friendship, and Genie is an outgoing, social sort. But I do wonder if going through the tough times, the slump and then the concussion made her more approachable and more open to being friendly with other players.

    She has always been known as a hard worker by people who followed her career and did not focus on her social media activity. Some people seem to think if she spends some time on twitter, etc. she does not put serious time on the court, which is just silly.

    I think you are right that she needs to add variety to her game and hopefully that is something Hogstedt can help with. She had good success when she worked with him before, so it’s a positive sign that she asked him to come back.

  • catherine bell · December 25, 2016 at 3:52 pm

    Hartt/Andrew

    I think sometimes we forget how young these girls are and how relatively unprepared they might be to deal with some of the things that happen. We seem to judge their behaviour on all sorts of odd criteria we wouldn’t apply to ‘normal’ young women, ie not pro tennis players. There’s no reason for everyone to be friendly with each other – they aren’t in other working environments after all.

    Its not a ‘natural’ life – jetting around the world, seeing more of hotel rooms and practice courts than anywhere else probably. Frankly I don’t know how some girls put up with it for as long as they do. And on top of all that there’s the constant demand to develop your game, add this, add that and mature as a person along the way.

    Maybe you can put the merry-go-round of coaches down to a search, conscious or not, for some stability.

  • Andrew Miller · December 25, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    Catherine we r hard on everyone. Most of the players are family operations, a parent wanted them to be a pro and voila. Some come up via a system. Some absorbed the pro life by proximity to a pro academy.

    I’m a fan of Bouchard! Saw how hard she worked, how a lot of criticism of her seems to me to be actually jealousy masquerading as critique. I think her high profile theft of a coach from Laura Robson was petty and the barbs traded back and forth equally so, and Bouchard came in for a deserved criticism of her remark about friends on tour, even if often they are more or less strangers that share the same spaces with an entourage.

    The tour life, normal to them, is probably equal parts thrilling, boring and bizarre. For every bubbly humorous and independent Bouchard there is probably another player being ripped off by a parent or suffocated by a wacko coach, or every player is facing all options at some time.

    My point is that Bouchards promising game could benefit from a killer shot or set of shots that match her attitude and approach to the game. And that such an addition isn’t a given. And that it isn’t too much to hope for a sharper set of angles a la Nadal.

    But regardless, it’s almost too much to ask. Coaches at the end of the day dont face the incentives to help a player develop their game, they face an almost immediate pressure to win, and their best bet is usually to emphasize conditioning, practice and match prep or scouting over improvement. That means more wins and better odds of a contract extension.

  • Hartt · December 26, 2016 at 12:04 am

    I am almost amused by this idea that Bouchard stole Saviano from Robson. Both players had trained at his academy for many years, and I don’t think the fact that Robson was there first had any importance after so much time. Bouchard announced that Saviano would be travelling with her before Robson claimed he would be her coach. Presumably Saviano is a free agent and, in the end, chose which player he wanted to work with on a more consistent basis.

    And what Bouchard actually said about having friends on the tour was not that outrageous. Basically she said that it would be hard to play against a friend and therefore she preferred not to have close friends on the tour. Muguruza has said the same thing. But it must make things easier for everyone if players are pleasant with one another (outside of competition) and I hope Genie is doing that.

  • catherine bell · December 26, 2016 at 4:28 am

    Andrew –

    I think your last paragraph hits several nails on the head – my feelings exactly. Some coaches come to my mind and I imagine to yours.

    My point otherwise I suppose is that some of the girls are not mature, can’t be expected to be at their age, and various bits of pretty childish behaviour, which would be forgiven elsewhere, is of course right in the spotlight. And often involves large amounts of money.

    What do any of us know at 21/22 ? Not much really, although we think (thought) we knew it all and many foolish mistakes no doubt followed. Tennis players aren’t any different.

    The Bouchard/Robson stuff really made me feel like banging their heads together.

    BTW I’ve never been a fan of Robson’s since a notorious interview she gave to Vogue when she was 15/16. You see how unfair that is ?

  • Hartt · December 26, 2016 at 6:43 am

    Now I am curious. What did Robson say in the Vogue article? Yes, it may be unfair to judge young players who are under a spotlight we could never imagine. But some get into more hot water than others. On the other hand there are a lot of complaints about players being too careful about what they say. Bouchard has faced a lot of criticism for trivial things, like wearing a Japanese kimono to her press conference. And there is the infamous not shaking hands with her opponent at a Fed Cup preview. Immature, yes, but not the crime of the century, and it soon morphed into a false story that she refused to shake hands after a match. Or, gasp, saying she liked Justin Bieber. So if a player wants to say or do anything that is not totally bland he or she needs a thick skin.

    But, I admit it, I am curious about what Laura Robson said in a magazine interview several years ago. So I am part of what feeds the media circus. Just hope that I am more skeptical of what is reported than a lot of fans seem to be.

  • catherine bell · December 26, 2016 at 7:52 am

    Hartt-

    I can only give you the gist of the Robson interview (I think it was English Vogue but I may have misremembered)because I don’t actually think it would be fair to her to drag it all up again. She made a few ill-advised comments on the supposed lifestyles of some of her peers in tennis, pretty ordinary young persons’ behaviour as far as I could see, and used an extremely offensive term for which she had to make a grovelling apology.
    Naturally the publicity purpose of this interview backfired slightly – I can’t really blame the reporter, who must’ve thought she’d died and gone to heaven, because she was doing her job. (And I imagine the interview was taped.)

    Robson got a lot of press before she’d done much to justify it and I feel, in hindsight, it didn’t help her career, injuries apart.

    BTW – you might find a Google reference for the interview but I haven’t looked.

  • Hartt · December 26, 2016 at 8:30 am

    I did not find the original interview but there were lots of pieces about it. Yes, she does sound like a 16-year-old. Things are very black and white. I was expecting something worse than her calling other women players “sluts” (thinking she may have used a worse expletive) but the dozens of articles about the interview and her subsequent apology shows what a big deal it was at the time.

    As you say, it is a shame that young players often get over-the-top media attention before they have shown they can be consistent successful players on the tour. And both Bouchard and Robson are good-looking which ramps up the attention even more.

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 26, 2016 at 9:39 am

    Perhap the best coach for a WTA player is that Spanish coach who coached Henin to several GSs and also helped Li Na finally get to the winners circle (Carlos Rodriguez) –

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 26, 2016 at 9:42 am

    Robson and other players have gotten roasted for controversial comments made at a young age in an interview -Seles Kournikova Hingis Robson Bouchard Krajicek Stakhovsky Agassi etc – The players have learned to only paint a rosy picture of life on the tour –

  • catherine bell · December 26, 2016 at 10:19 am

    Scoop –

    Get your point but I really think Robson was ill-advised to refer to her colleagues as ‘sluts’.

    That is, if she was advised at all. It was really a bit too personal and no doubt it was felt that Laura had little experience of life at that time, on the tour or otherwise.

    Hartt – ‘slut’is a pretty strong word, at least over here, and you’d be lucky to get away without at least a good slap in the face if you used it indiscriminently.

    Andrew – we should get a coach like Rodriguez, clone him and hand out the clones around the WTA 🙂

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 26, 2016 at 11:19 am

    I think that kind of language is pretty par for the course for that age in american high schools – maybe Robson missed her media training classes or perhaps she is/was an honest straight shooter who like young Hingis wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is – Robson could have been telling the truth – as un politically correct as it sounded –

  • Andrew Miller · December 26, 2016 at 11:27 am

    Catherine yes I think some coaches live off the dole and others get canned for trying to do right thing. I guess Dan would say Stefanki is in former category, enjoys long tenures with players more because of their conditioning than to my eyes any upgrade in strokes or strategy

    Gilbert was a master scout and strategist, whose charges played their game with ease under his tenure. I think Toni Nadal is among best of all time. Djoko had some excellent coaches who righted his shots, strategy,sharpened him up and earned their pay.

    Spanish coaches seem to improve their players games and performance. Henins coach yes, Pennettas too, something to be said for knowing player well, getting them to make changes.

    Folks here must know if the issue is player or money or reasonable coach or charlatan. Gimelstob proved he was a good coach beyond my doubts because with him Isner put up bigger performances and without him dropped to worst ranking in ten years.

    Players have a lot in their ear.

    Yes I give Robson a pass. Generally to me the UK does quite a job in ruining promising junior female careers in pro tennis. Probably because of the overwhelming scrutiny. I like Robsons game. If ever there were a program in need of reform its the UK junior girls tennis. Even more than its underwhelming boys tennis.

  • Andrew Miller · December 26, 2016 at 11:51 am

    Bouchard hit with Broady former junior champ from UK and Mlafenovic from France. Yes Robson youthful indiscretion was lamentable, but this is a long time ago six years. Not nice but still a while back. And she and Bouchard were buds until the 2014 rift over Saviano, who given both players moved on was clearly not worth it!

    I think on men’s tour players bury the hatchet so to speak more readily.

    From Robsons interview she probably had specific players in mind but who cares. By 2014 again it was Robson making a stir over what. I hope both players do patch it up. Tour careers are short.

  • catherine bell · December 26, 2016 at 12:25 pm

    Scoop –
    Maybe I’m old fashioned (yes, probably) but to me you do not call other girls ‘sluts’ publicly. You just don’t do it. It’s dragging everything down to the level of an adolescent brawl.
    But that’s all a while ago and long done.

    Andrew – yes, I think guys are more straightforward. Also, re UK tennis – Simon Briggs did a piece in The Telegraph about Tim Henman and plans for changes at the LTA. It should still be there or in the archive section. You have to disable adblocker to read Telegraph now, and you still can’t read all articles – but maybe you know that.
    I never liked Robson’s game – to me just a regulation basher from the baseline and she is slow around the court. Never a potential top 10, whatever Andy Murray once predicted.

  • Hartt · December 26, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    To be fair to Saviano he was Bouchard’s coach when she had that terrific season in 2014. Looks like the attempt to reunite in a coaching relationship did not work because it did not last long.

    I had lost track of Carlos Rodriguez after he stopped working with Li Na (forgot that he worked with Hantuchova for a while). Is he totally tied to the academy in Beijing or could he take on an individual player now? Too bad cloning is not viable!

  • Andrew Miller · December 26, 2016 at 1:22 pm

    Hartt yes reunions sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. Sampras Annacine succeeded, Murray Lendl succeeded, and Harrison Grant Doyle failed. Bouchard Saviani failed.

    Who knows why. To me it seems like if you have a major asset like the Sampras serve and fh and he gets rusty all he needs is someone to simplify and suddenly the train is back on schedule. Or if you are Murray and had a fantastic year winning Davis cup and making slam finals under Mauresmi Amelie call me crazy but this is a much lighter lift and no brainer choice for former Murray coach Lendl than taking on Berdych, who doesn’t have the champ pedigree.

    Its a lot easier for coaches like Lendl to cherry pick their way to glory than for other coaches who even with great results like Madison Keys coach find themselves back on coaching carousel simply because they aren’t working with the number 1 or number 2 player.

    Whoever has worked with Rainic Milos has done an amazing job because he wasn’t really going anywhere. Now no one wants to face him. Same for Nishikori and Cilic fine fine coaching id say Sock too. Because none are the sure thing gigs in Murray Djoker Serena Williams etc. Kerber, fine fine coaching job.

  • Andrew Miller · December 26, 2016 at 1:25 pm

    Catherine I like Robson serve and lefty volley like Safariva etc, bias for lefty power. Rare and rarely effective see Bellucci.

  • Doogie · December 26, 2016 at 1:35 pm

    Someone interested in a tennis fantasy competition? U have to pick one player from 11 groups.

    Very good and fun game for us tennis fans.

    I made 5th rank 2016.

    http://www.tenniscomp.com/fantasy/

    I am curious how much of you US boys take the young father Fritz 🙂

  • catherine bell · December 26, 2016 at 1:54 pm

    Andrew –

    Maybe I blinked but I don’t think I ever saw Robson serve and volley 🙂

  • Andrew Miller · December 26, 2016 at 2:22 pm

    Catherine probably not an aspirational fan statement on my part hoping for a lefty power player who can serve and volley and keep their crazy to themselves for a fortnight.

    Makes me a Kvitiva fan. Guess I hope more lefty players get it together. Such an advantage on court. Could anyone really beat say a left handed Federer? Or a lefty Karlivic? A lefty Serena Williams? A lefty Graf?

    Doubt it! To be fair right handed players can be just as nutty. It may come down to fewer lefty athletes opting for the expensive sport of tennis.

    So Catherine obviously I’m less versed I the Robson game thought she played dubs also, appreciate her big serve and thought she had the elements of a transition game but suspect movement fragile mental game on court often injured rarely putting up notable results.

    Maybe I’m just making wild accusations against a player who is figuring out their game. I think maybe I’m in the camp of fans of Robson who believe she has a better game and more talent than her compatriots who are rather overrated to my eyes.

    You and Scoop know better.

    I like Edmunds strides on men’s side of Brit tennis giving them a decent second option for Davis cup and their tennis program in general, which could be characterized as “Judy Murrays brood” . Judy Murray is fluent in the wta side of the ledger in the UK as fed cup captain. She may be the most influential tennis figure in the last half century in the UK!

    Judy Murray for hall of fame first ballot to me!!!!;

  • Andrew Miller · December 26, 2016 at 2:26 pm

    Yes agree Carlos Rodriguez, whoever is with Kerber, likely best coaches wta today. They promote well rounded games with finishing shots.

  • catherine bell · December 26, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    Andrew – Kerber’s with Torben someone, the guy she dumped and rehired. 2nd time around big success.
    And Angie’s left-handed too but not totally I gather. She could do more with her serve.

    Martina played left-handed but wrote with her right hand.

    And going back a bit – Margaret Court was naturally lefthanded but made to switch to right, probably at school – would’ve been a better player, and server, had she stuck lefty.

    Lethandedness is a minority attribute of course (I’m one) but it’s a definite benefit in tennis.

    BTW Judy Murray’s not Fed Cup captain now.

  • Bryan · December 26, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    Interesting RE: Robson’s slut comment. Google yields lots of results from media like Deadspin and The Telegraph that all attribute her quote to the Vogue interview. But the Vogue interview is gone. Deleted, or did they only run it in the print edition, which is essentially the same thing.

  • Hartt · December 26, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    One coaching relationship that has been extremely successful is Magnus Norman with Stan Wawrinka. Before Norman became Stan’s coach in 2013 he had 3 titles, all 250 tourneys. Afterwards he had a further 12 titles, including 3 Slams and 1 Masters. Stan turned 28 in 2013 so this was a case of a coach working with an established player and helping to make a huge difference in his game.

    Andrew, I am a bit bewildered by your statement that Raonic was going nowhere. What time are you talking about? After Milos made his big breakthrough in early 2011 when he went from No. 156 to No. 37 in under 2 months, he has gone up the rankings each year except in 2015 when the foot surgery and a series of injuries played havoc with his season.

    Milos has had good coaches throughout his career starting with his childhood coach, Casey Curtis, who worked with him until Milos went to the Tennis Canada training facility in Montreal when he was 16. He worked with coaches associated with Tennis Canada and briefly with Frederic Niemeyer before Tennis Canada teamed him up with Galo Blanco in late 2010. He had considerable success with Blanco but after some time Casey Curtis and even other players advised Milos that he needed to develop a more aggressive game than what Blanco was advocating. So a difficult split after 2 1/2 years together. He then hired Ljubicic and later Piatti, and did indeed develop a more aggressive game, putting a lot of work into his net play. And of course we know about Moya and McEnroe. It will be interesting to see how things go with Krajicek.

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 26, 2016 at 6:29 pm

    Krajicek was a net attacker with a similar body and big serve like Raonic -Krajicek was also a somewhat later bloomer who suddenly found his groove that one year and won Wimbledon in 96 at I would guess his age was 24- I think this is a perfect set up by Raonic who I remember Pancho Segura telling me about four years ago at US Open Raonic volleys are from too far away from the net – he has to get closer to the net for his volleys –

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 26, 2016 at 6:33 pm

    Hey thanks Doogie I will look into this – I’m very high on Fritz and like how he plays his best tennis under pressure and on the big stage – Kid is still just a colt and he’s top 60 as a teen so just wait till he’s a mature thorobred – I see Fritz as a top five player in a few years –

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 26, 2016 at 6:34 pm

    Robson is a lefty baseliner like Kvitova but with slower feet –

  • Hartt · December 26, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    Raonic knew he was hitting his volleys too far from the net and has worked to correct this. He has definitely improved in this area. That is something I like about his attitude, he is continually working hard to improve his game.

  • Jg · December 26, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    Dan you need to set up a match with your son and Borg’s son, I heard Borg’s son is 13, and plays 3 hours a day and is already traveling to tournaments. if the kid has the talent and mental toughness of his father, we maybe seeing him in 4 years.

  • scoopmalinowski · December 26, 2016 at 10:09 pm

    Borg has another son? He has a son Robin who played small college tennis in minnesota or wisconsin a few yrs ago. I played a guy who played Robin who he said had a temper and a lot of tsttoos. Robin was working for Fila i was told.

  • catherine bell · December 27, 2016 at 4:08 am

    Bryan –

    The Vogue interview ran in the UK print edition and I’m not sure at the time if Vogue online was free.

    That quote was only a small part of the piece.

  • Doogie · December 27, 2016 at 5:51 am

    @scoop:

    I rate Fritz also high because he has good racquet speed and seems strong mentally!

    I am just shaking his head because of his marriage and the birth of his child that early in his life. I know it is their decission but it is bit strange for a young tennis pro.

    Hopefully he is commited 100% in tennis (not sure about it because of his family) but nowadays u need to full-focus on your job to reach TOP level.

  • Andrew Miller · December 27, 2016 at 10:56 am

    Rainic made lion share of his transition from power player to potential slam champ under Miya and Mac, period. He had to get the mentality of slam champs to even be considering himself a guy in the running for such a trophy.

    He seemed closer to that in 2011 than 2015 and only in early 2016 . Ljuby was good, but we know based alone on Rainic transformation from top twenty player to top four and slam runner up that it was Miya and Mac who brought out Rainics warrior side.

    Rainic here is the smart one bringing in a player around his size that win a huge title in a hard era. It is like Cilic hiring Ivanisevic.

    Also helps that there is no big four anymore. But now is the time for Rainic to win just as it is Wawrinkas time to add to his slam record or for Zverev to grab a slam early.

    It is chaos in the ATP. It is chaos like the wta was upended last year and Kerberized. The reign of big 4 players winning everything in sight ended with Wawrinkas 2014 Aussie tite.

  • Andrew Miller · December 27, 2016 at 11:38 am

    To me not a huge fritzer fan. He is powerful that is for sure and he has a siderling or Gonzalez like way of hitting through another player. He also has a nice come from behind way of catching fire that will serve him well.
    I’m more in the camp of other players from US and to me best thing is it’s competitive they will all be competing for headlines trophies fans you name it. Their games are not as nice to the eyes as their European counterparts but ugly games aren’t as much of a weakness in today’s game given Nadals success.

  • Hartt · December 27, 2016 at 12:30 pm

    Andrew, I agree that Krajicek looks like a good choice for Raonic. But I disagree about Ljubicic as coach. A big part of Milos’ current success is the hard work he put into his net game under Ljubicic and Piatti. That laid a foundation for his present (and hopefully future) success. And it was not an easy change for a player who was already an established pro. When Milos was guest editor at the SI tennis mailbag I asked him about his net game. He gave a long, detailed reply about what he was working on and acknowledged how tough it was and said that it required a long-term commitment. Without that improved technique all the “warrior side” in the world would not bring about the success he is enjoying now.

  • Jg · December 27, 2016 at 2:28 pm

    Just saw Borg’s youngest son Leo who is 13 is playing Borg from years 9 to 14 in a movie about Borg/McEnroe

  • Andrew Miller · December 27, 2016 at 3:29 pm

    Hartt great interview, I went ahead and read it after reading your comment. For sure. I think you are right and if not mistaken here the Raonic Ljuby partnership ended mostly because Federer was scouting a new coach, namely, Ljubicic. One and the same, probably for more cash than Raonic could put up.

    Also enjoy when Wertheim does that, hands over his blog to an ATP or wta player or former champ. Wertheim is an exceptional tennis journalist and writer and advocate all in one.

    Ok, so I see your point, no Blanco no Piatti no Ljubicic and you’d have no Raonic on tour. For sure. And yes, maybe Moya and Mcaenroe didn’t have to work too hard to give Raonic a shot at bigger things, after all Raonic had already undergone several regimes of improvement under Blanco Piatti Ljubicic especially Ljubicic. Agreed. They cherry picked.

    Difference is that each coach that is worth their salt provide a unique take. Moya and McEnroe have something Ljuby doesn’t , slams. They pushed Raonic to believe in the trophy.

    Now I think Raonics 2014 interview will make him a great coach. And I think it also reveals Raonics limits. His issue was never his game at net, it has always been his movement and sometimes the fact he doesn’t tap into the environment more. I think he would benefit more from dubs like he says in that mailbag. Great post. Thanks for referencing it.

    To me Raonic makes most of his own luck. But I don’t think his issues come from facing other big players but more mobile ones that exploit ever so subtly Raonics movement. Like Nadal and Djomovic or that new French player. Or even Harrison, who was ready to drag out their match until the cows came home.

    So Hartt I see you are right about all the Raonicpieces being in place. Basically Moya was set up to succeed, just like Krajicek is set up to succeed. Only that their biggest win will be if they can succeed where Moya McEnroe Ljubicic failed getting Raonic over the finish line against matchups unfavorable to Raonic. I don’t fear the big guys. I fear the mobile guys.

  • Hartt · December 27, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    Yes, each coach has given Milos an important piece of the puzzle. When talking about Moya Raonic often mentioned how Moya helped him relax between matches, not be so intense all the time. Milos’ movement has improved a lot but it will definitely be a weak spot in his game. It’s not just his height but his unusually long legs that are out of proportion to the rest of him that keep him from having great movement.

  • Scoop Malinowski · December 27, 2016 at 5:56 pm

    Raonic gets around the court quite well – that’s not the issue at all – He’s ready to win a big title -all the ingredients are there he just has to bake the cake now –

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