Happenstance sent former WTA Top 50 player Anastasia Yakimova into a coaching career in Denmark, writes @Pervinkel

Translation of this piece by Per Colstrup Vinkel for Tennis Avisen.

Anastasia Yakimova still knows how to swing a tennis racquet. This year she won the Leschly Cup with a win over Karina Ildor. The Belorussian’s day job is coaching for Fruens Bøge Tennis Club in Odense, Denmark.

26 and a forced into retirement

For most people, it’s a horror scenario, but for Anastasia Yakimova, the narrative has more to it than an unfortunate career retirement. It’s been six years since her body told her to stop, and the Belorussian player, who had a whole life built in and round tennis, was forced seek other opportunities. It became quickly clear that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: tennis was, and will always be, a part of the Belorussian’s life.
“Not being 100% and playing at the top of international tennis isn’t sustainable. I’d played on the WTA Tour for 11 years, and my body could feel it. I wanted to take a small break from tennis to discover what coaching abilities I had. It was a great experience from the beginning, and it motivated me so much that I never thought about resuming my playing career. I’ve never regretted my choice,” relates Anastasia Yakimova. Her highest WTA ranking was 49 in singles, and her best Slam result was was in 2007, when she made the third round of the Australian Open. Yakimova managed to end the year in the WTA Top 100 for three seasons.

Denmark by happenstance

In Spain she got the chance to become co-owner of a tennis school, which, among other things, arranged an yearly international youth tennis tournament. Head tennis coach Frank Petersen from Sønderborg was a steady participant with a group of Danish juniors. Relations were established and Yakimova was invited to Denmark as a guest coach at a summer school for elite players.

“My first visit to Denmark was around five years ago, and I came every summer since.  When the opportunity for a coaching job in Danmark came around, I grabbed it. It was Frank who encouraged me to do it. It suited me perfectly, as it came at a time when I was looking for new challenges,” relates Anstasia Yakimova.
Besides being a part of the first team in Fruens Bøge Tennis Club and playing a series of international club tennis tournaments, the Belorussian is also functions as coach for the clubs top players. It’s a unique opportunity for a provencial club to attract a coach with so much international experience as Anastasia Yakimova.

A world of difference

One thing is how we see ourselves. That would never be a 100% accurate. We think as Danes that we do pretty well, not the least in giving our children the best opportunities, and making sure that all became part of society.
For Anasasia Yakimova, the Danish experience has been interesting in this area. It’s taught her some things  about how to approach life, things that weren’t part of her growing up in Belarus.
“When I started as a small child in Belarus, there was no opportunity to play tennis ‘for fun’. It was all about becoming professional and earning money. That’s a contrast to the experience in Denmark. Children have a lot of opportunities, which means they can prioritise tennis at exactly the level they wish. That’s the big difference between my former and present countries. There are a lot more here in Denmark who play tennis because they enjoy it. It’s a lovely experience for me to see that you can enjoy tennis without striving after results. I work daily, though, with the serious players, those with ambitions. They’ll always be the ones closest to my heart,” Yakimova explains.

Even though there are big differences between Belarus and Denmark, there are also many similarities. According to Anastasia Yakimova, it’s that tennis gives a good start in life for most youths. It can help them move on in life even without racquet and balls.

“Playing sports keeps you going, you’re active. Competing and solving problems on your own gives young people important tools, tools they can use later on in life. Because when you’re out there on the court, there’s only you who can find the solutions. No one can do things for you. It’s helped me a lot, also off the tennis court,” relates the Belorussian.
She admits that it’s still misses the WTA and tennis at the highest level, the travelling around the world, and the experience in first class. On the other hand, Anastasia Yakimova stresses that she really sees tennis as life education, an education at the same level as what a university can offer. It’s an education that has led her to Denmark.
Can the local tennis players in Odense be inspired by Yakimova’s story? It’s to be hoped.

Novak Đoković on a day-to-day coach, his diet, his tennis bag

Novak on coach, diet, bag…

Original link (IN SERBIAN): http://sportklub.rs/Blog/Sasa-Ozmo/a174309-Meso-ili-ne-otadzbina-trener-sokolovi-Novak-izbliza.html

New coach (besides Agassi)

I have a list of candidates, but I don’t want to reveal anything because I would not want to put anyone in an awkward position. He has to meet my wishes, but also Andre’s – Agassi is my mentor, head coach, priority, and he needs to say OK before I hire anyone. Both of us have to be sure as that coach would spend more time than Andre with me. We have spoken to one man and I hope, ideally, that I will have someone by Wimbledon – if not, then after Wimbledon.

Image of the new coach?

He would have to fit in with our vision of life and tennis – Andre and I have a lot in common in terms of how we perceive the game and everything that surrounds it. We have to take everything into consideration as I am not the same person I used to be before I became a father, for example – it is a big change; family on the road, lot of obligations, different rhythm, so a new coach would have to adjust to that.

More specifically, I would like it to be someone with experience at the top level, preferably an ex-player because that is a bonus – because then the communication goes much easier: he already understands my mental state on the court, while I am preparing, travelling, recovering… Those type of conversations can be long or short, depending on the person. Also, I’d prefer someone younger because that is the kind of energy that drives me and inspires me.

His diet?

I don’t want to get too much into it because people read the papers and draw certain conclusions, yet they are not well-informedenough about the subject or they don’t know much about the person. My diet is based on vegetables. You can find proteins in vegetables as well, not just in meat, but our people (in Serbia) know only about meat because it is our culture. I also eat fish and eggs as a source of protein, but I haven’t been eating meat since August or September 2015. I’ve got my own reasons, both ethical and health. I don’t want to succumb to pressure. I am not going back to meat at this time.

On his tennis bag

Novak has 12 hawks that symbolize Grand Slam titles, why hawks?

The hawk is my favourite bird, one of my favourite animals. It has something to do with my Montenegrin roots. My late grandpa used to call me „Hawk“ (common nickname in Serbia, Montenegro…), so there is that as well. Also, I find hawks fascinating as they don’t prey on the sick and the small. Besides, when it attacks, it does so with enormous speed, so I like to think of myself as a hawk when I attack a tennis ball. Yellow smilies symbolize Masters titles and blue smilies stand for World Tour Finals titles.

What must Novak have in his bag?

It happens often that I forget my wallet or phone. When I go to practice, especially during the tournament, I am focused on what I need to do, so people close to me often complain that they can’t reach me. Aside from tennis shoes, rackets and lenses, there is nothing that HAS to be in my bag. I carry a cross that I got at the Ostrog monastery. I got a really nice gift from a girl in China that I used to carry around for a few years, but I am not attached to things and I am not superstitious. My day does not depend on whether I brought something with me or didn’t; I won’t feel depressed if I forget something.

On Serbia

I’ve got unconditional love for my country—it’s my home, I belong there. In the last ten years or so, since I am not living there any more, I feel butterflies in my stomach every time I go back, and memories from my childhood start coming back to me. A man can go around the world, but there is no place like home.

It is normal that there are people who love me less and those who love me more. I try to do what I can—I am a human being also: I make mistakes, mature and try to learn from those mistakes, and I always stand up for values that I believe are right, values instilled in me by my parents and everyone who contributed to my maturing and evolving.

 

Translated by Saša Ozmo

“He gives you nothing, not even the time of day.” Emmanuel Planque, Lucas Pouille’s coach, on the improved Milos Raonic by @flaberne of l’Équipe

Translation of the article by Frédéric Bernès on page 19 of the January 26, 2016 edition of l’Équipe.

“Apart from Djoko, I don’t see anyone who can beat him here.”

“Apart from Djoko, I don’t see anyone who can beat him here.” I told you that just after the match against Lucas (Pouille). I was a bit dazed coming off the court. I re-watched the match several times and the impression remained. OK, I wasn’t thrilled by the way Lucas started off sets … but Milos gave us nothing. That guy doesn’t even give you the time of day. Right now, I find him fit. We’ve been talking about him as a future Slam winner for two years. Like Dimitrov? Yes and no. I’m sure Dimitrov will come back. But he’s less formidable and less well prepared than Raonic. He he has fewer weapons.

“Second serves at 220, 224, 226 kph”

“He’s super confident with his serve. At Brisbane and Melbourn, he was hitting second serves at 220, 224 and even 226 kph. At some point you don’t know how to return them: if you back up, he hits a kicker that bounces really high; if you move up to cut down the trajectory, you get a bullet at 220. The average first serve speed is often mentioned as a way to judge a server, but don’t forget the second serve. He powers it but it doesn’t mean that many more double faults. That’s tied to his current confidence and the fact that he hasn’t played the top two best returners yet, Murray and Djoko, who can bother him. The idea is to make him run so he’ll serve at between 160 and 180. Because if he serves at 130, he’ll be more accurate, more coordinated, more relaxed. But it’s hard to make him run much when he’ll try and shorten the point quickly.”

“Before, he could miss a series of returns”

“He’s improved his base game considerably. Mainly because he doesn’t have any physical problems. Last year, he had a nerve in his foot operated on. Good health means more training intensity. You can tell he’s worked on his returns. He’s much more consistent. Before he could miss second serve returns in bunches. Today, he puts you continuously under pressure without taking any crazy risks. He returns hard up the middle which allows him to take a lot of second shots on his forehand. And then it’s difficult to escape. Facing him, you get tense and you lose 10-15 kph on your serve. I think Milos has assimilated the fact that the best players in the world aren’t the best servers. His goal is to get a ratio of quality of serve/quality of return that’s much better than the others.”

“To me he’s not a Canadian at all”

“He’s part of a very strong project. To me, he’s not at all a Canadian. He’s a Yugo (born in Podgorica, Raonic lived in Montenegro until he was eight). He reminds me of Djoko with his ambition and application. Raonic is upright, intelligent, a worker. The guy could easily have been an engineer. Now he’s a tennis player, that’s his job. He’s not emotional, he’s rational. He works on his mechanics. Ljubicic (gone to Federer) helped with his serve and second shot. He leaves and he takes Moya, who’ll help him with his returns and bring him the deep parts of the game. And above all he has Piatti (ex-coach of Ljubicic and Gasquet) who’s a super coach and who’s doing an admirable job with him.”

“It’s lousy, it’s not sexy? I don’t agree”

“Would it hurt tennis if Raonic became number one? I don’t agree with that sort of pessimism. I hear people say Raonic is dull, isn’t sexy, he’s boring … No! It wouldn’t be dull because those chasing him would be interesting. It would be really exciting. Sure, the tennis of tomorrow will be guys 1.95m moving like guys 1.75 and who can return too. Can these criticisms affect Raonic? I sense he’s there to win. The rest …”

Translated from the French by MAN