Welcome to another edition of Coach’s Corner.  Last weekend, the eyes of the tennis world turned to ladies’ team competition: the Fed Cup. Canada entertained Serbia in Montreal soundly winning the tie 3 matches to 1. This week’s coaching tip comes from Eugenie Bouchard’s clinching victory over Vesna Dolonc. Eugenie’s relentless pursuit of every ball played by her opponent paved the way to a convincing win and a very enthusiastic response from the crowd and her teammates. Here is the link to the video.

Please notice Eugenie’s “never give up” attitude even when running down shots which are seemingly unreachable and, to a court side observer, a waste of energy to run for. In my opinion, every shot hit by your opponent is worthy of your effort, no matter how difficult the ball may be to reach. By giving it your all, you’re sending a very strong message not just to the player on the opposite side of the net, but anyone watching who may end up facing you in the later rounds of the tournament, that it will take a high quality shot to beat you. Most players, after seeing a determined opponent relentlessly pursue every ball that comes across the net, will ultimately force their shots a little bit more by trying to hit the ball with more pace and closer to the lines; thus, increasing the chance of committing an error. Bottom line: try to run for every single ball hit by your opponent, because it will undoubtedly result in winning more points down the road. Remember that the ball is officially still in play until it bounces for the second time; that’s when you can stop running and turn your attention to the next point. Until then, give it your all and you will be rewarded: if not immediately, then shortly after.

Here are the results of the other Fed Cup matches played last weekend (Feb.7-9, 2014):

World Group:

Italy defeated USA   3-1.

Czech Republic defeated Spain   3-2.

Germany defeated Slovakia   3-1.

Australia defeated Russia   4-0.

World Group 2:

Poland defeated Sweden   3-2.

France defeated Switzerland   3-2.

Argentina defeated Japan   3-1.

Even though the spotlight last week was on the ladies, the men were very busy on the ATP Tour with 3 tournaments in Montpellier (France), Zagreb (Croatia) and Vina del Mar (Chile). Here are the results:

Open Sud de France in Montpellier: Final Rounds.

Men’s Singles: Gael Monfils (France) defeated Richard Gasquet (France)   6-4, 6-4.

Men’s Doubles: N.Davydenko (Russia) and D.Istomin (Uzbekistan) defeated M.Gicquel (France) and N.Mahut (France)   6-4, 1-6, 10-7.

PBZ Zagreb Indoors: Final Rounds.

Men’s Singles: Marin Cilic (Croatia) defeated Tommy Haas (Germany)   6-3, 6-4.

Men’s Doubles: J.Rojer (Netherlands) and H.Tecau (Romania) defeated P.Marx (Germany) and M.Mertinak (Slovakia)   3-6, 6-4, 10-2.

VTR Open Chile in Vina del Mar: Final Rounds.

Men’s Singles: Fabio Fognini (Italy) defeated Leonardo Mayer (Argentina)   6-2, 6-4.

Men’s Doubles: O.Marach (Austria) and F.Mergea (Romania) defeated J.S.Cabal (Colombia) and R.Farah (Colombia)   6-3, 6-4.

Next week, I’ll bring you the results of 3 ATP stops in Rotterdam (Netherelands), Memphis (USA) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) as well as a WTA tournament in Doha, Qatar. As always, I welcome your comments and/or questions. Please feel free to contact me directly at (416) 821-5555 or via email: mctennisacademy@hotmail.com. Have a safe week!

Kind regards,

Michael Czerwinski