Category: Sitting Across Mertov’s Tennis Desk Series

Interview recorded at Wimbledon, on July 6th, 2015, following Minnen’s first-round 6-3 6-3 win vs. Maddison Inglis (AUS) in the Girls’ Singles draw.

Greet Minnen is a 17-year-old Belgian player. I watched her play only once before, late in 2014. I thought she had plenty of talent, good overall technique, and the necessary athleticism to be a great tennis player in the future. She had a solid serve, and her game seemed to be better tailored for faster courts. Having followed her mostly from news feeds since that time, I knew that she suffered an injury after the Australian Open (in which she reached the semifinals of the junior girls’ draw) that forced her to be off the court for several weeks. In any case, prior to coming to Wimbledon, my mind was made up about interviewing her.

We did the interview approximately two hours after her win vs Inglis. Minnen has played Inglis before, but not on grass. After I introduced myself and asked her how to pronounce her name correctly (definitely not how you would read “greet” in English, closer to but not exactly like “Great”), I congratulated her and she said “thanks” and added that she felt great and in good shape throughout the match, and that she was happy. Shortly after, we began the interview.

Greet was very polite and spoke in a soft-mannered tone. It was truly a pleasure talking to her. She seemed extremely mature and intelligent about the game of tennis, and gave the impression of having a clear vision of her goals. She answered every question with enthusiasm and made an effort not to spare any details despite her limited language skills. When given the choice, she preferred doing the interview in English rather than French. I adjusted a few words and tenses in order to make it more understandable for the reader, but in general, I did my best to transcribe word-for-word, as much as possible, everything that was said.

—————-
MT-Desk:
About your match today… It looked from the outside like you were in control of the match from the first point to the last. Did it also feel that way to you inside the court?

Greet Minnen:
I also felt that I was a bit more in control than she was. I knew that when I played well, I could win easy points. But she kept hanging on much better than I expected actually. She served a few good serves, and it was difficult to break her in the second set. But once I did, I knew that I had to hold my serves to win out.

MT-Desk:
You put a lot of pressure on the returns and she double faulted a few times because of that.

Greet Minnen:
Yes.

MT-Desk:
You had a hamstring injury after the Australian Open. Do you feel that by now you have found your form?

Greet Minnen:
Yes, I think it’s coming back by now. It’s still not the best I ever played. In Australia, I was playing really well, unfortunately I had the injury. It happens. But now, I am getting back to the level that I want to be, I think.

MT-Desk:
Was that your first big injury or have you had one or two before?

Greet Minnen:
I had injuries before but not as big as this one. I was out for two months. I also had a shoulder injury before that lasted one month. But this was the biggest one.

MT-Desk:
What is your practice schedule during the off-season and where do you practice? Do you mostly practice with other players or under the supervision of a coach? Please give details, if you don’t mind, on your daily practice routine during the off-season.

Greet Minnen:
I practice in Antwerp at the Belgian Federation. I practice mostly with other players, but not from my age, because there are no players at my age. They are older or younger, it does not matter really. I just finished school so now it’s going to be different when I practice. But last year, I used to practice in the morning before going to school for 3-4 hours.
[Greet added later that she worked with coaches from the Belgian Tennis Federation, but not with one coach specifically]

MT-Desk:
You mean you practiced before school, early in the morning?

Greet Minnen:
Yes, around 8:00 or so. Then, I would go to school. Then, in the evening, I practiced again twice: tennis and physical. Then I had to do some homework, and went to sleep. In the mornings, it was mostly drills and a lot of ball hitting. In the afternoon, I would mostly play matches.

MT-Desk:
You seem to have a complete overall game. You hit slice, topspin, flat, you come to the net, hit drop shots. You have a good serve and overhead. Have you always had this type of game since you started playing tennis or did you develop some of these shots later?

Greet Minnen:
Well, my serve was actually there from the beginning already. It was my strongest point with my forehand. But my backhand was kind of my weak point in the beginning, but I think it’s getting better now. Also, my slice and drop shots were not there at all in the beginning. So I had to develop them of course.

MT-Desk:
So you developed your touch later?

Greet Minnen:
Yeah. I had some but I did not use it [and laughs].

MT-Desk:
In terms of technique, what is your next immediate goal? Is there a specific shot that you would like to develop?

Greet Minnen:
I have to try to come more to the net. Especially on grass, it’s very important that you go to the net. I am always like, little bit holding back to go to the net because my volleys aren’t that amazing [smiles], but they are ok.

MT-Desk:
I think you have good technique, but I saw that you hit a couple of good forehands during the match and you stayed back, hesitated.

Greet Minnen:
[smiles] Yeah, I was like “I want to go but… no never mind” . Yeah, I have to come much more to the net. I think that’s very important for me now.

MT-Desk:
You have hard court season before the U.S. Open, you will continue to work towards that goal?

Greet Minnen:
[Nods firmly] Yes!

MT-Desk:
What about your goals in the next 12 months? You finished school, you will soon finish your junior career. Are you already thinking about post-December?

Greet Minnen:
Yeah, of course! When I finish Wimbledon, I will play a lot of tournaments in Belgium, [ITF] $10,000s. It’s very important that I get my ranking back that I lost. But I think, end of this year, I want to be like 600-700 WTA.

MT-Desk:
Is your family into tennis? Are you the first one in your family to play tennis? Can you talk about your family a bit?

Greet Minnen:
My dad used to play tennis when he was younger, but he mostly played soccer. My mom also played a little bit of tennis but not much. So, I think am the first one who really wants to go for it. My brother rides horses, so it’s totally different than me. He likes animals, I like tennis balls [smiles].

MT-Desk:
Do they come and watch you play all the time?

Greet Minnen:
My dad, mostly yes. My mom passed away, so, no. My brother, he doesn’t come actually, he is not interested really [laughs]. But my dad is really amazing when he comes to watch.

MT-Desk:
I have noticed that players from the younger generation don’t like to watch tennis on T.V. for a long time. Maybe a few games, but not a full match [Greet says “Yeah” and smiles]. Do you actually sit down and watch a full match from the beginning to the end?

Greet Minnen:
It depends… If I know the person, like a person from Belgium, then yes, I want to watch the whole match.
[I can’t tell if she is trying to give me a message, so I decide to go ahead and mention David Goffin’s ongoing match]

MT-Desk:
Oh! David is playing now…
[Greet laughs and says “Yes!”],
so I should let you go!
[laughs again, motions her hand as if to say “it’s ok” and continues talking]

Greet Minnen:
But also, when it’s like Federer, I also watch the match. But when it’s like not such an important match… or I also don’t like watching women’s tennis in general [and smiles], I don’t like how they play.

MT-Desk:
Van Uytvanck was watching your match. Does it feel good because she watched from beginning to the end?
[Alison van Uytvanck, 2015 Roland Garros quarterfinalist, is the highest ranked player from Belgium in the WTA at no. 49. She watched both of Greet’s matches from start to finish!]

Greet Minnen:
Yeah, of course. It’s amazing that she was there. I play with her sometimes at the Federation. It’s like little bit of an example for me on how I should play eventually. So, yes it was really great.

Van Uytvanck (left) watched Minnen's match in its entirety — Van Uytvanck (left) watched Minnen’s match in its entirety

MT-Desk:
Good luck and I hope you continue winning. Thank you for taking the time.

Greet Minnen:
I hope so too. No problem. Bye.
—————-

Unfortunately, Greet lost to Vera Lapko the next day, in an extremely tight second-round match, 6-7 6-3 7-5. Lapko advanced to the semifinals before losing to the finalist Anna Blinkova. This seemed somewhat familiar. I interviewed Sofya Zhuk, a month earlier at the French Open after her first round win. She also lost the next day in a very tight match (was up a match point in the third). CiCi Bellis, who defeated her, also reached the semifinals. Then, Zhuk went on to win the Wimbledon Girls’ Singles title. Hopefully for Minnen, the same pattern will repeat itself at the next Major, the U.S. Open.

Greet after winning the match point, on her way to the net to shake opponent's hand — Greet Minnen, after winning the match point

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Sitting Across MT Desk: Sofya Zhuk

July 13, 2015

Mertov

Majors Sitting Across Mertov's Tennis Desk Series WTA No Comments

Prior to Roland Garros, I had watched Sofya Zhuk play only one time in 2013 (in a junior tournament in Switzerland) and I was impressed with her tenacity and desire to win, but it was nonetheless two years ago. Since then, I tried to follow her scores as much as I could and watched her results consistently improve as time went by. When I knew that the fifteen-year-old Russian was going to be a part of the junior tournament in Roland Garros, I made it one of my first goals to set up an interview with her, in order to introduce her to my readers and to other tennis fans outside of Russia, and Belgium where she practices at the Justine Henin Academy. The interview below took place on June 1st, at Roland Garros, following Zhuk’s first-round win over Australia’s Naikhta Bains 7-5 6-3.

Zhuk vs. Naikhta Bains, 1st round Roland Garros.

I can comfortably say that chatting with Sofya was a treat. She is a delightful youngster with a good sense of humor, and carried a genuine smile throughout the interview, attentively listening to every question so that she could answer as best as she could, despite the language barrier. She showed great mental maturity on the court in the way she handled different ebbs and flows of the first set at different stages, always keeping a positive body language. Unfortunately, I could only watch the first set of her win over Bains. However, I went on to watch the full match when she took on the American CiCi Bellis in one of the most thrilling matches that I have seen throughout the two weeks in Paris. For those interested, I posted my full tactical analysis of that match later that day on MT Desk, with pictures and clips.

Although I expected that Sofya would successfully introduce herself anyway to the tennis world sooner or later, I did not predict that it would be no more than six weeks later at Wimbledon, when she went on an amazing run of six consecutive wins as an unseeded player to lift the Wimbledon girls’ trophy on Saturday on Court 1.

Zhuk, coming to accept the winner's trophy from the 1969 Ladies' winner Ann Jones — Zhuk, coming to accept the winner’s trophy from the 1969 Ladies’ winner Ann Jones

So without further delay, here is the one-on-one with Sofya Zhuk at Roland Garros.

Sofya, let’s start with this match. The end of the first set got complicated when you were leading 5-3 and Bains saved couple of set points to come back to 5-5. At that point, you remained composed and positive. You did not lose your temper at all. How were you able to stay focused and not get disappointed?

Sofya Zhuk: I have improved my mental game a lot. At 5-3, I lost focus. From 5-3 to 5-5, in those two games, I began to realize that. Then, I tried to scream “Come on!” to myself when I win points because that helps me a lot. I also realized that I needed to serve well to take the advantage from the beginning of the point. Then I took control again. In the second set, it was easier because I stayed focused every game.

I apologize I didn’t see the second set since I had to unfortunately leave to go elsewhere.

Sofya (interrupts, laughs loud and adds): Yeah, but the second set was more interesting (more laughter).

Ok, let’s move on to your practice schedule. Could you elaborate on that? How many hours a day do you practice? How is your off-court training? How do you practice during tournaments, for example now? Could you give some details on those?

Sofya: Pretty simple really. I practice in Belgium usually. Around three hours a day. I do it in two sessions, 1 hour 30 minutes or 1 hour 15 minutes first, and the rest in the second session. One is usually from the basket a bit slower, the other one with a sparring partner. Fitness is usually one hour with a bit more intensity and thirty minutes just for the shoulders or other things, it depends.

Any days off?

Sofya: Yes, of course. On Saturdays, I practice sometimes and sometimes I am off. On Sundays, I am off. During the tournaments, if we have a sometime before the match, I practice 30 minutes easy. After the match, usually I am not practicing after matches, but here I have doubles anyway so I don’t need to practice.

If you have to go let me know.

Sofya: No, no, it’s fine. It’s three or four hours later (smiles).

What is the next immediate big goal for your game? In other words, what specific shot, pattern or tactic are you working on right now that you would like to have settled in your game by the end of the summer for example?

Sofya: Actually I don’t have a specific goal like this. I am improving my game, my movement. I am trying to improve everything.

I don’t know if this is something that you work on, but in your match, there were several points in which you made your opponent run and put her on the stretch. At that moment, you took a few steps in, but then you would change your mind and back up to the baseline. Is that a barrier, going forward, for you mentally?

Sofya: No, it’s not that. For example, I hit a ball and I understand that she is on the run. I see that she will have a good hitting zone, so I decide it’s not a good point to go forward. Because then, she will hit a winner or pass me. So I go back and try to make her move out of the court even more, and after that, I go to the net.

If she is really stretched and you feel like a high floater is coming?

Sofya: Yeah, something like this or just… (pauses, then smiles, and continues)… I am never actually going to the net just if I hit the ball and running to the net. Not logical (laughs again)

How many people are in your team? I mean the immediate people that surround you.

Sofya: It’s just my mom and my coach. They travel to every tournament with me. I think my mom understands tennis better than my coach (tongue-in-cheek laughter).

So you are not the first one to start playing tennis in your family?

Sofya: My brother started playing tennis, but then he had a problem with the knee because he grew up too fast. Then, he only kept practicing a little bit. He started tennis a bit late, when he was 9. He never started playing professional tournaments. He decided to go to university and he finished it. he is working now.

You had an injury earlier this year. Is that ok now?

Sofya: Hmmmm, not so much an injury, but it was like.. I just had to rest to get ready for the tournament. It was a bit of a pain here (points to the hip and leg area), so I just stopped and took a bit of time off, in order not to make it worst.

Perfect, thank you for taking the time Sofya.

Sofya: Thank you too.
________________

On Saturday, following her victory over Anna Blinkova of Russia – to whom Sofya has lost four times in the last two years – in the finals of Wimbledon, Zhuk said in the post-match press conference that she loved playing on Court 1 in front of numerous fans: “I love to play on this court. It was the first time I played when so much people are watching me. But I really had a pleasure to make that. I’m just in love when it’s so much people, everyone is supporting me, they’re clapping their hands when there’s a good point.”

Zhuk felt in her element in front of the big crowd on Ct 1

Sofya also said that she follows the same schedule in practice as the one she followed up to the French Open (see above my interview) and added that she was “really focused on each game, each match,” and added: “Here I controlled myself and I controlled each ball from first ball to the end.”

Zhuk in her first-round match vs Ali Collins.

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Sitting Across MT-Desk: Diego Schwartzman

June 19, 2015

Mertov

ATP Majors Players Sitting Across Mertov's Tennis Desk Series 2 Comments

Interview done on May 27, 2015, at Roland Garros, following Diego’s loss to Gaël Monfils in the second round of the French Open. Score: 4-6 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-3

This was a one-on-one interview I did with Diego Schwartzman at the French Open, initially for Tenis Dunyasi magazine, the largest monthly tennis publication in Turkey. This is the English version of the interview (which was also its original version). One month earlier, Diego reached the semifinals in the Istanbul Open, his highest achievement at the professional level for the 22-year-old Argentine. He earned a ranking of 57 on the Monday (May 4, 2015) following the Istanbul event, and to this day, it remains his highest ranking. Currently, he stands at number 65.

Diego gracefully accepted to do a one-on-one interview despite having lost a heartbreaker and I cannot stress enough how delightful and modest he is as a person. I have already had the chance to observe him live at the Istanbul Open earlier in the summer. He handled his progress to the semifinal round, and his loss to the eventual winner Roger Federer, with class and sincerity. As if his character needed a confirmation, as I was waiting for him to come, few South American journalists, especially one from Argentina, could not praise him enough to me, telling me what a “nice guy” Schwartzman was and that I would enjoy my interview with him. They were completely right. When I told Diego about this right before we began chatting and mentioned his high reputation among the South American media, he extended a genuine smile and nodded his head with modesty.

About today’s match… In the 4th set Gaël started getting more aggressive compared to the first three sets and it worked for him. Then, in the beginning of the fifth set, you also started well and leveled back the match. He began to pump the crowd up, and you joined in as well, began showing your fist and celebrating the points won with animated passion. However, do you think it would it would have been better to stay calm against someone like Monfils at that point of the match and not join the “pump-fist” parade, because it only motivated the crowd to get even more behind Gaël, further energizing him?

Diego:
I understand what you say. But I was also playing the first three sets aggressive, focused, solid, motivated. I remember in the fourth set, it was 2-2, I had two break points to go up 3-2, and he hit two aces in the break points. Then he felt well, and he broke me immediately after. He started to play with the groove. It’s good for him, not so good for me. In the fifth set, I played well again and had chances in the first games, but again he played well, broke my serve, and served amazing after that. I am not so sure if the motivation from the body language was really the big factor. He served very well in the fifth set.

Few weeks ago, you did very well in the Istanbul Open, reaching the semi-final round of an ATP event, for the first time in your career. You had one year with great success in the past, then last year you had an excellent year in the Challenger circuit. Now, you reach higher in ATP events and to Monfils in 5 sets in the 2nd round of a Major. Now that you are reaching for the next level in the pro circuit, do you sense that Istanbul Open was a big step, a turning point for you, and your confidence?

Diego:
Yes! Istanbul was amazing for everything. I played very well against good players like Jurgen Melzer, Santiago Giraldo.. I played very well in all the matches there [Schwartzman lost to the eventual winner Roger Federer 6-4 in the third set, in the semifinals]. Then I go to Rome and also brought that good feeling there. Then, I came here and played well again the first round. And now I just played a 5-set match against Monfils. I feel really well. I need to be focused on my tennis, training, work with my team the same way. I need to be a “regular” during the whole year and improve my tennis continuously. I need to go step by step.

Schwartzman in his second round win over Giraldo at the Istanbul Open

You just had an injury.
Diego: Yes in Rome.
But it was not a major injury.
Diego: No, it was an extension, 2 mm here (points to the inside of his upper leg), I can’t play in Nice so I pulled out. I came directly here, I felt well all the time. It’s ok.
Have you ever had big injuries in the past?
Diego: No, never, that was actually my first injury.

Question about your tennis game… What is your next goal now? I am asking this in the context of your game. You hit every shot in the book, you hit spin and slice, you hit drop shots and angles, you come to the net, you hit kick or slice serves, as well as a hard first one. So what next would you like to technically improve in your game?

Diego: I need to improve my second serve. My first serve is good I think. Then I need to improve all in my tennis, physically and mentally. My I need to improve my forehand, backhand, and all the other things, because now the players are so good. I don’t have many chances in the match so I need to improve for the few chances that come, I need to be fully focused at that moment and really want to seize that chance.

When you practice in the off-season, do you focus on one particular thing to improve or do you focus on everything?

Diego: No, no, many things many things. The serve, the forehand, you can improve a lot in many things.

You have a big family, two brothers and one sister. Does your family show interest in tennis, or do they love tennis through you? Do they really know the game?

Diego: Yes they show interest. They know about me, and therefore now, they know even more about tennis.

So you are the only one in your family to play competitive tennis?

Diego: Yes, my father and mother play tennis but only amateur tennis in the club on weekends, not professional like me. They are very good models for parents. They support me in every way.

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Sitting Across MT-Desk: Umit Oraloglu, Co-Founder of Gallipoli Youth Cup

April 24, 2014

Mertov

Sitting Across Mertov's Tennis Desk Series 2 Comments

Back in 2008, I wrote an article titled ‘Something different to do in 2008’ about tennis tournaments that you will not read much about in the general media, however they are worth attending, because they have separated themselves from many other calendar ITF events. The Gallipoli Youth Cup (GYC) is one such event, and it just kicked off in Melbourne, Australia.

With yesterday’s first round matches, the GYC has entered its sixth year and along the way this tournament has created history in many ways. However in terms of creating ground breaking history, with influential figures supporting GYC, 2014 and 2015 will be very important years for this event.

Pat Cash (1987 Wimbledon Men’s Singles Champion) and Umit Oraloglu (successful businessman and second generation Australian from Turkish parents), are the co-founders of the GYC. I asked the latter several questions regarding the past 6 years and what the future holds for the tournament.

How did the GYC come about and why is it so different from other ITF junior tournaments?

Umit: In Australia, we are all educated at school about the Gallipoli campaign, where during World War 1, Australian and New Zealand soldiers (known as the ANZACs), formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula (the European side of Turkey), under a plan to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allies. Even though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25th of April became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who died in war.

Since sport is inherently a big part of Australia, Pat Cash and I thought (in conjunction with Tennis Australia), what better way to give our youth the opportunity to commemorate our war veterans through ongoing participation and competition in sport by establishing the Gallipoli Youth Cup.

Not only are the junior players commemorating the fallen soldiers, we also created a “School Commemoration Program,” where year 6 students from various primary schools can participate in tennis activities and education programs commemorating the fallen soldiers at Gallipoli.

The GYC is now the only International junior tennis tournament in the world where the tennis players and school students commemorate the fallen soldiers.

Even though the GYC was established in 2008, it took 4 long years to get it off the ground due to unimaginable twists and turns. What were these twists and turns?

Umit: In 2004, Pat Cash and I traveled to Turkey, so we could create a tennis event by commemorating the fallen soldiers at Gallipoli. The event was called ‘Anzac Legends Cup’ (ALC) and the concept was to have two past legend tennis players from two of the countries that lost soldiers at Gallipoli, to play an exhibition match and then the following year, add another two players to the event (from two other countries).

Other than Turkey, Australia and New Zealand, countries such as France, Canada, England, South Africa, Ireland, India etc.. also lost soldiers at Gallipoli. With this being the case, in 2005, Pat Cash (Australia) and Henri Leconte (France), competed against each other in the first ever ALC to be held in Istanbul at the renowned Coliseum Centre.

Unfortunately that was to be the first and last ALC because the Turkish Government thought only the countries that lost soldiers at Gallipoli would be interested in the ALC and they wanted to hold a tennis tournament by attracting interest from all over the world, so they wanted Pat Cash and I to organize a WTA or ATP tournament in Turkey. In that same year, with both of us playing a crucial role, a WTA event was held in Istanbul and it was named after the historical city itself, the ‘Istanbul Cup’.

It was like we awakened the sleeping giant because with the success of the ‘Istanbul Cup’, the Turkish Government went on to hold the end of year WTA Championships held between 2011 and 2013.

That being said, after establishing the Istanbul Cup, Pat Cash and I came back to Australia with an empty sense of feeling. Our initial goal for going to Turkey was to annually commemorate the fallen soldiers through a tennis event, and we didn’t achieve our goal.

After giving it some thought, we noticed that at a senior level, the codes of Australian Rugby League and Australian Rules Football held matches to commemorate our war veterans, however there was no event held at a youth level. After consulting with Craig Tiley, CEO Tennis Australia (then Director of Tennis Australia), I’m proud to say, we eventually created the GYC.

So far in this journey, what has been the highlight of the GYC?

Umit: There have been so many highlights, however if I had to narrow it down to a few, I would have to say, since 2008, we have educated thousands of school kids about the Gallipoli campaign and this will continue for many years to come.

Also in 2013, for the first time we had 12 Turkish junior tennis players compete at the GYC. These kids created long lasting friendships with players from Australia and New Zealand. Last but not least, to celebrate our achievements, last year we invited Mr. Turgut Kacmaz – 77 years old and the son of the last Turkish veteran at Gallipoli – to be the special guest at our Gala Dinner. He also handed out the trophies to the singles and doubles winners of the GYC, which attracted profound media coverage from all over the world.

This year there was a major development with Tennis Australia announcing that the GYC is now one of the major projects of the Australian Tennis Foundation. However, since 2015 will be the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, what plans are in place to mark this special occasion?

Umit: Yes it was definitely a major development. Just before this year’s Australian Open, the Australian Tennis Foundation held one of its first projects by teaming up with Roger Federer’s Foundation and raising valuable funds for both foundations.

The event was called, “A night with Roger Federer and friends,” which was a televised event and it ended up raising more than $1 million on the night. It just makes me so happy that the GYC has reached a certain level, where it’s now officially going to be run by the Australian Tennis Foundation.

Re 2015, this year will be very special. We have two major objectives. The first is to educate five thousand students during the tournament through our “School Commemoration Program” (which has never been achieved before) and the second is to invite junior tennis players from all the countries that lost soldiers at Gallipoli, so that we can continue promoting the notion of mateship. These countries are Turkey, England, New Zealand, France, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal and Algeria.

Umit, this sounds fantastic! Any last thoughts?

Umit: Yes. Even though Pat Cash and I are the co-founders of the GYC, there are two people that also played a very important role in making the GYC a huge success. From day one, Craig Tiley and Michael Annett (CEO of Victorian RSL Branch) understood the concept of the GYC and I can’t thank both of them enough. For more information on the GYC and to see what we have achieved in the past six years, everyone can log onto www.gallipoliyouthcup.com

Note: Log onto the website to get the latest scores and results, unless you live in Melbourne, in which case, you should attend the tournament and see the future stars.

Sitting Across MT-Desk: Bastian Gründler with PACIFIC

April 15, 2014

Mertov

Q & A Sitting Across Mertov's Tennis Desk Series No Comments

Recently I caught up with an old friend, Bastian Gründler from Germany, whom I have known since his years of playing college tennis in the U.S.A. He grew up playing tennis in Germany before moving to the U.S. to play college tennis for the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) – his brother Philipp played for the UCLA team that won the 2004-05 NCAA Championships. He went on to get his Sports Science diploma from London Metropolitan University in England. He continued to play tennis and went on to win in 2010, the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) UK Individuals Singles & Doubles Championships, as well as the Team Competition with his university team.

He now works for PACIFIC – a German Tennis goods manufacturer. The company was the Official ATP-Partner for Strings, Grips and Stringing Machine in the years 2007-2012. Having acquired Fischer Racquet Division in 2009, PACIFIC today is a full-range supplier and one of the major players in the string and racket industry.

I have often intended to do Q & A article with faces in the industry, and I believed holding one with Bastian would be a perfect start to the “Sitting Across Mertov’s Tennis Desk” series.

Bastian, for starters, can you please provide a brief background of PACIFIC?

BG: PACIFIC Entermark GmbH started as a distribution company for various sports goods, founded in the early 70’s. Our own PACIFIC brand has grown stronger over the years, due to high quality production & innovative products. With the quality label ‘Made in Germany’ – PACIFIC manufactured the 1st electronic Stringing Machine in the 1980’s. The company was famous for their own Natural Gut production, equipping world’s best player such as for example John McEnroe. As much as the company has grown, it still remains 100% family-owned, with its headquarters located in Stuttgart, Germany. Even with all the revolutionary developments, you still see the best players relying on traditional products! A great number of today’s Top 100 players, actually more than 60 out top 100 players, prefer ‘Hybrid Stringing’ – a mixture of Natural Gut strings combined with synthetic materials. Gut strings provide elasticity and power factor, while synthetic strings provide control & accuracy factor.

What is your area of responsibility with PACIFIC?

BG: I have been with PACIFIC for 4 years now, and I am working within two divisions at PACIFIC. One the one hand I work with the Int. Sales department where all efforts are combined, providing our worldwide sales partners with everything PACIFIC’s got to offer. On the other, I am responsible of the division of ‘Global Brand & Player Services on ATP / WTA & ITF Tour’. Together with Tom Parry, our Player Services Director, I am looking after all our sponsored players (see picture with the current ATP #30 Florian Mayer during a signing session), as well as scouting upcoming talents and potential future champions. Furthermore, PACIFIC works closely with more than 250 coaches worldwide, because one of our central concerns is to educate tennis players, improve their ‘material knowledge, more importantly, instill the importance of the service factor in tennis.

Can you further elaborate on this aspect that you refer to as the service factor?

BG: By saying ‘service factor’ I am underlining the importance of serving and educating the
customer with an in-depth knowledge of the full range of products that we have to offer. The company has been holding material & service seminars all around the globe throughout the last +40 years educating sales partners, industry and also consumers on fundamentals. The company’s foundation in manufacturing Strings & Grips provided ground for such seminars, demonstrating the actual function of Accessories to the racket itself. Without a motor, no car could move an inch. Without Strings, a racket cannot be used to perform, therefore the Strings are often called ‘the engine of the Racket’.
At PACIFIC, we provide our players with best materials & advice. My job is to interact with Players, and also deliver my advice and services onto our global distribution network, retail partners and Tennis specialist stores. It’s a well-functioning combination of Sponsoring, Marketing and – obviously what’s most important for any company – Sales.

PACIFIC is one of the top companies in the industry competing for the world market for hard goods, especially rackets. Where do you see PACIFIC’s current status and in what ways can PACIFIC hold an advantage over its competitors?

BG: A large portion of the tennis market for hard goods, especially rackets, is held by Babolat, Head, and Wilson. However, PACIFIC has become a strong contender for the number 4 position and we plan to aim even higher. Traditional brand names are fading, and loosing share to current major players. It’s important to develop & grow key markets, but also invest on your foundation. PACIFIC products are recently available in +80 countries through active distribution network.
PACIFIC’s product range provides high quality performance products in all segments, being full-range supplier (except shoes). There are many companies out there, that produce 1 or 2 good products in just 1 category, may it be ‘Racket’ or ‘Grips’, while PACIFIC is growing as a strong performer in all product categories.

Bastian, this all sounds interesting in the scope of the industry’s ins and outs, but how does it help the consumers in the general population, in other words, your everyday tennis players in the clubs and tennis fans who picked up the game?

BG: Let’s give the example of a great champion and work our way to all tennis players. Just like Roger Federer did when switching to a new frame, every tennis player, regardless of their level, should ask themselves the following question: “What is the best product(s) for my individual performance?” A couple of years ago, I was at a tournament in Switzerland. In the evening, I was walking by some local courts when I noticed a senior player who looked to be about 80 years old. It was obvious that he was barely able to hold on to his ‘preferred’ racket. It turned out that he chose Federer’s heavyweight, small head-sized racket to play, and I can assure you that he was not enjoying his Sunday evening performance. So, I walked up to the court and asked him who on earth recommended that frame to him. He responded that he went up to a Tennis retail store to buy the World #1’s racket, because that racket ‘must obviously be the best one on the market’.

Here again it is my job to combine multiple perspectives such as understanding the player’s mind in connection with the game’s different facets, analyzing market trends, providing feedback for today’s world’s best athletes, as well as the consumers. I need to respond to the demands of the professional players as well as the Swiss senior club player. I follow closely the requirements of products, and I seek answers to questions such as how to match products to the individual player’s ability and how to enhance performance and while maximizing the joy of playing tennis. What does the player require from his/her product? What are the deciding factors for tennis players & consumers when choosing one brand’s product over another? My job is to not only answer these questions but bring in different perspectives and angles to various individuals according to their abilities.

During the 2012 London Tour Finals, PACIFIC Tour Coach Robert Davis (long-time Coach of Aisam Qureshi) held a Kids Clinic (see picture below) instructing young Tennis learners how to mount a grip band. It starts with the simple things.

It seems that racket and string technologies have evolved tremendously. Companies are always introducing new models, different technologies with flashy names. I can’t even count all the different names given to the various stringing materials. How do you keep up with all this?

BG: Actually, the shape of tennis rackets has practically not changed throughout the last 50 years, while materials absolutely did! Back in the days, rackets were wooden, heavy, and not comparable at all to today’s high-tech frames. Then came along a racket made from aluminum, then another from carbon, and yet another from graphite. Eventually, the manufacturing process was industrialized because the technology side became too important for the business. In 2009/10, PACIFIC acquired Fischer Racket Division, a company who has equipped Slam winners such as Michael Stich or Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Starting the company’s first own racket production in 2010, PACIFIC and Asa.Tec, a research and development company specializing in raw materials, pioneered in utilizing basaltic fibers during the process of racket manufacturing. In a highly complex process, Volcanic rock is melted and extruded in the form of continuous fiber which is then strategically positioned in PACIFIC tennis rackets, providing enhanced comfort and precise feedback. In short, you asked me how I keep up with all the developments. We are part of the innovations and actively involved in the developments, thus it our job to know everything inside and out.

Considering all your interaction with the players, have you seen any players express strange concerns, or make unusual demands with regards to their equipment?

BG: Absolutely. There is this one top-female contender, who does not want her Grips being touched and prepared for the match by anyone other than her coach! There are several Tour players out there who do not want ANYONE to touch their match rackets other than their trusted personnel or entourage.

Roger Federer was one of the first players to consequently change frames before every ball change because his preferred string tension drops during match play. Today’s tour players are very sensitive with their materials, and I mean this in a positive sense. Same with coaches, physical experts and trainers; with regards to material, no stone is left unturned in order to enhance performance. Material experts and specialists are brought in to tweak here & there in order to figure out little advantages for the player.

Bastian thanks for your time. We will keep in touch. Any last word to the readers?

BG: Thanks for your time, and my best advice to the readers: pay attention to details when you get your equipment, and try at least a few varieties before settling on one.

Sitting Across MT-Desk: Greet Minnen (BEL)

Sitting Across MT Desk: Sofya Zhuk

Sitting Across MT-Desk: Diego Schwartzman

Sitting Across MT-Desk: Umit Oraloglu, Co-Founder of Gallipoli Youth Cup

Sitting Across MT-Desk: Bastian Gründler with PACIFIC

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