Tag: Marsel Ilhan

When I woke up Friday morning at the apartment that I rented with my daughter on the 16th arrondissement of Paris, it was drizzling outside and the sky looked gray. Yet, I was full of optimism for what had the potential to be a historic day for tennis in my native country of Turkey. With a population of almost 80 million, Turkey had yet to produce a female player that played in the main draw of a Major in the Open era, and Marsel Ilhan was the only one to do so among the men. Equally, never before had Turkey been represented by three players in the last round of singles’ qualifying in the same Major. Thus, Cagla Buyukakcay (WTA 85), Ipek Soylu (WTA 175), and Ilhan (ATP 198) did already make history by winning their matches on Thursday. Yet, that would be peanuts compared to the buzz that they would generate were they to win their matches and advance to the main draw.

That is what was on the line on that Friday, May 20, 2016: the rewriting of Turkish tennis history. All three players were scheduled to play on the same court, Court 8, a sensible decision by the organizers. In fact, those were the only matches scheduled on that court, meaning it could become one of the famous courts in a nation’s tennis history.

I arrived to the grounds around 9 AM, an hour before the first match, talked a bit to Cagla and her coach Can Uner, wished them good luck, then headed to Court 8 to wait for her match. She was scheduled first, followed by Ipek, and Marsel. Being the top player in Turkey for a couple of years some 25 or so years ago, I feel that I am qualified to say the following: if you told me back then that one day, I would stand on the grounds of Roland Garros on the last day of qualifying, waiting for a Turkish player’s match to begin, while watching another Turkish player (Ipek) warm-up on Court 6 for her match later, and seeing a third Turkish player (Marsel) walk by me with his coach, on his way to practice on another court, I would have told you that you had simply lost your mind.

Yet, that is precisely what happened. I realized that while still remaining far behind where it should be, the interest in tennis has indeed increased dramatically over the last decade in Turkey, thanks to some giant steps recently taken by the few top Turkish players.

Buyukakcay is definitely one of those. She won a WTA event last month (Istanbul Cup). Thanks to her successful results of late, she is ranked in the WTA’s top 100 for the first time in her career, and has become the only Turkish female player to ever do so in singles. As she entered Court 8 to face Klara Koukalova of Czech Republic, she knew very well the stakes at hand. She had a chance to overcome another hurdle, reaching the main draw of a Major, that has nagged her for years, and to become the first Turkish female player to do so. I made my way next to her coach and sat next to him. Cagla looked determined from the moment she entered the court. She got off the gates playing some top-quality tennis, and never looked back until 6-1 5-1 in the second set.

As most tennis players know, finishing a match is not an easy thing to do, especially when so much is riding on one match (I should add that Cagla is also chasing the possibility of representing her country in the Olympic games in Rio). Not having anything to lose at that point in the match, Koukalova played freely and showed her high shot making skills. Buyukakcay got a bit tight and found her lead erode to 5-3 with Koukalova serving. But that was as far as the Czech player got. Cagla broke her serve on a double fault and immediately pumped her fist toward us in joy. Tears came flowing down her eyes before she even reached the net to shake her opponent’s hand.

She approached us at once and gave heartfelt hugs to everyone and spent time with the Turkish fans (including a few people from the Turkish Consulate) who supported her. The celebration went on for so long that by the time Ipek Soylu came on the court with her opponent Kateryna Kozlova, Cagla still had not left the court. It was nonetheless 1-for-1 for Turkish tennis.

Soylu is twenty-year-old up-and-coming, talented player who has seen her ranking rapidly rise in the last couple of years. Just like Cagla did before her, Ipek began her match at a very high level and continued to do so until she had a 6-3 5-2 lead. She executed her plan A – which features aggressive returns and ground strokes – to perfection, complementing it with effective serving.

She also needed one more game to finish the match, which, once again, is one of the harder things to do in matches at the Majors, mostly because there is more on the line in Majors than in any other individual tennis event. Kozlova played one solid game, letting her opponent know that she was not folding. Then, Soylu played three games filled with unforced errors before finding herself down 6-5 30-0, two points away from a third set. She showed her competitive spirit as she forced Kozlova into a backhand error, then played three terrific points in a row to carry the set into a tiebreaker. That helped her regain confidence and find her earlier form. She played an excellent tiebreaker and closed out the match winning the last 5 points in a row, 6-3 7-6(2). She brought her hand to her mouth in disbelief, looked at her corner where her coach and mother sat, and let her tears flow.

Less than a minute later, a second celebration was underway on the same corner of Court 8 as the earlier one with Buyukakcay. A nation that has not seen one single female player reach the main draw in the Open era, now had two of them accomplish that goal in one day, on the same court. Could Marsel Ilhan also win and triple the joy of Turkish tennis fans? Barely had Ipek left the court that he arrived for his match against Guido Andreozzi, a clay-court specialist from Argentina.

Ilhan did not begin his match as well as the Turkish women did, losing the first set 6-3. He modified his game plan a bit in the beginning of the second set, broke early, and turned the match around by winning the set 6-2. He went up 4-1 in the third, only to see his lead evaporate because Andreozzi proved to be too pesky an opponent to let Ilhan roll over him for two sets in a row. He got the break back, and the match went into “overtime” because there are no tiebreaks in the deciding set at the French Open.

Ilhan was clutch in the last two games, winning the match point on a skillful approach shot followed by a winning backhand volley which left Andreozzi meters away from the ball. The scoreboard read 3-6 6-2 8-6 in his favor. He lifted both hands to the packed stands of Court 8, and saluted his corner.

There was also something else that took place during most of Ilhan’s match that went unnoticed by most people present (not that it was they could have known). Buyukakcay arrived in the second set with his coach to support Ilhan (see pic below), and Soylu joined the support from the other side of the court around the mid-point of the third set.

This was another amazing moment for someone like me who would have never guessed, not-so-long-ago, that such a scene could ever take place; a Turkish player battling to get into the main draw of a Major, being supported by two other Turkish players who have already guaranteed their spot in it. Are you kidding me?

Nope, this was no joke. The Turkish players went 3-for-3, which meant that the date and location of this accomplishment – May 20, 2016, Court 8, Roland Garros, Paris – were guaranteed to be etched in stone forever, in all future historiography about Turkish tennis.

Spectators slowly left, but I stayed behind to take a few last pictures of this “soon-to-be-legendary” court to capture the last moments of the day. The maintenance crew came quickly and began watering the court to get it ready for more play the next day. Just like Buyukakcay, Soylu, and Ilhan needed some downtime to digest their success after the incredible day that Turkish tennis fans experienced thanks to them, the court on which they accomplished it also needed some recuperation.

It was time to leave, but I was satisfied. What started out as a dreary day with gray skies turned into golden one in more ways than I could have imagined. I watched hours of terrific tennis, my favorite sport, and witnessed history being made in that very sport of my native nation. Thank you Cagla, thank you Ipek, thank you Marsel!

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Sitting Across MT-Desk: Alberto Lopez Nuñez

October 7, 2015

Mertov

ATP Sitting Across Mertov's Tennis Desk Series No Comments

The following interview appeared (translated to Turkish) on the last issue of Tenis Dunyasi, the most widely read tennis magazine in Turkey. Alberto Lopez Nuñez is the current coach of Marsel Ilhan, the highest-ranked Turkish player in the ATP, and a former coach of Garbiñe Muguruza. During Wimbledon, I sat down with him and discussed in detail his tennis background, developmental years at the Bruguera Tennis Academy, coaching philosophy, and issues important to coach-player relationships. It was one of the most informative interviews I have ever had. Alberto, whom I admire as a coach and a friend, was candid and forthcoming with his commentary. Here is the full interview, in its original English version.

(Interview held on July 1, 2015, at Wimbledon)

For followers of tennis who may not know more than the fact that you are Marsel’s coach, let’s give an introduction to the person Alberto Lopez Nuñez. We know that you became Marsel’s coach at the end of 2013, and that tennis has been life-long passion for you. You were a player, now you are a coach. How was your transition from playing to teaching/coaching tennis? When did you decide that you had enough as a player, and was that when you decided to coach?

Alberto:
At the age of 23, I was young and playing challengers, I was winning some good matches, but I got unlucky. But ok, “unlucky” is perhaps not a precise way to call it, but the bottom line is I lost around 12 out of 14 first rounds in a row. I got tired of that feeling and I no longer wanted to keep going. I felt deep inside that it was my time to stop. Once I stopped playing competitive tennis, I did not go straight into coaching. I went into studies. My parents lived in Galicia so I went back home, and I began studying financial management at a university. When the Galician Tennis Federation found out few months later that I was in the area, they called and asked if I wanted to help. I said to myself “Why not?” because I prefer to stay busy. So I did not start coaching right away after I stopped playing but it was only a short break from tennis. I was going to be studying for three years, so I wanted to be productive during that time. I felt that at the end of my studies I could always come back to Barcelona. During the three years of studying, I went to the university in the mornings, had lunch around 15:00, and then, worked for the federation in the afternoons.

As soon as I finished my last exam at the end of my studies, I went straight back to Barcelona. Once in Barcelona, it was funny because during the first few months, I was planning things around the idea that I was going to work in bank. I had a CV prepared and applied to banks for positions. During that time, Lluis Bruguera Tennis Academy [more on the academy later] knew that I was in Barcelona. One day they called and asked me if working at the academy would interest me until I found a job. Once again, I said “ok, why not?” In the first few months there, I started working with older players from different levels. Five months later, I already found myself working with the top professional players at the academy. There were 2 top 300, 2 top 200, and 2 top 50 players. I was working with all of them, along with another coach. They were a group of six players working with the two of us. That is how it started, and since then, I have been coaching.

Do you contrast the two lives sometimes? You probably discovered that your experience as a player adds to your coaching. But have you also discovered that you understand players better now since you began coaching? Do you feel that you realize things now that you wish you knew when you were a player?

Alberto:
Yes, completely. Do you know what keeps my passion going now in this line of work? I am open, I do learn something new every day, and that brings me to your question. Of course now I am seeing and understanding things in a totally different way than when I was a player, of course I am more mature, and yes, I wish I would have known all this when I used to play. You feel so bad when you are at home watching on T.V. top 50 players that you have beaten before and you have to watch them from the couch of your home instead of being at the same tournament with them. So yes, there are so many things that I have learned during the last 14 years which is how long I have been coaching. I learn something new every day.

Let’s move on to your coaching philosophy in detail. How important are off-season practices to you? Does the amount of training increase in terms of time and intensity during those practice periods? Is there an approximate ideal length to off-season work?

Alberto:
For me, there should be two preseasons during the year. It depends on the ranking and position of the player. Top players normally have around 4-week preseason time at the end of the year, approximately from late-November to late-December. Of course, during that period, intensity should be higher in all aspects. For me, it is one of the most important periods of the year, because you have to get ready for the season. And then, at the midway point of the year, I believe in a two-week preseason training again, to fully get ready for the second half of the season. That means you cut the year in two seasons. You get 4 weeks preseason practice at first, and you get two more in the middle.

If the player comes from a lower-level in the rankings, they don’t play as many matches or long tournaments. Then, five to six weeks of preseason training is better. They are more likely to start late January and you can extend the preseason which is good because they need to work on wider areas or aspects of their game whereas the top players focus more on specific areas. This is why for them, four weeks at the end of the season and two weeks in mid-season is enough. To me the importance of these periods are as obvious as knowing how to play tennis. If players do not accordingly prepare during those times, they cannot be ready or for the season, so it is extremely important to have a proper off-season practice period.

During the year, especially during the tournaments, you can work on specific things but not too long! During the preseason, you can “clean” the player’s game. You can work on technique, you can improve the physical aspects such as strength, in ways that you cannot do during the season because the player cannot really do weights and physical conditioning at 100%, play matches at 100%, and try to reach targets, all at the same time. Normally, during a year you set some targets. When you achieve one goal, you have to move on to the next one. For that next one for example, you have to still practice first during the preseason. You can call them technical targets, tactical ones, or understanding the next step in a game style, like for example in the case of a player with a solid consistent baseline game and you want to develop it toward a more aggressive style game that maybe includes coming to the net.

In your observation of coaches and players in both ATP and WTA, can you think of anything that strikes you as being unique or strange? Is there a moment where you observe other coach-player duos and say to yourself “I wish the coach would do this or the player would do that” or “I wish I did that with my player”?

Alberto:
Never! Because, I believe in the work done by the coach and the one done by that coach’s player. Others are working on their career, not my player’s or mine. So, everyone has a point of view. Obviously different people do some helpful things that can be put to good use by others, but first, you have to keep your eyes open towards your player and concentrate on the details on his or her development as a player. I am open to learn, but first, I believe in the job that I do and in the job that my player does. Of course, I can learn from everyone, but I will not do anything simply because someone else does it.

Ok, some coaches in general could be close to each other in style or philosophy, or even some players among each other. But, tennis is an individual game, it is impossible to be like this. If such thing existed, it would then be something fake, it would make no sense.

What is your opinion on the idea of on-court coaching on the tour? Some say tennis is an individual game it should remain without on-court coaching, others say there should be limited coaching, and others say it should be allowed like in Davis Cup or college tennis in the U.S.A. What do you believe?

Alberto:
I don’t think there should be on-court coaching, I don’t like it and I will tell you why. In my opinion, the job must be done before going on the court. Everything must be clear for the player before stepping on the court. If the player needs to understand something when things are not going right, there are millions way to tell. I believe this whole on-court coaching thing has to do with marketing. For the women for example, maybe in order to increase the viewership on TV, they added this new rule. It makes it more interesting for the viewer because there is a microphone and you hear the dialog between the coach and the player. For the viewer, there is no doubt it is interesting, but for me as a coach, I think you create too much dependence on the coach for the player. The players should be able to make decisions on the court based on the work done with the coach before the match. In a way, from a selfish point of view, it would be easy for me to say “Yes, let’s have coaching so I also become more visible, everyone sees me” and it would give coaches more importance, but then, I would not be respecting my player or fully thinking about my player’s well-being.

What are your future plans? Would you like to continue what you are doing now? Would you like to maybe one day coach a top player? Or in the future, would you like to perhaps get away from what you are doing now and create your own academy, produce tennis players in masses so to speak. Do you think about such long term goals or plans such as these?

Alberto:
Yes, of course, of course! [Pauses a moment]. All of those and in the order that you have said them. I believe that while I am young, I can do what I am doing now which requires to travel all the time and be dedicated 100% to the player. Of course, the target would be to coach a top player. A coach who cares about his job should have ambitions, and the ambition of a coach is to make his player reach the top or get to the point where you can coach a top player. If you make your player go to the top, that is of course the best.

But if you coach a top player how would you manage or run an academy?

Alberto:
This is why I want to do the coaching part first. I feel that I have already accomplished a bit in coaching. I have coached lower-ranked players, I have coached highly ranked women, and I have helped my current player get to a higher level, so I have done it with girls and boys. I would still like to coach a top player. And then, the academy or group projects, or the idea of being a director of a club, that would all come later when I will have a family. That would be the next step, in years’ time, if it is possible and I had some luck, everything went fine etc. In any case, it would all happen in that order hopefully. Now is the time to do what I am doing, but maybe in fifteen years, when I have a family and kids at home, I would change and do things differently. Until then I would like to continue what I am currently doing.

Did you follow Marsel closely before you became his coach? How much did you know him or his game?

Alberto:
I heard from him earlier in 2013. I finished coaching Garbiñe Muguruza in 2012. After four years with her full time and other players prior to her, I felt that I needed a break. I put a lot of emphasis on the individual players during those years, and I wanted to spend some time at the academy. I began working for a while with some girls that were playing in $10,000 ITF futures. During that time, I saw Marsel and talked to him a couple of times because Lluis Bruguera was the tennis program director for the Turkish Tennis Federation. We didn’t even talk about tennis during those conversations. So, I knew about him. I knew about his late results, but nothing else.

Marsel called me one day and asked me if I wanted to work with him. I spoke to Lluis, Lluis spoke to Marsel. Before starting to work with him, I made sure that I had all the information on him, in order to be able to build my own perspective. Obviously, when I started working with him I developed that perspective about how he is and how he behaves, but of course, I got a lot of information on him so I knew who I was going to work with. I did not just say “let’s work and see what happens”, I got informed.

Alberto and Ilhan, Wimbledon 2014

Once you started working with him at first, you probably had immediate goals at the time. Now, in June 2015, you also have goals. Are they completely different from back then? Have you achieved your first goals and moved on to others?

Alberto:
Yes, and they are definitely different now. I remember before I started working with him, I arrived to TED Club in Istanbul and we sat down. Before my arrival, having considered all my information on Marsel and what I knew of his game, I had prepared a written plan with all the different targets and goals. With a full understanding of our situation, I first told Marsel that before him and I started working together, I needed to tell him that from the beginning, we will change several things. Then I told him what those things were in detail. It was a list of around six or seven things. Of course, now, those have changed. There is one that is still the same unfortunately [smiles], but the others have all changed.

Are there any other details that you would like to add? Or perhaps, is there perhaps anyone in particular you would like to address?

Alberto:
Yes, for sure. I want to take this opportunity to say something about Turkish Tennis Federation. I believe they are creating a big, huge opportunity for Marsel with their help. They made it possible for him and I to work together, and I believe that their help is something for which all people involved should be thankful, because nobody forces anyone to do anything. Yes, Marsel is the top player in Turkey, but ok, sometimes help comes in one way, sometimes in another way, and things don’t always work out in the right way, etc. But the Turkish Tennis Federation deserves a big thanks for the type of assistance that they provide.

I would also like to speak about Lluis Bruguera and the Bruguera Tennis Academy where I work, because I am who I am now, thanks to Lluis. I have learned a lot during the years that I competed as a player when I was practicing there, and the years that I have coached while working there, and Lluis helped me become the coach that I am now. Other coaches that are at the Academy are there because of him. I speak a lot to his son Sergi too. Of course it helps the Academy that he is also involved. Both Lluis and Sergi have explained so many things to me and helped me understand a lot. I have a very good relationship with both of them. We are constantly in touch. Lluis closely follows Marsel and me. When we practice in Barcelona, he always spends time with us, constantly helps us, which is also something to be thankful for as well. This is why I am glad I can take advantage of this opportunity that you give me to publicly speak about everything that the academy has done and at the same time thank Lluis. Also, let’s not forget, Lluis is after all allowing me to do this when he could actually require me to stay at his academy and help.

Can you say a bit more on the facilities at the academy?

Alberto:
There are 15 courts in total. Eight hard courts and seven clay courts. We have a swimming pool, large residence for the students where they can sleep and eat. Their school is also right there. Everything is in one site, the players don’t need to go anywhere. It’s a complete academy.

I believe in the system of work that we have there, which is the same system that has produced for us eighteen top-100 players, six top-50 players, and we had two top-10 players, and there is a reason for that success. Our system of work, during the last 25 years, has worked and brought success to many players, men and women.

Alberto thank you very much for taking the time.
—–

A month later, at the Citi Open in Washington D.C., Alberto’s friend and the former two-time French Open champion (1993 and 1994) Sergi Bruguera, who currently coaches Richard Gasquet, had this to say about Alberto:

“I always believed that Alberto constantly remains eager to improve himself and grow as a coach now, just like he did in the past when he used to be a player. More importantly, he knows how to deliver his message to his players which is the most basic yet important thing for a coach. He has succeeded in doing this with all the players he has worked with, for example with Muguruza for a few years in the past, and now with Ilhan for two years, and helped them improve, as well as their rankings during his time with them.”

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Istanbul Open: New and Exciting, yet Problematic

April 27, 2015

Mertov

ATP 5 Comments

Part 1: Nicely done!

The first ever ATP Tour Event in Istanbul, Turkey, officially named TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, not that anybody will ever bother using its full name, kicked off at Garanti Koza Arena on Saturday with qualifying round matches. The excitement created around this tournament is tremendous, mainly because of the appeal of one of the world’s most popular athletes, Roger Federer. If there are any studies centering on how a celebrity name can impact the attention drawn to an event, Istanbul Open should earn a chapter in that study all by itself. To illustrate, when tournament organizers announced, with wide smiles on their faces, few weeks ago that Federer would participate to the tournament, they had no idea that tickets for all sessions and seats would sell out in less than two hours. Federer’s arrival to the airport on Sunday was broadcast live on TV by one of the leading sports channels, as well as his first practice that afternoon (more on that below). His first press conference on Monday afternoon was held not at the tournament site, but at the plush Four Seasons Hotel, located a considerable distance from the tournament site.

The organizers did not stop there and they also convinced Grigor Dimitrov to come. For the inaugural session of an ATP 250 level event that is scheduled the week preceding two successive ATP 1000 Masters tournaments (Madrid, Rome), this is a tremendous achievement. Add clay-court specialists Pablo Cuevas (no.23), Santiago Giraldo (no.37), and Andreas Haider-Maurer (no.47) to the rest of the participants such as Mikhail Youzhny, Jarkko Nieminen, and local favorite Marsel Ilhan, and you have a very solid ATP 250 draw with one marquee name, one star player, and bunch of established top-50 names. Attracting high-level competitors was probably the area where the tournament organizers had the most success.

As a result, Turkish tennis fans are upbeat and those that came to watch the qualifying round matches yesterday (entrance was free!) were treated to a surprise. Federer and Dimitrov took the center court for a practice session during which hundreds of fans present applauded every good shot, laughed at every smile that they could garner from the players, and cheered them on every time they switched sides or got up their chairs to walk back to the court following a short water break.

METADATA-START — Federer and Dimitrov, first practice on the red clay of Istanbul.

Part 2: And Yet…

Unfortunately, the tournament’s day-to-day operational problems, and the inadequacy of the facilities do not live up to the excitement that the pre-tournament announcements had generated. Let’s first start by the arrival to the tournament. If you are driving, at most ATP and WTA Tour events, the signs pointing everyone in the right direction begin from miles away, sometimes at the first exit that you take from the nearest major highway. Here, not only are there NO SIGNS anywhere at all in traffic to guide you to the venue, but once you arrive to it, there are no signs indicating the location of the entrance, and furthermore, the entrance itself does not correspond one bit to the type of entrance that one would expect from a tour event. See the two pictures below and judge for yourself:

So, if you are driving and you arrive to the above so-called “gate”, it is likely that you will simply keep driving, thinking that the real entrance must be coming up elsewhere, except that it never does. You can’t turn around either because the road is a one-way traffic, thus you end up driving around another 10-15 minutes just to find your way back to the so-called entrance that resembles the back alley entrance of a wholesale store in small town USA. There is no transportation arranged to the tournament site from any of the major populated areas in Istanbul, and yes, considering that the tournament’s location is far outside Istanbul, that is a handicap. One can use public transportation to get close to the tournament, and then walk to it in about 10 to 20 minutes, but once again, there will be no signs indicating them where to turn, how to find the entrance, etc.

Once you walk in the venue, you are treated to the sounds of repair tools, and to stands and tents that are still in a state of construction. There is literally construction noise that you cannot avoid. Just to clarify, this is happening on the weekend of qualifying matches. Main draw matches begin Monday and some preparations are still not complete; one hears hammers and drilling at various spots. There is only one food provider and the prices on its menu basically scream “Yes! You are tennis fans, thus you have money by default, and yes, we are here to milk it with grossly overpriced menu items”!

The area surrounding the tournament venue, is full of construction, and quite frankly, ugly! How ugly? Look at the picture below.

What you also notice on the picture are three ball boys, with two of them standing on top of the stony and dusty hill, one climbing up toward to the two other, with a racket in his hand. Here is the back story: Nikola Mektic loses to Thanasi Kokkinakis and chucks his racket outside the court in frustration. He may not have realized that there was big construction drop right behind the court, but that is not the point. The racket flies down all the way to the bottom where there are literally iron bars sticking out. Obviously, someone in charge asked the ball boys to go and fetch the racket. While I was watching them from a distance, my heart was heavy because I could only imagine the danger if the ball boy lost his footing and started to fall down (see again, the picture above)! Then, I noticed Mektic watching them from the top of the building on the other side with one other person (his coach?) and literally smiling and chatting. I got somewhat mad; mad at Mektic for throwing his racket and not telling the ball boys to forget it when he realized how dangerous the area where his racket ended up was, and mad at the person, whomever it may be, who initially told the ball boys to go and fetch the racket. And the fact that Mektic and his friend/coach clapped the boys when they finally retrieved the racket did not ease my frustration with the whole scene. Very few people witnessed the sequence. I certainly hope that this write-up will bring awareness to it, and those who are in charge will do what is necessary to avoid this type of fiasco.

There are not many stands in the area where fans can stand and socialize outside the courts; moreover, there is hardly any covered space in case of rain! Beware those spectators who come without an umbrella. Also to the spectators who desire to watch a match on Court number 3: sorry folks! It’s simply not possible. You can’t believe it? Let me explain in clear words: there are NO spaces (yes you read correctly, none!) planned for the spectators to watch a match court. You don’t believe me? See this picture:

Your eyes are not deceiving you. There is actually an ATP Tour event that allocates matches to a court where there is literally NO possibility of it being seen by spectators. That couple that you see standing on the next court, and watching, happen to be the parents of one of the two players in action, thus an exception is made for them to stand on the side of the next court where there are other players practicing.

Courts 1 and 2 have stands indeed, but only one entrance each, through a small door on one side. There are no passages in the middle, no door on the other side. If you are a seasoned spectator at tournaments, you can imagine what mayhem that already caused in the qualifying rounds: spectators accumulating on the inside by the door to get out, while the ones waiting outside accumulate to get in! As one expects, there were many times where there was just enough time for the inside spectators to get out and not enough to let the outside ones in. Players had to wait after the game change while the referee kept yelling in vain “Time”, “Please sit down, players are ready to play,” or “Please don’t let anyone in.” At one time you even had the person responsible of lifting the chain (obviously with no clue how a tennis match works) at the door letting the outside people in, while the ones inside could not get out and accumulated right there. Players walked to the court to play the first point, referee kept yelling at the thirty or so people who couldn’t get out and at the thirty or so who just walked in, to sit down. One fan waiting to get out yelled back at the referee in English to make sure next time that the ones inside should get out first before letting the others walk in (which really should have been directed at the person lifting the chain who probably speaks no English). You get the picture…

Speaking of outside courts, one court suffered surface problems during a match, which caused the players to move to center court to resume their encounter on Saturday (originally, no matches were scheduled on center court on that day).

Let’s now move to the center court which should be the jewel of the tournament. Yes, it is the largest tennis arena in Turkey (see below):

But again, that should not stop anyone from pointing to its faults. The upper stands are extremely steep and the steps not large enough for safety. The bars at the bottom are not tall enough either (see the picture below).

Thus, if anyone were to tumble and fall at the top, they would surely end up falling all the way to the bottom which presents a safety issue. When the stadium is filled to capacity (8,000 people), you will have fans hurrying up and down those stairs during game changes, and I do not dare to think any further. The media room is set up at the lower level, with its entrance directly giving way to the stairs, only several meters from the court. In other words, the media people will be walking in and out while the players on center court are playing a match. Did nobody know that the main entrance to the media room should always be from the outside of the court not by the court itself? Imagine this possible scenario on Saturday: Dimitrov wins his semifinal match, and Federer begins his semifinal. At that time, Dimitrov comes to the media room to hold his after-match press conference. How will they keep the tranquility at the entrance of the media room with journalists running in and out of the room (rightfully so, to get to the press conference) and people perhaps wanting autographs from Dimitrov while Federer’s match is being played close by with the capacity 8,000 people watching?

I must point out that the organizers had good intentions. For example, they brought in from Roland Garros two clay-court specialists to prepare the courts and supervise them. They successfully attracted top names to the tournament. They successfully found sponsors. The tournament directors have experience. But it’s hard to avoid inefficiencies when you have generals with no army, and no coordination. I witnessed myself the French clay-court expert complain about the workers allocated to him, that they have never seen a tennis court in their lives (as he was saying this, the men were watering the backdrops and the advertisements, before he yelled at them that their job was to water the court and not what is around it!!). Unfortunately, the concept of “preparations done on time” was not on the radar. In this article, I talked about some major inadequacies, yet there were many minor ones too, such as the electronic scoreboard outside on the grounds to inform spectators of the scores and the match schedule not working (yet).

There is one excuse that everyone keeps hearing: “This is the first time an ATP event is organized so some problems should be expected”. No, sorry that does not wash my friends! The fact that an ATP event in Istanbul is a first, yes it’s correct; but that a tennis event of this magnitude is something new to Istanbul is utterly incorrect! Istanbul Cup, the WTA event, has been held since 2005, and last year’s edition was held precisely at this same venue. Istanbul hosted WTA year-end championships three years in a row with much success. Adequate measures should have been taken on time. “We could not foresee this (or that)” is simply not an acceptable sentence!

My upcoming articles this week will focus a lot more on the matches and on tennis. However, these problems must be pointed out to anyone who is open to criticism. Hopefully, when next year’s tournament takes place, I can write about how the organization has improved and what a treat the tournament has become for the fans due to its efficient management. For this year, Roger Federer’s appearance may have saved the day, but you can’t bring a Federer each year to save the day.

Starting tomorrow, it’s main draw time:

Live updates on Twitter: @MertovsTDesk

MT-Desk’s Next Stop: ATP Istanbul Open

April 19, 2015

Mertov

ATP 2 Comments

Istanbul, the city that spans across two continents, is hosting its inaugural ATP Tour event next week (April 27 – May 3): TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open.

Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov will headline the tournament, joining clay-court specialists such as Pablo Cuevas, Santiago Giraldo, Juan Monaco, as well as Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan.

Mertov’s Tennis Desk will be on site throughout the week. Check here daily for pictures and reports throughout the week.

For up-to-the-minute live updates throughout the tournament, follow MT-Desk on Twitter: @MertovsTDesk

(Picture via Istanbul Open Official Facebook Page)

Marsel Ilhan Makes History Again

February 28, 2015

Mertov

ATP 2 Comments

As you read the title, you may ask “Who is Marsel Ilhan?” He is a professional tennis player, currently ranked No. 104 in the ATP. He hails from Turkey, a country that neither had a male player ranked in the top 100, nor one that won a match in the Majors, until Ilhan.

Ilhan came into the pro scene in 2006 at the age of 19 and slowly began working his way up in the rankings, shattering record after record in his home country. In 2010, he finally became the first Turkish male player to earn a top-100 ranking. He did not stop there and went on to become the first Turkish male player to qualify for the main draw of majors. He even won a round in both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, breaking his own record for his country. In 2011, he reached a career-high ranking of 87. Since then, he has been out of the top 100 but continued competing in ATP events and challengers.

2014 was the year that marked his second surge. He qualified again for the main draw of Wimbledon and began recording quality wins and started making his climb back to top-100 ranking. In this year’s Australian Open, after qualifying for the main draw, he became the first Turkish player to face a top-five player in the majors when he drew Stan Wawrinka in the first round. The match was played in the Rod Laver Arena and Wawrinka won in straight sets. Ilhan admitted to having the jitters afterwards.

Ilhan practicing prior to Wimbledon 2014 with his coach Alberto Lopez Nunez standing behind

In this week’s ATP Dubai Open, Ilhan yet again made history. After going through the qualifying draw and defeating Alexandr Zverev in the first round of the main draw, he faced the world No. 13 Feliciano Lopez. After a thrilling match, he came back from a set down to defeat the Spaniard 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. To put things into perspective, Lopez is not just any top-20 player. He is one of the feared players on the circuit, left-handed and mostly a serve-and-volleyer with an arsenal of awkward baseline strokes. He is known as a competitor who knows how to win close matches. Just look at his recent run to the round of 16 in the Australian Open. After winning two matches from match points down, only Milos Raonic could stop him after a nail biter that went five set, in which Lopez also saved match points in the fourth to extend the match.

Ilhan’s win over Lopez marked the first time ever a male Turkish player defeated a top -15 player and the first time one reached the quarters of an ATP 500-level tournament. Later in the day, Ilhan connected via telephone with the Turkish television channel SportsTV. The excitement in his voice was bursting through the line. He said that he knew one day he was going to record a big win, but just did not know when and where. He then added “apparently, Dubai was it!” He was happy about the core group of Turkish tennis fans who support him wherever he goes: “Federer was playing at the same time, so there weren’t many spectators, but I had great support. I am serving well, too, so that helps.”

Next, he faced the world number one Novak Djokovic. Ilhan modestly said that playing Djokovic would be a great experience. After continuously making history for his home country, nothing could have topped a win over the best player in the world. It turned out to be a routine win for the latter, as most expected. Yet, it mattered little because the match was broadcast live on Turkish TV. Nothing motivates a younger generation of tennis players more than watching one of their own play against the best player in the world, especially if the country never produced a top-100 men’s player before, let alone one that took the court against high-profile names in the game. The broadcast also added to the interest that tennis has generated for the last decade in the country. Istanbul has hosted the year-ending WTA Tour Championships three years in a row and also hosts a yearly WTA International Tier Tour event in July. Furthermore, it will begin hosting the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, an ATP 250 event, for the first time this year, featuring none other than Roger Federer.

As to Ilhan, he is already guaranteed to have his name on another category in the history of men’s tennis in his home country: that of the first Turkish male player to break the top-80 barrier when the new rankings come out next week. More importantly, the impact that he has already had, and continues to have, on Turkish tennis is not measurable in numbers.

This picture was retweeted endlessly by Turkish followers on the day Ilhan faced Djokovic (via @TennisTV)

June 23: Day 1 at Wimbledon in Pictures

June 23, 2014

Mertov

Miscellaneous 1 Comment

The most prestigious tournament in tennis, namely Wimbledon, got underway today at the courts of The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club with first-round singles matches. Around one month ago, in one of my Roland Garros updates, I decided to let the pictures do the talking and I was suprisingly pleased to hear that many of you enjoyed it. So, what better way to start the Wimbledon updates than with pictures to tell the tale of Day 1? Here we go…

Be ready to trim the fat off your wallet for tickets. At the time of this article, 1 GBP is worth 1.703 Dollars, or 1.252 Euros. You do the math.

Stunning statue of legendary British player Fred Perry, Wimbledon’s winner in 1934, 1935, and 1936.

Henman Hill already in full gear with Andy Murray’s opening match of the tournament.

Two days after losing in the finals of the AEGON International ATP 250 tournament in Eastbourne, the 13th-seed Richard Gasquet practices under the watchful-eye of his Coach Sebastien Grosjean (now-retired 4-time Slam semifinalist and ex-world number 4) – to prepare for his first round match tomorrow against the Australian James Duckworth.

Gasquet’s practice partner was Marsel Ilhan of Turkey, one of the qualifiers to make it to the Main Draw. He practices under the guidance of coach Alberto Nunez and his physical trainer (in blue) to prepare for his match tomorrow against another qualifier Denis Kudla of U.S.A.

Around 2:30 PM…

(Caption) – Ball Girl: “Hmmm, should I ask him how I could get my hair to do that?”

Surely Marcos Baghdatis did not miss this put away, did he?

Around 3:44 PM… Note: Courts 14 and 15, seen here, are out of commission until the 2015 edition of Wimbledon.

Samuel Groth may have lost to Dolgopolov in a tight 7/5 7/6 7/6 match today, but I will gladly hire him as my bodyguard if tennis does not pan out! He has one of the biggest serves in the ATP Tour and has a bright future as a big hitter.

Can Dolgopolov please look at least once like he is not bored on the court? So much talent, yet so casual…

And…. the day ends with the rain interrupting the last round of matches. Should we be surprised?

Stay tuned for further updates!
Mertov’s T-Desk is also on Twitter !

May 20, 2016, Court 8, Roland Garros, Paris: History Made

Sitting Across MT-Desk: Alberto Lopez Nuñez

Istanbul Open: New and Exciting, yet Problematic

MT-Desk’s Next Stop: ATP Istanbul Open

Marsel Ilhan Makes History Again

June 23: Day 1 at Wimbledon in Pictures

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