'A NEVER ENDING EGO'

"Whatever I tell him to do he does, I enjoy going out there training with him". ( Lleyton Hewitt )
That comment was printed in today's West Australian Newspaper as the hysteria around young Aussie/Spaniard Alex De Minaur grows to fever pitch.
At last, Australian tennis fans have someone to cheer on who is not a big mouth, who gives his all and who speaks well. All in all Alex De Minaur is a nice young man, however let's reiterate something that I wrote just a short time ago.
Alex De Minaur is coached by a Spanish tennis coach and trains on clay in Spain.
OK now that we have established that fact once again let's look to that statement by Lleyton Hewitt who can't quite believe his luck at present because let's face it, Lleyton is once again firmly in the spotlight. Why ?
Well it's simple really, Alex De Minaur has Lleyton sitting in the stands at most of his matches and whenever Alex does something special the camera drifts towards Lleyton and then the commentators go weak at the knees as they speak of 'similarities' and 'mentoring'.
It's one of those sporting stories that has Journalists salivating about because they are probably tired of the last few years where Tomic and Kyrgios have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. This story is a bit more positive though I can't help think that Lleyton Hewitt is trying to claim some of the accolades for Alex and that to me is uncool.
It's one thing to hit with a player, it's another to have brought them up from knee high to a grasshopper into a technically and mentally gifted player. Tennis however is full of stories like that as some coaches go to extraordinary lengths to 'claim' players as basically their own product.
" Whatever I tell him to do he does ".
A never ending ego will come out with that type of statement every day of the week as it puts the focus right on you as THE ONE who is teaching the student how to play the game. Bad choice of words ? 
Well personally I would have said something like this, 'Whatever I SUGGEST to young Alex he appears to be able to implement into our strategy sessions'.
But that's just me.
Tennis coaching at any level is full of people who go 'pupil hunting' and any tennis coach who has ever run a program will talk about past players who have been poached by coaches who liked what they saw so in a nutshell this is what happened;
The 'poach coach' spoke to the student, they spoke to the student's parents and they offered something else, something that quite possibly sounded fantastic in regards to some sort of enticement. Maybe discounted racket restringing, clothes, shoes and lessons, the whole package so to speak. 
Many in fact take up the new offer, good luck to 'em, each to their own way of trying to make their way up the ladder of tennis success. 
I would like to see one thing from someone like Hewitt who has been lucky enough to be handed a player for training purposes, set an example.
'Alex is certainly heading in the right direction with his tennis and his coach Adolfo Gutierrez has done wonders with him in Spain, we are simply reaping the rewards of that hard work'. ( That would be my personal line )
Once, JUST ONCE I would like to read about credit where credit is due and Lleyton Hewitt needs to extract his head out of his own bum for 2 minutes and accept the fact that his current hitting sessions with Alex have been made possible by COACH ADOLFO GUTIERREZ. 
I suppose though if he did that it would direct the spotlight away from him and as we all know in tennis, the spotlight is everything.
Perhaps Tennis Australia could also acknowledge the fact that Alex De Minaur is not a product of their system nor a product of Lleyton Hewitt's 'expertise' but correct me if I am wrong, that would also take the spotlight away from their apparent 'success' with the new 'Aussie' Tennis Hero.
Tennis is a unique sport because it takes egotistical behaviour to dizzy heights but the problem I believe may just lay with hierarchy first and foremost. Magnus Norman got it right with his take on tennis after Wawrinka won the French a couple of years back as he knew he wasn't the one who taught Stan how to play, he was just lucky to work with him at the time.
At least he was big enough to admit it.
Takes a big person to admit that they aren't responsible for a student's success in sport, but people who own a never ending ego will continue to claim accolades that are not deserved. 
Nature of the sport of tennis.........

'C'MON'

Today's match between Ryan Harrison and 'Spanish/ Aussie' Alex De Minaur in Brisbane was a ripper though two moments defined that match as far as I was concerned, others may disagree.
There was a rather loud 'C'MON' from Alex in the second set which was not appreciated by Harrison so he returned the favour on the very next ball with a backhand winner and an even louder 'C'MON'. 
I thought that was priceless.
If someone is getting in your face on a tennis court then return the favour. 
Nothing worse than getting pushed around. It's like being at a pub on a weekend and some knob gets into your face, 'You wanna go mate" ??!
Bang, you started it.
Tennis is very much like that though it's not as prevalent as it used to be when guys like Nastase, Connors and McEnroe would do it on a regular basis. Gone are the days, a shame, it was rather entertaining.
Tennis is always an argument, it's just a case of whether it gets personal or not.
So back to the C'MON'S. Personally I am not a fan of it, makes a player look like a knob, self absorption at it's best with no thought of the repercussions. Let's face it, tennis is the type of sport where guys and girls regularly play the same tournaments together so a certain amount of etiquette must be adhered to.
It's simple really, if a regular work place was full of employees running around doing 'C'MON'S and getting in each other's faces all because of a great moment or two of productivity it would be the stuff that fisticuffs are made of. 
In tennis, well it's accepted, particularly by the public though many past pros will tell you that the 'C'MON' was simply not cool. Ask David Nalbandian who had some rather serious things to say about Australia's very own C'MON' King, Lleyton Hewitt.
" Nobody is a friend of him". ( David Nalbandian )
So back to the Harrison/ De Minaur match. It changed dramatically after the C'MON exchange as I honestly believe the young Aussie/Spaniard knew he had upset his more experienced rival, a guy who is the reigning French Open Mens Doubles Champion ( with Venus ).
There were no more C'MON'S until 2-5 in the third set when Alex broke back. So what happened ?
Ryan Harrison is a rather fiery customer and let fly at the umpire to explain why he had words with De Minaur at one stage. 
He even called it 'uncool' as he referred to the young fella moving while he was about to serve.
I have no doubt that young Alex heard the conversation between Ryan and the ump'. 
I found the whole thing rather entertaining.
I love watching young tennis players trying to emulate Hewitt, it's hilarious. It will only put them offside with an opponent, nothing more, nothing less. The whole C'MON thing is a contrived act of self importance that does nothing to endear a player to anyone and it can really piss an opponent off, just ask Nalbandian who has spoken of Hewitt doing it from the age of 13/14. 
Professional tennis players need to understand that they can in fact gain respect, even in a foreign Country if they act like fair dinkum citizens and not pork chops. You never know when you may just need some support.
So to the C'MON.
If you just say C'MON then that's all it is, a loud way of pumping yourself up, though if you put the Swedish hand signal into the equation, ( the 'Vicht' ) then it gives it a whole new meaning.
As previously stated, it is the Swedish hand signal meaning 'For Sure', nothing more, nothing less. A self absorbed Aussie claimed it as his very own, Swedish Tennis aren't too happy with the outcome. Such is life.
C'MON is here to stay, apparently, it's now an Aussie 'trademark' sign.
I just wish the great Jimmy Connors was still playing the game. He would not have accepted the 'C'MON. 
"I enjoy playing guys who could be my children. Maybe he's one of them. I spent a lot of time in Vegas". Jimmy Connors after losing to Andre Agassi in the 1988 US Open quarter finals. 
The reason for that statement ?
Andre predicting he would win easily before the match started. 
Can't imagine how Jimmy would have reacted to 'C'MON'.......


 

'INTELLIGENCE' ?

The Peter Polansky tennis story is one that should be admired, it is quite frankly, fascinating. I remember reading about this guy years ago, one of those stories that had you thinking about just how lucky this guy is to be alive, let alone hitting tennis balls for a living.
Peter is Canadian.
In 2006 in Mexico Polansky had a rather strange experience to say the least however looking back on his life it perhaps wasn't that out of the ordinary. Peter owned a rather dangerous habit, he sleep walked.
All he remembers is that there was a 'dark figure in the room', he panicked, he jumped through a glass window, landed three stories down, didn't break a bone. He did have surgery however, 400 stitches to a deep cut on his leg.
He walked again, he still plays tennis.
Fascinating story.
This is the best the commentators could come up with the other night in his match against Aussie John Millman.
They spoke of his clothes, the lack of logo. They pondered. Does he have a sponsor ?
Who gives a shit ?
This guy defied logic, he is alive and well, hits a tennis ball like there is no tomorrow. 
Surely there is more to Peter Polansky than his clothes ??
Clothes don't make the man. 
Ten minutes after the initial statement from the 'intelligent' commentator there was an apology.
It seems that Peter Polansky is sponsored by LULULEMON, sorry to all those Canadian viewers.
Words to that effect.
Now Peter Polansky does not have the same resume as that of Roger Federer though he has won a combined total of 33 titles on the Challenger and Futures World Circuit, 17 singles, 16 doubles. Now that to me speaks volumes.
In a sentence, this guy is one of the 'best of the rest'.
I find it interesting that a commentator would spend so much time on a player's clothing.
Once again, who gives a shit ?
Personally I like to read about a player and what he has done, where he has been, who his coach is, where he trains, etc, etc.
Sort of like the last post I published on 'Aussie' De Minaur. Much more to that story though Tennis Australia will tell you otherwise. Yet that's tennis for you.
For the record, Peter Polansky is 29, plays Davis Cup for Canada, is ranked 137 and has won just shy of a million bucks in prize money. I think this guy is an inspiration.
The 'peanut' who was commentating the other night at the Brisbane International is well known in Australia for beefing themselves up, self importance is their repertoire in life. Tennis unfortunately breeds people like them on a regular basis, nature of the sport.
Commentators need to do their homework before a tennis match, takes 5 minutes, can save a whole lot of embarrassment as well as Canadian viewers sending emails explaining that their hometown hero is in fact clothed by a certain company, whether it's Nike or otherwise.
Get your head outa your arse you guys and do ya homework, that's ya job.......
Regards Glenn

'AUSSIE OR SPANIARD' ?

In a point of difference to other emerging Australians, De Minaur developed his game on clay after moving to his mother's Spanish homeland as a five-year-old.
He joined the Australian Davis Cup squad in Melbourne recently, but continues to train predominantly on the red dirt of Alicante with coach Adolfo Gutierrez.
"I grew up on the clay, and it's always good to have that sort of variety and style because you got to work the point more," the world No. 208 explained.
( Courtesy of 9 Wide World of Sports ) 

It appears that both Tennis Australia and 'others' are quick to take the accolades for the recent success of 'Aussie' Alex De Minaur. 
There is however a fair bit to this story.
Adolfo Gutierezz of Spain is in fact THE COACH of Alex De Minaur.
Alex has been brought up on the clay in Spain, as he suggests in the above article.
Alex is NOT a product of Tennis Australia.
TA do not use clay predominantly as a training surface.
Any coach in Europe will tell you that CLAY is THE surface to develop a tennis game AND brain on.
Europe dominates World Tennis.
Apparently Alex De Minaur is an 'Aussie teenager'.
Technically, perhaps.
Personally I believe that Alex De Minaur is more Spanish than Aussie, he gets coached by a Spanish Tennis Coach, he learned the most valuable years of his tennis life on a clay court in Spain. He still trains on a clay court in Spain.
By all reports Tennis Australia fund him to train in Spain.
Interesting........

'HOW THE TIMES HAVE CHANGED'

In 1983 Argentinian great Guillermo Vilas received a $10,000 appearance fee to play in what was back then a 'Grand Prix' Event in Rotterdam. 
That was a 'no no' back then even though it was common place to accept appearance money to play a tennis tournament. The players knew the rules but hey,if someone rings you up and says 'Guillermo, we would like you to play our tennis tournament, how would you like a guaranteed 10 g in the pocket before you even start' ?
Most players would say yes but it's all about how you receive the funds from that moment on. Bank transactions quite possibly aren't the most intelligent way of receiving payment. Maybe if Guillermo had his time again he would have said 'OK, crisp notes in a plastic bag thanks guys'.
Anyhow the rest is history, Guillermo received a year ban for it. Tough lesson.
So to 2017, yes I know it's 2018 however in 2017 Roger Federer apparently received an appearance fee from the West Australian State Government to play at the Hopman Cup. Good on him, he deserves everything he gets the Fed, a brilliant ambassador for the sport in general and he puts bums on seats.
Quite possibly exactly the same as the Rotterdam Tournament Committee were trying to do way back in 1983 when looking at ways to fill seats.
The Hopman Cup of course is only an exhibition event, the old Rotterdam Event was a fair dinkum competition with ranking points so obviously the two can't be compared, or can they ?
Tennis has always been a sport where officials do their best to get people through the gates to watch the best possible talent available so the decision by Rotterdam to offer Vilas some dollars for simply turning up had merit, the payment structure though was not 'idiot proof'.
Now days there have been numerous stories of players being offered huge sums of money to play certain events and even some fantastic gestures by certain Aussie players who handed back the money when beaten early on in the tournament. 
That was a story floating around the Tour in the 90's and by all reports, 100 per cent correct. 
I suppose it's all down to the individual, 'Do I keep it or hand it back ? Do I deserve it ?'
So to the Fed Xpress, how much do you think the WA State Government paid him to play the Hopman Cup 2017/2018 ?
Probably a few more dollars than what Guillermo Vilas received 'illegally' in 1983 in Rotterdam.........

'FREE TENNIS' ??? ( NOT LIKELY )

As always I like to leave the year on a note, not always a positive note, but a note none the less. So this time the note is all about tennis and the cost for the little man, the 'insignificant' man and the everyday family man who simply just wants to play tennis with a minimum of fuss.
Oh and with a minimum of cost.
Being New Years eve I decided to finish the year on a tennis court, well at least the last evening on a tennis court anyway. Ripper of an evening, no wind, balmy conditions, no excuses.
One issue, no practice partner. ( Not many friends ).
Think buddy, think.
OK let's go and hit some serves, so that I did.
I turn up to the local tennis club with a few dollars in the pocket ( I do not own a membership ) and make my way to the local shop adjacent to the club that takes court bookings.

'Hi, just looking for half an hour court time thanks'.
Sorry, we only hire courts out for an hour.
'Sorry' ?
We only hire courts for an hour.
'OK how much please' ?
$12.
'OK can you please write me out a receipt that says 'Paid $12 for one hour, but played for 30 minutes' ?
Yes I suppose I can.
'Thanks'.
(Now just on the membership thing; If I do not play enough to warrant taking out a membership I should not be discriminated against, just the same as a holiday maker. If I want to play for 30 or 60 minutes I should be allowed to, surely.)
So off I go, armed with a key, a receipt that tells me I can play for 30 minutes but have a credit for another 30 at a later date and I set about hitting some serves.
I hit 107 serves in 25 minutes. I hit the net twice, yep just twice, I pride myself on serving accuracy as I simply do not serve hard. I hit maybe 15 long and a couple wide but all in all I was happy with the session as I have not really played much lately due to coaching.
On my drive home it dawned on me. What the f... is wrong with tennis clubs, tennis committees and tennis in general where someone enters a shop asking to hire a court for 30 minutes and the answer is no ?
I will tell you the problem.
Tennis in the Land of Oz is f....d.
My son joined a local basketball association just recently and he doesn't even play basketball, this is how he learned to play. 
He goes down to the park where basketball is FREE and he and his mates throw hoops, they play scratch matches, they develop their skills FOR FREE. No one asks them to pay, basketball at the local park is FREE.
My son and his mates simply have a bit of FREE fun though when they joined the local association in C GRADE they were way too good. So they were elevated to B GRADE.
They have only lost two games in B Grade and sit second on the ladder, not bad for a team of non basket ballers who simply go down to the local park to practice their skills for FREE.
When I got to the local tennis club today the weather was perfect, better than perfect even, it was simply magnificent. 5 pm is always the best time to play tennis down here in 'Sleepy Hollow'.
Now here's the thing, I was the ONLY one at the tennis club, yep the ONLY player wanting to play tennis at the best time of the evening. The courts were locked, YES LOCKED, not sure why, it's holiday season, tennis season, the time of year when tennis clubs should have HAPPY HOUR for tourists.
The tennis club backs onto a caravan park that is full of holiday makers, how about getting a few of them onto a tennis court between 5 and 7 pm for a minimal cost ? Perhaps even a bit of free time ?
Tennis Clubs all around Australia at this time of year should swing the gates open for tourists just like basketball does all year round for youngsters wanting to trow a hoop or two.
Tennis is always a cost, to play, to get coaching, to have fun, it always costs money to play tennis. Tennis ALWAYS COSTS MONEY, even when a kid just wants to have a hit and a giggle at holiday time.
Scenario; two 10 year old kids;
'Excuse me I would like to play tennis for half an hour with my buddy'.
Sorry we don't hire for 30 minutes.
'OK we are going to go throw a basketball instead'.
Those two kids may have been future tennis players, they may have owned some ability to play tennis. They may have hit some shots in that 30 minute session that would bring them back the next day for another 30 minutes, maybe even an hour.
Tennis can grow on you.
Tennis is also full of money making committees, Dinosaur type committee members who only see dollar signs even at holiday time and it's full of people who can't see the forest for the trees.
FREE basketball may just be a whole lot more appealing.....  

'GET OVER YOURSELF LLEYTON'

One more comeback, why not ? 
As previously written on an earlier post titled ' Hewitt and Farnham, many Similarities', our very own 'Mr Self Indulgence' is at it again, this time at the Brisbane International.
The year long 'Lleyton Hewitt Retirement World Tour' from a couple of years ago is looking more and more ridiculous by the day as another Main Draw position that could be filled by a youngster in desperate need of points and funds is taken once again by 'Mr Egotistical'.
The game will go on without you Lleyton.
Try telling Lleyton that.
Once, just once I would love a Tournament Committee to stand up to 'Mr Self Importance' and say ' Look Lleyton we really appreciate your desire to still play the game however there are scores of young players who are grinding it out on the Challenger Tour who deserve their place a whole lot more than you, so thanks but no thanks'.
It'll never happen though unfortunately as Tournament Committees go weak at the knees at the sound of a comeback and the 'euphoria' that usually surrounds it. 
Free publicity, fuelled by one man's never diminishing ego.
Lleyton Hewitt's desire to still hit a tennis ball is obviously still evident but let's be realistic here, it's THAT time of year again. Even I get keen to play this time of year and I am nearly 49. 
I hit yesterday, had trouble walking this morning. 
The fresh smell of cut grass lingers in the air, the sun shines constantly, it's tennis weather, the 'Fed' Express' rolls into Perth for the Hopman Cup, the Aussie public can't get enough of the sport. 
Lleyton Hewitt simply can't get over it, sorry, he can't get over himself not playing anymore so he wants to be out there, being a spectator is simply not enough for him. 
Should I be so harsh on Lleyton ?
Well it depends on how you look at it.
Yes some romantics see merit to what he is doing, others like me who know the game reasonably well will understand my sceptical look at the situation, it lacks anything other than self importance.
Lleyton Hewitt knows full well just how tough it is to gain a position in the main draw of a Tour Tournament and he also knows that he is taking up a position of a player in desperate need. 
In need of a dollar, in need of a ranking point.

Does Lleyton really care do you think ?
Lleyton Hewitt is not someone who will be regarded by the traditionalists of tennis as a player who respected the traditions of the game as anyone in the know will be well aware of the patent grabbing tactics of the arrogant Aussie when he acquired the ''Vicht''.
Now the "Vicht" as tennis traditionalists well know was invented by Swede Niclas Kroon and was 'allowed' to be used by his good buddy who just so happened to be legend seven time Grand Slam singles winner Mats Wilander. 
The sign means 'For Sure'.
Lleyton stole it, he didn't invent it. It's not what many Aussies believe it is, 'Doing a Lleyton'. 
It couldn't be further from the truth, it's a Swedish made hand signal grabbed by Hewitt when the patent ran out. Niclas Kroon was devastated that he did not renew it in time as he stated in an article though surely how can something invented by someone else be credited to another ?
Way of the World.
A patent runs out and it's snapped up by someone who can only see dollar signs, fuck tradition.
That's Lleyton Hewitt for you.
No grasp on what is right or wrong.
So to his coming out of retirement, ONCE AGAIN. 
Hopefully he will put whatever money he makes back into the sport, perhaps he will find time for some Challenger Circuit players and perhaps even offer to fund one or two of them over the course of a tournament or two as let's face it, the sport requires big dollars to chase ranking points. 
A first round loss in doubles on home soil for a budding young player may just see them make it to another competition or two with a couple of thousand dollars in the kitty.
A first round win may set them up for months, it's a fine line in tennis.
Enjoy the spotlight ONCE AGAIN LLEYTON, afterall, it's ALL ABOUT YOU..........