Hi Everyone!

I would like to wish all our readers a fantastic holiday season. I have just returned from three months on the road, which were very pleasing both in results and in achieving the objective of laying solid foundations for the MCTA players.

Australian Open

Looking towards the Australian Open, I know that many players are already training hard in preparation for the first Grand Slam. The interesting thing about tennis is there is no one way of preparing and players find ingenuous ways of combining some R&R with their tough training schedule.

Many French players train in Fiji, whilst Florida and Australia is a hotbed for many players. Quite a few European players use South Africa, whilst Andy Murray spends some time in California and Roger Federer uses Dubai. It is important for a player to find a place where they can get into a rhythm which, although physically demanding, is mentally relaxing away from the courts or the gym.  

The men in 2007

Next year in the men’s it is again a year where the question of whether or not Federer can win all four Grand Slams, especially the French, is a major source of speculation. Personally I am interested to see if Nadal can keep pace, or if he will fade slightly given the enormous physical strength his style of play requires.

The tennis world is still waiting for another contender to step up to the plate and challenge Federer. I am particularly interested in which way Safin, Murray, Djokovic, Ancic, Berdych and Blake will move in 2007. One player who could surprise is Guillermo Coria, who may emerge from injury to have a very good clay-court season.

The women in 2007

In the women’s, Mauresmo will be keen to repeat her 2006 triumph, but I expect Henin to emerge as clear number 1 after the Australian Open.

There are so many young players that have the potential to move into the top five and again it is interesting to see if any of them can. The four players that have this potential are Jankovic, Vaidisova, Groeneveld and Golovin.

Clijsters and Sharapova always play well down under and again no-one ever knows how the Williams sisters will show up – well prepared or not.

Monte Carlo Tennis Academy

After winning the Orange Bowl doubles and reaching the semi-finals of the Eddie Herr, Ilija will continue his travels after a short break to make his first attempt on a junior Grand Slam in Australia.

Antony will be looking after him in his home town of Melbourne and we wish them both luck and hope they have a successful few weeks. Ilija will then continue his travels to South America and his push to become one of the world’s top juniors.

Meanwhile Jez and myself will be spending time with Anna and Oscar at Futures and Challengers to improve their world rankings. The first few tournaments are in the UK.

We all look forward to an exciting 2007.

 

All the best,

David