Hi Everyone!

The USA Masters Spring season kicks off in Indian Wells the beautiful and breezy oasis of tennis. It is here that Roger Federer attempts another record, the incredible Vilas record of 46 wins in a row. Poor Vilas will possibly lose two records in two years after Nadal broke his 52 match clay court record on a cold windy day at the French Open last year. Tim Henman tries to begin his year in earnest and Andy Murray will hopefully get to play Federer to test himself again against the tennis benchmark.

Lleyton Hewitt always plays well here and just won Vegas. Is this a mini revival or the start of a big year? This tournament will tell us a lot about him, Nadal, Blake, Nalbandian, Llubicic and Davydenko. Is Nadal paying the price of his demanding game style? Are the other four hungry to push on or have they settled temporarily and in danger of falling from the top 10? Safin is struggling to find that extra form to win a tournament and get back amongst the top 10 and I feel he has lost a step in speed moving wide to the forehand. Whether this is confidence in his knees following the operation or actually a physical situation because of the operation only he and possibly those close to him will know but it would be good for the game if he had a real run to a final. 

The beauty of the tour is its state of flux and the respect for the players who continually stay in the top 10 for a number of years has to be enormous. The energy and hunger needed to keep that winning edge year after year is stunning and a real tribute to their mental strength.

The women’s draw is missing a few players that would be spicy. Henin, Mauresmo, Clijsters and the Williams sisters are not in Indian Wells. I’m going to make a prediction that Hingis will make the final. I’m not sure she can beat Sharapova or Jankovic but I have a sneaking suspicion that this might just be her first tournament win against a top 5 player. Her talk is realistic and the talk of someone who is challenging herself to take the next step.

The Academy

We welcome another player to the MCTA; Ana Veselinovic has signed for the Academy and is a welcome addition to our strong squad. Please see our website for a full report www.mctacademy.com

Results have been frustrating for us this past month. Ilija Vucic has made a couple of quarter finals in South America and moved into the top 150.  Ana also made quarters this week whilst Anna Fitzpatrick and Oscar Podlewski have had four first round losses even though their practice has been excellent. This is normal in tennis but it does not make it any less frustrating knowing it is part of the long process of developing players into top pros. This is where the coaches have to keep the rudder steady, work the players hard, keep the players improving their skills and their attitudes positive through tough times.

I will sign off with a question that intrigues me. Is Federer playing in an era of less heavyweight opposition or would he have dominated every era as much as he dominates this one? Please email your thoughts to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

All the best,

David