Kei Nishikori, Jelena Jankovic and Andy Murray appoint new coaches
A good tennis coach can make all the difference in the world for a player and therefore a change in this regard can work wonders for a player beginning a new season on the tour. The professional tennis ace, Kei Nishikori recently
appointed Brad Gilbert as his coach on a consulting basis. Andy Murray, on the other hand, teamed up with Alex Corretja whereas Jelena Jankovic of Serbia has hired Andrei Pavel as her coach for next year.
The 20-year old Kei Nishikori of Japan made his debut on the ATP tour back in 2007. The right-hander is currently ranked No.98 in the South African Airways ATP list. He has been ranked as high as No.56 on the tour. The American
tennis ace, Andy Roddick, at the same age also worked with Brad Gilbert who helped him a great deal in improving his game.
The Florida resident, Kei, plans to have Brad travel with him along with his full time coach, Dante Bottini. Brad has also previously worked as coach of Andre Agassi as well as the top ranked Brit, Andy Murray. Gilbert, apart from
his coaching services is also working as an ESPN tennis broadcaster. He will start training the Japanese for the upcoming Aircel Chennai Open to be held in India from January 3rd, 2011.
Nishikori started his 2010 campaign by playing at the Delray Beach where he couldn’t win his opening round match as he was bundled out of the event by Benjamin Becker in straight sets. He made a comeback to the Challenger tour
later in April, strongly, by advancing into the quarters at both the Tallahassee competition as well as Baton Rouge followed by the win at the Savannah Challenger over Ryan Sweeting in the title battle. The score line was 6–4 6–0. The right-hander triumphed
in the Sarasota Open back in May after getting the better of Brian Dabul in three sets.
Nishikori also made his debut appearance at the French Open this season in Roland Garros. He came back from two sets to get past Santiago Giraldo from Colombia in the opening round, before losing to World No. 3 Novak Djokovic with
a score line of 1–6, 4–6, and 4–6.
The 1.78 meters tall once suffered another opening round loss at the 2010 AEGON Championships where he was toppled by Richard Gasquet in straight sets. After bungling in his first match at Wimbledon, the Japanese posted his career
Grand Slam best result at the United States Open where he reached the third round before eventually making an exit.
He is also excited to have Brad on his team and reflected, "Brad's knowledge as a former top player, as well as his coaching success, is something that can help me become a better player."
Speaking of Brad’s former ‘coachees’, Andy Murray of Scotland also announced his decision to remain with Corretja and at last ended his search for a coach on the tour. Murray had plans to stick with Corretja at least till the grass
court Grand Slam tournament at the All England Club. The 23-year old however has so far not disclosed any news regarding his intentions to appoint a full time coach any time soon.
The Scott will begin the new season by taking part in the Hopman Cup.
On the women’s side, former top ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia has also announced her decision of working with Andei Pavel on a trial basis. Jelena has not performed up to the mark in 2010 and thus dropped to as low as number
eight in the WTA rankings.
She will begin her 2011 campaign by playing in Sydney next month.
"I am hoping to train hard and start the 2011 season strong. I am always trying to be a better player and I am really looking forward to the new season," stated the Serbian on her website.
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