- Joined
- Apr 25, 2013
- Messages
- 183
- Reactions
- 0
- Points
- 0
Petra's coach David Kotyza gave this interview to the czech press on the 16th of November. I think it is quite open and can be interesting for some of Petra's fans.
Sorry for my english. I'm not very fluent, but hopefully you will understand.
In what state of mind do you follow Petra's matches?
The worst are usually the first two matches of a tournament. That's when we find out the result of the work we had done before. If she manges to go further I don’t have such a nerves and concentrate on the development of the match. I can watch it with more distance.
Are you very concentrated on the match on the court?
I’m clear example of the statement, that men can’t do more things at the same time. When Petra is playing I can’t think of anything else to be more relaxed.
Can’t you switch off even if she leads by a huge margin?
That doesn’t happen that often. She has already been playing with players, who are on a high level. Last case I remember was the finals of Wimbledon. You couldn’t expect me to be relaxed then. Moreover in tennis it’s never finished until the last point.
Is it a big torment for you sometimes when Petra isn’t playing well?
That’s the fate of us trainers or theatre directors. You can rehearse something but you musn’t enter the stage. I’m reliant on the main character and we are riding such a bob together. When things go well it’s a pleasant ride. When it’s not I try to brake somehow, but with gym shoes on an ice I can’t do much.
Do you use interviews at exchanges on WTA Tour?
I consider this rule to be an advantage. I don’t like coaching after a set when the couple can just recap what happened, that the set is over. If there is any sense to do that, then at state when you can affect it.
Do you go there alone or does Petra call you more often?
What would Petra say to you? Perhaps it goes from me more often, even though it shouldn’t be that way. But she already can feel when it’s suitable. Perhaps sometimes surprisingly at the beginning when it’s 2:3, 3:2 when I notice something.
Since the next season trainers can take tablets with statistics to the court. What do you think of it?
That would be for a long philosophical debate. I dare to say that facts that are in the applications for coaches – where somebody serves, where she stays – I can see myself. If I watched the figures in a tablet in time when I need to have contact with the player, it would be counterproductive.
Are there things that can’t be converted to figures?
Yes. I use the computer statistics of matches mostly in trainings. But still I know Peta better than a computer, I’m longer with her. And no application can tell you yet in what state of mind the player is. The point represented on the tablet is a result of something, with which you have to do something when things don’t go well. If I recognize the problem I can precede the negative figures.
What can you see on her in matches?
For example I know what state she is in if I notice weather she is breathing with her chest or uses her belly. How she relaxes between points. Whether she makes her ritual and switches the racket to her right hand.
What does the switching mean?
It means she relaxes and uses the pause between points. It’s important, to start the next point well.
What else can she use in the battles?
She uses such a tool. In her trainings she takes a service she did well in her mind and puts it to a drawer. She makes a supply for tourneys. And in the match whenever she needs one she withdraws an ace from the drawer and makes it there. It’s a mental game which helps her in my mind.
What else do you follow from the box?
If she keeps the tactic we agreed on. How she uses her technic. How she moves. Computer will not tell me this. That’s why I have to pay attention on Petra and her rival. Application can analyze a few things well, I use the data in the training but for an instant reaction on the court the most important assets are eyes, intuition, brain and knowledge of the player. I still consider brain much more sophisticated than computer.
Will you take tablet to the matches then?
No. I need to have a visual contact. Encourage her eventually. Catch the moment when to go to the court. I can’t burry my head to the computer. I’d lose the emotional bond which is more important than percentages of success of the second serves. In football (soccer) if you lead 4:0 in 70. minute it’s more or less over. In tennis the psychological set of the player can overturn the match from almost any state.
Especially in the women’s tennis, don’t you think?
Yes. The situation can change within a couple of seconds. The result often hangs on a threat.
Petra can surprise. Can you guess how she enters the match or how she manages the finish of a match?
That’s for a long debate… (smile). For example I prepare training. In the morning I have some idea but according the situation I don’t use half of the plan. I can be surprised but in the evening I’ll tell myself it’s actually no surprise at all.
Does the unpredictability belong to the women’s sport?
From the men’s logical point of view they are different. We can’t understand it but we have to accept it. I am able to catch signals of some problem. But sometimes I am not able to do anything with it.
Did you feel there would be any problem before the 1st round of Australian Open defeat?
We had some talking with Petra and Michal (her mental coach) and I didn’t have good feeling at all.
That her head would not be all right?
Yes. Sometimes I’m wrong, of course. In January it met.
In Petra’s case her personal troubles have major effects on her performance. There were difficult months following, don’t they?
She didn’t treat it well in that time. She didn’t pay attention to some things. It didn’t tune.
Her poor performance tie in with the time she was dating Radek Stepanek. How did it affect her?
Petra was in love. Radek was in love either. I only had the feeling she started to lose herself. She wasn’t the initiator any more. She was losing her head. In various professions it can have positive or negative effect.
And Petra’s results were terrible.
There were moments when it went well. Sometimes it scraped.
As her trainer you got to a delicate situation. Could you witness her career to wane?
Probably yes. But I was sure the situation would not reform. If she was playing that bad I’d have to step down. I’m responsible for her results. It wouldn’t make sense.
So what did you do?
We had a lot talking about it in our team. With Petra, Michal and even with Radek. I said to him Petra is not able to find peace for her work, she isn’t concentrating as she had been accustomed. I invoked him to give her more space. He was trying to do it all well.
What about Petra?
I saw she was thinking about it. I assume she was thinking how much satisfied she was in her life and even in tennis. Then once in Spring she arrived at the training and announced that the relationship with Radek was over.
Did you notice the change on Petra after the split?
It doesn’t deliver immediately. But soon enough I could see a huge will and initiative. She decided to lose a couple of kilos. At Rolland Garros she lost in the 3rd round to Kuznetsova after a long battle. I said to her “this is a hopeful defeatâ€. She was missing the quality yet, but I could see the fighting and brave Kvitova. She had already been there mentally. Things got moving.
Did you presume the triumph in Wimbledon?
Everything went excellent since the beginning of the tournament. The environs suit her – the grass, the home environment, the hired house, calm pleasant people. The triumph is never granted. But I could see she is going for it. She fulfilled what she had resolved.
Excuse me?
After the unsuccessful quarterfinals in 2013 (defeat with Flipkens) we had quite open discussion at a wine. We drank a better result the next year. She claimed “Next time I’ll do it!â€
She did what she had said, didn’t she?
At the warming before the finals she looked fantastic. And on the central court then she was in her zone. It was almost irrelevant who was on the other side.
How does she get to that trance?
Sometimes it happens. Quite often in the Fedcup. You can see it at her eyes. With the guys we then say “Oh that’s beautiful! Her rival’s going to keep her hatâ€. We’d like to get her to the zone but we don’t know how.
After Wimbledon there was a disappointment at the US Open, loss in the 3rd round with Krunic. And you openly criticized Petra that there was not enough fighting in her…
I usually don’t say something different to her than to the public. Petra should know I’m honest.
Many trainers can’t afford that, can they?
After the years we trust each other. At the same time we are open in cases when it is not pleasant.
How does it work?
You can be thoroughbred and noble. The first means to know your own dignity. The second means to notice the dignity of the others. The tennis trainer balances on an outstretched rope. He’ll have to try both of them. When it goes south from thoroughbred is an arrogant ox and from noble is a bootlicker. We’ve got these boundaries set. I esteem her as a successful player and a person who is trying something. I try to help her with it.
But you have to get angry sometimes, don’t you have?
I’ll get angry. She’ll notice it immediately. For instance when I stop talking. Or I stare stupidly. Petra knows it’s not against her. I just can’t hide my feelings. She tells me then: “Mr. Kotyza you grimaced there again. You are gibbering there something. I don’t want you to gibber behind the line.â€
The role is strange. You are the chef of the player who is paying you …
It is strange. Generally trainer has to get to some respected position. When he is kind and agrees all the time he’ll never get there. He has to know something, keep some notion and attitude. Both personally and professionally. Consistence is important. You should be able to relay on him, when things don’t go well. They mustn’t betray each other. Players choose on the base of these qualities. It’s not important how much they pay you.
Petra sometimes doesn’t agree with your appraisal. Does she get hurt when you criticize her?
She isn’t hurtful. She is well brought up. Her dad definitely was not weak at her. She doesn’t shoot back when she is criticized. At first she says her notion. I make the conclusion and she doesn’t have to agree with it. We don’t take it personally. I don’t need to dig in the problem. I try to bring the fault I noticed to the training or to the debate with Michal Safar. To avoid it at the next tourney is what matters. Allow her to play this situation better. To react on this type of player when another Krunic comes.
So you don’t criticize her all the time?
I don’t like it. We’ve never talked about the match the day when it was played. She mostly knows what happened. And if we disagreed it foams up on the court at the training. I’ll tell her “Do you see? You should have played this a week ago!†And sometimes you just have to let the things be. The player is the main character. If she has it within herself the trainer can only damage it. And his main task is not to screw it up.
Hockey or football coaches chew their teams out sometimes. Can you afford this with Petra?
First it’s woman. Second she isn’t some village girl from Fulnek. She won Wimbledon twice and belongs to the best players in the world. The communication has to have certain level. Mostly I swear to myself when I’m angry. I treat her as a person.
You are not speaking up sometimes?
I do. But why to shout at a person when I can see she is trying and it doesn’t work? I know what a person Petra is. You can scarcely solve something by shouting. It’s not the tool for a better result. I consider my fit of temper to be a demonstration of my emotional imbalance. When I think of it I know she does not shirk it. She is an excellent girl. I spend with her the unideal life on the tour. When I get angry it takes a couple of seconds. Then I tell myself: “Thank god you can work with her.â€
You said a few times already that you are lucky you met her. Do you still feel it the same?
It’s still valid with many exclamation marks. Nothing can unsettle me in this even if she lost all her next matches. That’s it.
After US Open Petra was shining on the tourneys in China, however on the WTC in Singapore she looked empty. Why?
You know. Tennis is a combination of your own trying and chaos theory in praxis. There are so many things affecting the match and the result that you just can’t control all of them.
Was she missing physical or the mental powers?
The whole season took her in. It was progressing dramatically enough – the terrible start, the relationship with Radek, the split, the peak in Wimbledon, a new boyfriend, not good US Open, the strenuous fight for Singapore in China, … I’m sorry I didn’t notice the signals this time. I had been carried away by the high quality of her trainings.
How does it look when Petra is doing well in her preparation?
She plays quickly and does minimum mistakes. She serves to the corners. She is concentrated. She isn’t grumpy when misses something. She goes for every ball. She goes and goes. In the test sets she blows boys, she had played competitive matches with before, off the court. That’s exactly what was there before Singapore. Nevertheless she failed her first match. She didn’t find enough energy even though she was where she wanted to get. On a fast cover she should play better against Radwanska.
Then you called off your first training in six years. But the move helped only for a while.
That was just improvisation to finish the tourney with dignity. She managed to play a good match with Sharapova but didn’t play well with Wozniacki. It was over… We were only trying to find a way how to preserve energy enough for Fedcup.
You managed doing it. Was the battle with Kerber a good point behind the season?
Yes it was.
Did you believe Petra would rise even when it was 1:4 in the third?
There were two girls with big hearts, will and determination. Petra got ramps in the second set and was clueless. Then the cramps disappeared and she started rising.
Did you see on her she was not going to give in?
Yes. She was in the state when she lets everything on the court. She hasn’t played many matches on such an edge. That’s why it’s even better. That’s the way we had wished it in the shades of our minds. She felt a huge pressure. But she coped with it. I’m proud of her.
Will the triumph strengthen her to the future?
First of all she can rest in peace. These feelings remain in her and in us who are around. You can’t borrow it nether buy in the shop. You have to live it through. And when it doesn’t go well it can help her.
What else is in the hard fought victory?
The credit of our players rose in the eyes of normal people. They often see from the distance – I don’t want to say divas – but generously paid players, who earn huge prize money. And then they can see girls who are able to slog their guts out for the Czech Republic.
You hired a new fitness coach. What can Alex Stober bring to your team?
I know him a little bit from the tour. The expert was working with several stars. He’s experienced. He is not only a fitness coach he is also an excellent physiotherapist. He can give Petra massage and find a problem in her body and plan the preparation accordingly.
You had been looking for exactly such a man. Am I Right?
Exactly! It got to my mind when there was some information about Li Na’s end of career leaking from ING. I wrote to Alex and asked Marijn – Petra’s agent from IMG what he was thinking about it. He knew him and was enthusiastic. We tried it and Alex agreed. He said he liked Petra and he liked how we were working. He is a positive guy. He arrived at Prostejov before Fed Cup to get to know her. I told him what I think are her shortcomings on court. He and Petra expressed themselves. I think it will work.
Are you going to spend the winter preparation in Prostejov?
Probably yes. Petra wants to be at home more. She’s got her boyfriend Radek Meidl who is playing hockey in Poland. She is fed up with travelling and she promised to play the national league. She’s got a quality conditions in Prostejov. There is a new fitness gym opened. Alex liked it. He said she will do the needed work there. That’s what I like about him. He doesn’t dictate Petra has to be at Florida because it’s 30 degrees there.
Petra caimed her winter preparation in the US last year drained her energy. Do you understand it?
Everybody knows the advantages of preparation in warm climate. She was comfortable in Brandenton. But what she needed even more was being at home for a while, to rest. To gain some enthusiasm. That’s more important in the end. She is sensitive to flying and travelling. It’s tiring her to be out since January till November. She needs her home – one point which compensates the migration.
Isn’t strange to tune a form for hot Australian Open in the cold Prostejov in the hall?
A lot of professionals will tell you it’s unprofessional. But we started our cooperation in November 2008 and she immediately wan Hobart. In 2011 she won Brisbane. 2012 Hopmancup and she got to the semis in Melbourne. So it doesn’t affect her in a negative way. She benefited from the fact she was able to be at home with her parents and her boyfriend. She spent the Christmas in the Czech rep. It’s associated with snow and the Christmas tree more than with a beach in the US.
What do you think will be her next season?
I’ll try to make a tip even though I may look stupid. I believe she will be much fitter. I think it could allow her to improve her tactic. She’ll be able to stay in rallies longer. She will not have to risk that much. She’ll come to the net more often. She will lift more chops.
So she will not have to play complete hazard?
Exactly! When she feels her legs are not well she keeps playing one scenario where everything must fit. It doesn’t mean she’ll change her style completely. At the level she is playing she meets rivals who have answers even at her perfect play. Now she needs to surprise them somehow.
How?
She will not rush to finish at any cost. At least for a while: OK I can stay in the rally with you. Let’s say 2 points and then I’ll press again. It’ll give her more freedom in contemplating. She may have richer play.
What about you? You married for a second time recently. You’ve got a little son. How long are you going to do this job?
Oh that strikes a chord! I’m contemplating it a lot. Whether it goes well or not it’s still under the surface. When things don’t go well the fish comes higher. When things go well it’s deeper but it’s still swimming in the pond. I’m thinking of it. I know I do the job for a very long time. I was not at home and my children from the first marriage were growing up. For example in the first half of the season I didn’t see it very well. I already thought I wouldn’t survive.
But you did. What else helped you apart from the Petra’s comeback?
My wife copes with the weeks without me excellently. Vincent is still quite small (a year and a quarter). But the ambivalence is still within me. I can’t say how long I’ll stay in this position. At least now I want to use all my free time I have. I’m looking forward to Christmas. All my three children will be with me.
Sorry for my english. I'm not very fluent, but hopefully you will understand.
In what state of mind do you follow Petra's matches?
The worst are usually the first two matches of a tournament. That's when we find out the result of the work we had done before. If she manges to go further I don’t have such a nerves and concentrate on the development of the match. I can watch it with more distance.
Are you very concentrated on the match on the court?
I’m clear example of the statement, that men can’t do more things at the same time. When Petra is playing I can’t think of anything else to be more relaxed.
Can’t you switch off even if she leads by a huge margin?
That doesn’t happen that often. She has already been playing with players, who are on a high level. Last case I remember was the finals of Wimbledon. You couldn’t expect me to be relaxed then. Moreover in tennis it’s never finished until the last point.
Is it a big torment for you sometimes when Petra isn’t playing well?
That’s the fate of us trainers or theatre directors. You can rehearse something but you musn’t enter the stage. I’m reliant on the main character and we are riding such a bob together. When things go well it’s a pleasant ride. When it’s not I try to brake somehow, but with gym shoes on an ice I can’t do much.
Do you use interviews at exchanges on WTA Tour?
I consider this rule to be an advantage. I don’t like coaching after a set when the couple can just recap what happened, that the set is over. If there is any sense to do that, then at state when you can affect it.
Do you go there alone or does Petra call you more often?
What would Petra say to you? Perhaps it goes from me more often, even though it shouldn’t be that way. But she already can feel when it’s suitable. Perhaps sometimes surprisingly at the beginning when it’s 2:3, 3:2 when I notice something.
Since the next season trainers can take tablets with statistics to the court. What do you think of it?
That would be for a long philosophical debate. I dare to say that facts that are in the applications for coaches – where somebody serves, where she stays – I can see myself. If I watched the figures in a tablet in time when I need to have contact with the player, it would be counterproductive.
Are there things that can’t be converted to figures?
Yes. I use the computer statistics of matches mostly in trainings. But still I know Peta better than a computer, I’m longer with her. And no application can tell you yet in what state of mind the player is. The point represented on the tablet is a result of something, with which you have to do something when things don’t go well. If I recognize the problem I can precede the negative figures.
What can you see on her in matches?
For example I know what state she is in if I notice weather she is breathing with her chest or uses her belly. How she relaxes between points. Whether she makes her ritual and switches the racket to her right hand.
What does the switching mean?
It means she relaxes and uses the pause between points. It’s important, to start the next point well.
What else can she use in the battles?
She uses such a tool. In her trainings she takes a service she did well in her mind and puts it to a drawer. She makes a supply for tourneys. And in the match whenever she needs one she withdraws an ace from the drawer and makes it there. It’s a mental game which helps her in my mind.
What else do you follow from the box?
If she keeps the tactic we agreed on. How she uses her technic. How she moves. Computer will not tell me this. That’s why I have to pay attention on Petra and her rival. Application can analyze a few things well, I use the data in the training but for an instant reaction on the court the most important assets are eyes, intuition, brain and knowledge of the player. I still consider brain much more sophisticated than computer.
Will you take tablet to the matches then?
No. I need to have a visual contact. Encourage her eventually. Catch the moment when to go to the court. I can’t burry my head to the computer. I’d lose the emotional bond which is more important than percentages of success of the second serves. In football (soccer) if you lead 4:0 in 70. minute it’s more or less over. In tennis the psychological set of the player can overturn the match from almost any state.
Especially in the women’s tennis, don’t you think?
Yes. The situation can change within a couple of seconds. The result often hangs on a threat.
Petra can surprise. Can you guess how she enters the match or how she manages the finish of a match?
That’s for a long debate… (smile). For example I prepare training. In the morning I have some idea but according the situation I don’t use half of the plan. I can be surprised but in the evening I’ll tell myself it’s actually no surprise at all.
Does the unpredictability belong to the women’s sport?
From the men’s logical point of view they are different. We can’t understand it but we have to accept it. I am able to catch signals of some problem. But sometimes I am not able to do anything with it.
Did you feel there would be any problem before the 1st round of Australian Open defeat?
We had some talking with Petra and Michal (her mental coach) and I didn’t have good feeling at all.
That her head would not be all right?
Yes. Sometimes I’m wrong, of course. In January it met.
In Petra’s case her personal troubles have major effects on her performance. There were difficult months following, don’t they?
She didn’t treat it well in that time. She didn’t pay attention to some things. It didn’t tune.
Her poor performance tie in with the time she was dating Radek Stepanek. How did it affect her?
Petra was in love. Radek was in love either. I only had the feeling she started to lose herself. She wasn’t the initiator any more. She was losing her head. In various professions it can have positive or negative effect.
And Petra’s results were terrible.
There were moments when it went well. Sometimes it scraped.
As her trainer you got to a delicate situation. Could you witness her career to wane?
Probably yes. But I was sure the situation would not reform. If she was playing that bad I’d have to step down. I’m responsible for her results. It wouldn’t make sense.
So what did you do?
We had a lot talking about it in our team. With Petra, Michal and even with Radek. I said to him Petra is not able to find peace for her work, she isn’t concentrating as she had been accustomed. I invoked him to give her more space. He was trying to do it all well.
What about Petra?
I saw she was thinking about it. I assume she was thinking how much satisfied she was in her life and even in tennis. Then once in Spring she arrived at the training and announced that the relationship with Radek was over.
Did you notice the change on Petra after the split?
It doesn’t deliver immediately. But soon enough I could see a huge will and initiative. She decided to lose a couple of kilos. At Rolland Garros she lost in the 3rd round to Kuznetsova after a long battle. I said to her “this is a hopeful defeatâ€. She was missing the quality yet, but I could see the fighting and brave Kvitova. She had already been there mentally. Things got moving.
Did you presume the triumph in Wimbledon?
Everything went excellent since the beginning of the tournament. The environs suit her – the grass, the home environment, the hired house, calm pleasant people. The triumph is never granted. But I could see she is going for it. She fulfilled what she had resolved.
Excuse me?
After the unsuccessful quarterfinals in 2013 (defeat with Flipkens) we had quite open discussion at a wine. We drank a better result the next year. She claimed “Next time I’ll do it!â€
She did what she had said, didn’t she?
At the warming before the finals she looked fantastic. And on the central court then she was in her zone. It was almost irrelevant who was on the other side.
How does she get to that trance?
Sometimes it happens. Quite often in the Fedcup. You can see it at her eyes. With the guys we then say “Oh that’s beautiful! Her rival’s going to keep her hatâ€. We’d like to get her to the zone but we don’t know how.
After Wimbledon there was a disappointment at the US Open, loss in the 3rd round with Krunic. And you openly criticized Petra that there was not enough fighting in her…
I usually don’t say something different to her than to the public. Petra should know I’m honest.
Many trainers can’t afford that, can they?
After the years we trust each other. At the same time we are open in cases when it is not pleasant.
How does it work?
You can be thoroughbred and noble. The first means to know your own dignity. The second means to notice the dignity of the others. The tennis trainer balances on an outstretched rope. He’ll have to try both of them. When it goes south from thoroughbred is an arrogant ox and from noble is a bootlicker. We’ve got these boundaries set. I esteem her as a successful player and a person who is trying something. I try to help her with it.
But you have to get angry sometimes, don’t you have?
I’ll get angry. She’ll notice it immediately. For instance when I stop talking. Or I stare stupidly. Petra knows it’s not against her. I just can’t hide my feelings. She tells me then: “Mr. Kotyza you grimaced there again. You are gibbering there something. I don’t want you to gibber behind the line.â€
The role is strange. You are the chef of the player who is paying you …
It is strange. Generally trainer has to get to some respected position. When he is kind and agrees all the time he’ll never get there. He has to know something, keep some notion and attitude. Both personally and professionally. Consistence is important. You should be able to relay on him, when things don’t go well. They mustn’t betray each other. Players choose on the base of these qualities. It’s not important how much they pay you.
Petra sometimes doesn’t agree with your appraisal. Does she get hurt when you criticize her?
She isn’t hurtful. She is well brought up. Her dad definitely was not weak at her. She doesn’t shoot back when she is criticized. At first she says her notion. I make the conclusion and she doesn’t have to agree with it. We don’t take it personally. I don’t need to dig in the problem. I try to bring the fault I noticed to the training or to the debate with Michal Safar. To avoid it at the next tourney is what matters. Allow her to play this situation better. To react on this type of player when another Krunic comes.
So you don’t criticize her all the time?
I don’t like it. We’ve never talked about the match the day when it was played. She mostly knows what happened. And if we disagreed it foams up on the court at the training. I’ll tell her “Do you see? You should have played this a week ago!†And sometimes you just have to let the things be. The player is the main character. If she has it within herself the trainer can only damage it. And his main task is not to screw it up.
Hockey or football coaches chew their teams out sometimes. Can you afford this with Petra?
First it’s woman. Second she isn’t some village girl from Fulnek. She won Wimbledon twice and belongs to the best players in the world. The communication has to have certain level. Mostly I swear to myself when I’m angry. I treat her as a person.
You are not speaking up sometimes?
I do. But why to shout at a person when I can see she is trying and it doesn’t work? I know what a person Petra is. You can scarcely solve something by shouting. It’s not the tool for a better result. I consider my fit of temper to be a demonstration of my emotional imbalance. When I think of it I know she does not shirk it. She is an excellent girl. I spend with her the unideal life on the tour. When I get angry it takes a couple of seconds. Then I tell myself: “Thank god you can work with her.â€
You said a few times already that you are lucky you met her. Do you still feel it the same?
It’s still valid with many exclamation marks. Nothing can unsettle me in this even if she lost all her next matches. That’s it.
After US Open Petra was shining on the tourneys in China, however on the WTC in Singapore she looked empty. Why?
You know. Tennis is a combination of your own trying and chaos theory in praxis. There are so many things affecting the match and the result that you just can’t control all of them.
Was she missing physical or the mental powers?
The whole season took her in. It was progressing dramatically enough – the terrible start, the relationship with Radek, the split, the peak in Wimbledon, a new boyfriend, not good US Open, the strenuous fight for Singapore in China, … I’m sorry I didn’t notice the signals this time. I had been carried away by the high quality of her trainings.
How does it look when Petra is doing well in her preparation?
She plays quickly and does minimum mistakes. She serves to the corners. She is concentrated. She isn’t grumpy when misses something. She goes for every ball. She goes and goes. In the test sets she blows boys, she had played competitive matches with before, off the court. That’s exactly what was there before Singapore. Nevertheless she failed her first match. She didn’t find enough energy even though she was where she wanted to get. On a fast cover she should play better against Radwanska.
Then you called off your first training in six years. But the move helped only for a while.
That was just improvisation to finish the tourney with dignity. She managed to play a good match with Sharapova but didn’t play well with Wozniacki. It was over… We were only trying to find a way how to preserve energy enough for Fedcup.
You managed doing it. Was the battle with Kerber a good point behind the season?
Yes it was.
Did you believe Petra would rise even when it was 1:4 in the third?
There were two girls with big hearts, will and determination. Petra got ramps in the second set and was clueless. Then the cramps disappeared and she started rising.
Did you see on her she was not going to give in?
Yes. She was in the state when she lets everything on the court. She hasn’t played many matches on such an edge. That’s why it’s even better. That’s the way we had wished it in the shades of our minds. She felt a huge pressure. But she coped with it. I’m proud of her.
Will the triumph strengthen her to the future?
First of all she can rest in peace. These feelings remain in her and in us who are around. You can’t borrow it nether buy in the shop. You have to live it through. And when it doesn’t go well it can help her.
What else is in the hard fought victory?
The credit of our players rose in the eyes of normal people. They often see from the distance – I don’t want to say divas – but generously paid players, who earn huge prize money. And then they can see girls who are able to slog their guts out for the Czech Republic.
You hired a new fitness coach. What can Alex Stober bring to your team?
I know him a little bit from the tour. The expert was working with several stars. He’s experienced. He is not only a fitness coach he is also an excellent physiotherapist. He can give Petra massage and find a problem in her body and plan the preparation accordingly.
You had been looking for exactly such a man. Am I Right?
Exactly! It got to my mind when there was some information about Li Na’s end of career leaking from ING. I wrote to Alex and asked Marijn – Petra’s agent from IMG what he was thinking about it. He knew him and was enthusiastic. We tried it and Alex agreed. He said he liked Petra and he liked how we were working. He is a positive guy. He arrived at Prostejov before Fed Cup to get to know her. I told him what I think are her shortcomings on court. He and Petra expressed themselves. I think it will work.
Are you going to spend the winter preparation in Prostejov?
Probably yes. Petra wants to be at home more. She’s got her boyfriend Radek Meidl who is playing hockey in Poland. She is fed up with travelling and she promised to play the national league. She’s got a quality conditions in Prostejov. There is a new fitness gym opened. Alex liked it. He said she will do the needed work there. That’s what I like about him. He doesn’t dictate Petra has to be at Florida because it’s 30 degrees there.
Petra caimed her winter preparation in the US last year drained her energy. Do you understand it?
Everybody knows the advantages of preparation in warm climate. She was comfortable in Brandenton. But what she needed even more was being at home for a while, to rest. To gain some enthusiasm. That’s more important in the end. She is sensitive to flying and travelling. It’s tiring her to be out since January till November. She needs her home – one point which compensates the migration.
Isn’t strange to tune a form for hot Australian Open in the cold Prostejov in the hall?
A lot of professionals will tell you it’s unprofessional. But we started our cooperation in November 2008 and she immediately wan Hobart. In 2011 she won Brisbane. 2012 Hopmancup and she got to the semis in Melbourne. So it doesn’t affect her in a negative way. She benefited from the fact she was able to be at home with her parents and her boyfriend. She spent the Christmas in the Czech rep. It’s associated with snow and the Christmas tree more than with a beach in the US.
What do you think will be her next season?
I’ll try to make a tip even though I may look stupid. I believe she will be much fitter. I think it could allow her to improve her tactic. She’ll be able to stay in rallies longer. She will not have to risk that much. She’ll come to the net more often. She will lift more chops.
So she will not have to play complete hazard?
Exactly! When she feels her legs are not well she keeps playing one scenario where everything must fit. It doesn’t mean she’ll change her style completely. At the level she is playing she meets rivals who have answers even at her perfect play. Now she needs to surprise them somehow.
How?
She will not rush to finish at any cost. At least for a while: OK I can stay in the rally with you. Let’s say 2 points and then I’ll press again. It’ll give her more freedom in contemplating. She may have richer play.
What about you? You married for a second time recently. You’ve got a little son. How long are you going to do this job?
Oh that strikes a chord! I’m contemplating it a lot. Whether it goes well or not it’s still under the surface. When things don’t go well the fish comes higher. When things go well it’s deeper but it’s still swimming in the pond. I’m thinking of it. I know I do the job for a very long time. I was not at home and my children from the first marriage were growing up. For example in the first half of the season I didn’t see it very well. I already thought I wouldn’t survive.
But you did. What else helped you apart from the Petra’s comeback?
My wife copes with the weeks without me excellently. Vincent is still quite small (a year and a quarter). But the ambivalence is still within me. I can’t say how long I’ll stay in this position. At least now I want to use all my free time I have. I’m looking forward to Christmas. All my three children will be with me.
