Wim Fissette Exclusive: There Were No 'Frustrations' With Halep.Report Nick McCarvel.November 26th.
After split with Fissette,Halep hires another new coach,advisor.
Monday the Romanian revealed that would be fellow Romanian Victor Ionita,a coach who had previously worked with compatriot Sorana Cristea.In addition,Thomas Hogstedt,the former coach of Maria Sharapova (and others),will serve as a consultant for the beginning of 2015 season.
But what of Wim? Wim Fissette,that is,Halep's now-ex coach who has made a name for himself in tennis circles,having helped Belgian Kim Clijsters in her come backs before working with Sabine Lisicki and then Halep.
In 2014,Halep brought on Fissette to help her achieve a career-high No 2 ranking as well as reach the final of Roland Garos and win 2 titles (Doha,Bucharest).Halep's move to split with Fissette came as a surprise to many.Here,Fissette opens up in an exclusive interview on how he felt this year went,what his plans are moving forward and more.
TennisNow: Wim,thanks for speaking with us.Tell us what's next for you?.Have you made plans for moving forward or are you taking some time off?
Wim Fissette: At this moment I'm waiting to make the right decision for my future.There are a few players I would really love to work with and I'm hoping to get a offer from them.I'm home (in Belgian).I coach in an academy nearby.We have many great young players under 12 years old (including three Belgian champions) and I love coaching them.
TennisNow: What are you most proud of in the last year working with Simona? she obviously had great achievements,what stands out from behind the scenes?
Wim Fissette: By far the final in Roland Garos.When we started in January after the Australian open,Simona told me it was very difficult to handle the emotions during a Grand Slam and when she reached the quarterfinal in Australia,she could not at all control her emotions.My goal was to make her a better player,but especially make her play her best tennis on the most important moments.When she came to Paris,she was considered an outsider for the title and she felt pressure for the first time.Every match she won,the pressure became more.But she was able to control her emotions and play her best tennis from the first ball of the tournament until the last one of the final.
TennisNow: What were the challenges with Simona?.You came in at a time when she was already on the rise.
Wim Fissette: I did not speak to Simona about the past coaches.I was just trying to do my job as good as possible.For Simona it was a completely new experience,as she only worked with Romanian coaches in the past.For sure it was not always,an easy relationship between player and coach.You spend a lot of time together and one very important thing is that the player feels very comfortable also off the court.For example,its much easier when you always speak your own language.
TennisNow: Were there frustrations at the end? Or this was more just a decision of Simona (and/or you) to go different direction?
Wim Fissette:I didnt feel frustrations at the end.As a coach you receive contracts of six to 12 months.(At first I had a contract through to Roland Garos and then one that continued until after Singapore).You never know what will happen when the contract finishes.So I just tried to give my very best until the end of my contract.Simona made this decision because she feels more comfortable with only Romanians in her team.She is a girl who needs a lot of variation.That's why,for example,every tournament there were some family members to 'entertain' her.Some weeks it was her mother,some weeks her brother,some weeks some family friends...so she would not be bored.She likes people around her and she also needs that.I believe it would be difficult for her to work longer than one year with a coach because she needs that variation (in her life).Other way of thinking,other way of working.
TennisNow: Who are two players who you have your eye on for a big year in 2015?.Perhaps a couple of names we might not expect?
Wim Fissette: Garbine Muguruza.I think she has a very big game and I believe she can make it to the Top 10 next year.In general,there is a change of generation happening right now in women's tennis and I'm looking foward to seeing who of these young girls will make it to the absolute top.
David Goffin.As a Belgian myself,I'm very interested how his 2015 will be.He started to win in July and he kept winning until the end of the year.He is a great player to watch,nice technique,variation and smart-its not only power tennis.He has almost no points to defend the first half of the year,so I'm curious where he will be after Wimbledon this year.
TennisNow: What do you think is most exciting about women's tennis right now?
Wim Fissette: As I mentioned before (I'm excited for) the change of generations.Players like Halep,Genie Bouchard,Muguruza,Madison Keys,Sloane Stephens,Belinda Bencic,Caroline Garcia,Ana Konjuh..I think in 2015 these players will surprise some bigger names and it will be interesting what other names will come up in the rankings.These are very important times coming for women's tennis.At this moment most of the tickets at the tournaments are sold to see the top players like Serena and Maria,the older generation.It's time now that the new generation will step up.As a coach I'm always looking forward to where women's tennis is going.Is it going more and more to men's (topspin,big serves,kick serve)?
TennisNow: What are most looking forward to about your time off?.Just relaxing?
Wim Fissette: Being home with my family.On the other side,I love tennis so after being a week home doing nothing,I'll go to the academy and help coach the younger kids.This is just so much fun,these children are so 'hungry' to learn they have so much fun playing their favorite sport.Hopefully I can travel with one of these in about 10 years.
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