Bogomolov asks Spadea to coach him, Spades declines, wants DY or Gulbis

[Gonzalito17]

Vince Spadea is apparently in demand to coach. Players respect Spadea's sucessful 15 year ATP career, some big wins, good success in majors, with a pretty basic vanilla game. Bogomolov recently asked Vince to coach him but Vince declined. Spadea wants to coach Young who he thinks can be #1 in the world. Spadea also would like to try to coach Gulbis but thinks Gulbis might not be a good listener.

The info is in this article, for those who don't believe...

Good to see Spadea breeaking back into the game, he's a real character and his book "Break Point" was/is a cult classic.

http://www.tennis-prose.com/bios/spa...-life-on-tour/

[Z-Man]

Nice, thanks for posting.

[Mustard]

I don't agree with Spadea's opinion on Rios at all, nor on Stefanki's effect on Rios when he coached him.

I think Rios is a huge underachiever, and that Rios played just as well under Nick Bollettieri after he had fired Larry Stefanki. Injuries did for Rios, although he admittedly had a few poor losses at the majors when he was the favourite or amongst the favourites.

[hoosierbr]

Not sure I completely agree with Vince on perfect technique and mechanics being the key. Edberg and Rafter had the worst forehands of any top player and still won slams and became number one.

Fish is in the Top 10 and his forehand is suspect though it has improved quite a bit over the years. Isner's ground game certainly leaves something to be desired.

Also important to keep in mind that Spadea has always had a super sized ego which, given his achievements on the tour, isn't entirely earned.

[Gonzalito17]

Mustard, I know it's conventional thought to say Rios underachieved given his high talent level. But for a small guy from a weak tennis nation I think he did quite well for himself. Nobody who saw Rios early in his career, like the French Open debut vs. Sampras, had the vision to call Rios a future #1. Yet he did it. Spadea could very well be right here.

[Gonzalito17]

Originally Posted by hoosierbr

Not sure I completely agree with Vince on perfect technique and mechanics being the key. Edberg and Rafter had the worst forehands of any top player and still won slams and became number one.

Fish is in the Top 10 and his forehand is suspect though it has improved quite a bit over the years. Isner's ground game certainly leaves something to be desired.

Also important to keep in mind that Spadea has always had a super sized ego which, given his achievements on the tour, isn't entirely earned.

Hoosier the forehands of the 3 players you mention were far from weak or terrible. While they were not devastating weapons, they served their purpose, allowing each player to achieve excellent success. I actually like Fish's forehand, looks solid to me, though it can go off sometimes.

[Mustard]

Originally Posted by Gonzalito17

Mustard, I know it's conventional thought to say Rios underachieved given his high talent level. But for a small guy from a weak tennis nation I think he did quite well for himself. Nobody who saw Rios early in his career, like the French Open debut vs. Sampras, had the vision to call Rios a future #1. Yet he did it. Spadea could very well be right here.

Rios looked impressive when I first saw him against Sampras at the 1994 French Open. A future threat for big titles, for sure. Rios was only 18 at that time, and there was the possibility that he could have just faded away. Rios didn't start playing really great tennis until 1996. During his prime years of 1997-1999, he seemed certain to win a major at some point, even multiple majors, yet never managed to win one.

[Setmatch45]

I thince Spadea could help many of today's players he worked hard and got a lot out of the talent he has. Why does Vince not play WTT?