September 28 , 2006
Monfils to Make Coaching Change
Can the Talented Frenchman Get on the Right Track?
By David McPherson
Call it the law of averages, but after making so many bad predictions at this year's French Open and then not doing much better at Wimbledon, all of a sudden I seem to have a crystal ball!!
Not to pat myself on the back, but ... Well actually yes to pat myself on the back, I chose all four singles finalists at the U.S. Open and then correctly predicted that French up-and-comer Gael Monfils would make a coaching change in the near future.
According to Eurosport, Monfils "looks set to leave Paris and move to Florida in order to employ the coaching assistance of the Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Monfils has already announced that his new coach will be Pier Gauthier and it is expected that he will confirm the deal with Nick Bollettieri in the next few days. The 20-year-old has spent the last two years working with coach Thierry Champion and physical trainer Remi Barbarin (part of the Lagardere Team) but was in need of a change claiming that it was a difficult decision but 'necessary and considered.' In addition to the mental doubts the Frenchman has been struggling with in recent months, he has also had injuries to deal with, notably a torn ligament in his right foot and a stress fracture in his left foot."
Why do I care that the No. 29 player in the world is changing coaches?
Well, for one thing, we're talking about one of the best junior players in recent memory, a very uncommonly gifted athlete, a great competitor with a lot of ambition in the sport and a player who has shown signs of making a breakthrough, though admittedly only on clay.
What I find most significant about the story is that not only is Monfils taking on a new mentor but he's also relocating to the United States and, apparently, distancing himself somewhat from the French Tennis Federation.
I would imagine that the main aim of the FFT, whether it will admit it or not, is to create a French Open champion and it has appeared that Monfils has really built his game thus far with Roland Garros in mind. Of course I'm thinking of the excessively cautious shot selection he employs in his matches and his over-reliance on his speed and defense.
There's no doubt Monfils' defense is impressive, but as an observer I've always thought there has to be more to this kid than just scrambling. After all, he's 6'4 with some serious pop on his first serve and a monster forehand when he pulls the trigger on it.
So, I'm going to make another prediction and assume that, whoever Pier Gauthier is, his main priority will be to make this kid into an offensive tennis player, someone who goes out and imposes his weapons on his opponents rather than just running and sliding around the court (including on hard courts) and hoping for the other player to miss.
Much like Andy Murray, Monfils also needs to improve his first-serve percentage and he also needs to get to the net more and make better use of his great athleticism.
If he can do these things and start holding serve more consistently, say 80% of the time, he's going to be real dangerous because Monfils can break serve with the best of them.
The other thing that I found noteworthy in the Eurosport report was the nature of Monfils' injuries. Wow! A torn ligament in one foot and a stress fracture in the other? It's amazing he was even walking, let alone playing in the U.S. Open.
Maybe those physical problems more than anything will serve as a wake-up call to Monfils. If he wants to have a long career in this sport, he's going to have to adopt a very different approach to the game from here on out.
Monfils to Make Coaching Change
Can the Talented Frenchman Get on the Right Track?
By David McPherson
Call it the law of averages, but after making so many bad predictions at this year's French Open and then not doing much better at Wimbledon, all of a sudden I seem to have a crystal ball!!
Not to pat myself on the back, but ... Well actually yes to pat myself on the back, I chose all four singles finalists at the U.S. Open and then correctly predicted that French up-and-comer Gael Monfils would make a coaching change in the near future.
According to Eurosport, Monfils "looks set to leave Paris and move to Florida in order to employ the coaching assistance of the Bollettieri Tennis Academy. Monfils has already announced that his new coach will be Pier Gauthier and it is expected that he will confirm the deal with Nick Bollettieri in the next few days. The 20-year-old has spent the last two years working with coach Thierry Champion and physical trainer Remi Barbarin (part of the Lagardere Team) but was in need of a change claiming that it was a difficult decision but 'necessary and considered.' In addition to the mental doubts the Frenchman has been struggling with in recent months, he has also had injuries to deal with, notably a torn ligament in his right foot and a stress fracture in his left foot."
Why do I care that the No. 29 player in the world is changing coaches?
Well, for one thing, we're talking about one of the best junior players in recent memory, a very uncommonly gifted athlete, a great competitor with a lot of ambition in the sport and a player who has shown signs of making a breakthrough, though admittedly only on clay.
What I find most significant about the story is that not only is Monfils taking on a new mentor but he's also relocating to the United States and, apparently, distancing himself somewhat from the French Tennis Federation.
I would imagine that the main aim of the FFT, whether it will admit it or not, is to create a French Open champion and it has appeared that Monfils has really built his game thus far with Roland Garros in mind. Of course I'm thinking of the excessively cautious shot selection he employs in his matches and his over-reliance on his speed and defense.
There's no doubt Monfils' defense is impressive, but as an observer I've always thought there has to be more to this kid than just scrambling. After all, he's 6'4 with some serious pop on his first serve and a monster forehand when he pulls the trigger on it.
So, I'm going to make another prediction and assume that, whoever Pier Gauthier is, his main priority will be to make this kid into an offensive tennis player, someone who goes out and imposes his weapons on his opponents rather than just running and sliding around the court (including on hard courts) and hoping for the other player to miss.
Much like Andy Murray, Monfils also needs to improve his first-serve percentage and he also needs to get to the net more and make better use of his great athleticism.
If he can do these things and start holding serve more consistently, say 80% of the time, he's going to be real dangerous because Monfils can break serve with the best of them.
The other thing that I found noteworthy in the Eurosport report was the nature of Monfils' injuries. Wow! A torn ligament in one foot and a stress fracture in the other? It's amazing he was even walking, let alone playing in the U.S. Open.
Maybe those physical problems more than anything will serve as a wake-up call to Monfils. If he wants to have a long career in this sport, he's going to have to adopt a very different approach to the game from here on out.
