Coach Jan de Witt - "Aslan Karatsev is a great tennis player"
ATP tour coach Jan de Witt from Breakpoint Base in Halle / Westphalia is convinced that Aslan Karatsev's run of success at the Australian Open will not be a one-off.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 28, 2021, 11:43 am
Jan de Witt went on the trip to Australia with Nikoloz Basilashvili, after which the renowned German coach and his Georgian protégé went their separate ways. "We agreed that now is the moment in our career when we, in general terms, have to do something else," explained de Witt at sportradio360.de . “I can well imagine that Niko will travel without a coach for a while now. And I have found for myself that he needs a different address. "
De Witt cannot confirm the myth that normality prevailed in Australia. “This Australian special path is not at all suitable as a model for us. If I had known what it was like beforehand, I would not have made this trip. ”And the coach immediately followed suit. “At first, we were not treated honestly with regard to the general conditions regarding the quarantine. The quarantine was organized very badly: We didn't get out at all for three days because the transport didn't work. Sure: it was a huge event. And we were guinea pigs. In an environment that is completely characterized by fear. "
Jan de Witt - "We were totally crazy"
Which also suggested the fear that the whole tournament would be closed: namely, if a positive case would have been found among those people who were on the facility in Melbourne Park. And not “only” with a hotel employee. The Australians would have chosen this path - but the players and coaches would not have been informed about the possible scenarios. Jan de Witt's conclusion: “We were totally crazy”.
What, in the coach's opinion, has not been talked about enough: That half of the top coaches never went to Australia: “Why isn't a Carlos Moya there? Why is Günter Bresnik not there? I don't get enough discussion about it. "
Although there were also nice moments: “I really enjoyed seeing the night session between Nick Kyrgios and Dominic Thiem , with spectators who went crazy. It was certainly not so funny for Domi, he had a difficult job. But as a neutral viewer, I thought that was great. "
From a sporting point of view, Jan de Witt saw the eventual winner Novak Djokovic in danger only once - against Alexander Zverev . But in contrast to Rafael Nadal against Stefanos Tsitsipas , the world number one would have had physical reserves.
Only Zverev had a chance against Djokovic
“Of course Nole had his abdominal muscle problem. But at least when you serve you didn't notice it anymore. ”He was disappointed by the final against Daniil Medvedev - by the Russian. “I'm not sure yet whether Djokovic was that good there. I would have thought that Medvedev was the second player besides Zverev who would have had a real chance. In retrospect you have to say: Sascha was the only one. "
The run of Aslan Karatsev, which was only stopped by Djokovic in the semi-finals, was remarkable, of course. “It has nothing to do with luck. Karatsev is really good at first. Aslan is a horny tennis player. Everyone has seen: he has a monster forehand, a monster backhand, has a body like a Russian bear, moves well, and has a strong return. And then he shut up and play tough tennis. He started that sometime last year. He was with us once too. We certainly helped him, but we also didn't manage to keep him stable. And now it's stable. My tip is that Karatsev will be in the top 20 by the end of the year. If he approaches the matches with the same humility as in Melbourne. "