Coach van Harpen - "Right now I like Ash Barty the best"
Eric van Harpen is one of the longest serving coaches on the WTA tour. In an interview with tennis.com, the Dutchman took stock of current women's tennis.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jul 25, 2020, 08:00 am
Not so easy these days to assess the true balance of power in tennis. This is even more difficult for women than in the male hemisphere. In contrast to Novak, Djokovic , Dominic Thiem or Stefanos Tsitsipas , the leading women have seldom or not shown themselves in exhibition fights, even in the absence of attractive offers (with exceptions such as the last one in Berlin or in Charleston, where the majority are American Elite had met).
If you don't have it anymore: Ashleigh Barty , who is the best in the WTA at the moment, won the season finale in Shenzhen in 2019 in addition to the French Open. And that is also at the top of Eric van Harpen's personal ranking, as the experienced coach stated in an interview with tennis.com. "At the moment I like Ash Barty the best," says van Harpen, who also expects bigger surprises in Grand Slam tournaments in the near future. At the beginning of the year, Sofia Kenin had unexpectedly won the Australian Open.
Trust Martinez
“ Garbine Muguruza , Barty and Bianca Andreescu have the chance to win five slams, but Kenin and Andreescu, also Naomi Osaka, came forward very young. It is always easier to get to the top than to stay there. The opponents are not sleeping and tensions will increase. I think we'll see more surprise winners.
Van Harpen has worked with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, with Conchita Martinez, Maria Sharapova and also Andrea Petkovic. The Dutchman also thinks a lot of his ex-protégé Martinez as a coach. “All of the above have a few opponents they don't like to play against. Muguruza, for example, has a 4-0 record against Petkovic. But Muguruza has good prospects because with Conchita she has a coach who really understands the game. ”
Worry about andreescu
But with one player, Eric van Harpen is really tough on the court. "A few years ago I would have thought Sloane Stephens would be a candidate to succeed Serena Williams, but that was very disappointing." Stephens won her only major at the 2017 US Open.
Van Harpen is also worried about the current title holder from New York. “It was impressive how Andreescu won the US Open. But what kind of injury did she have to have taken so long to come back ... "