Günter Bresnik on Bob Brett: "Between father figure and big brother"
Inan interview with the Standard,Günter Bresnik looks back on his relationship with Bob Brett , who died in early December after suffering from cancer. The relationship with someone with whom he was connected far beyond tennis.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 11, 2021, 08:30 pm
At the age of 67, the Australian legendary coach Bob Brett died at the beginning of January of a protracted cancer. Brett gained particular fame through his collaboration with Boris Becker, whom he supervised between 1987 and 1991 and even led him to the top of the world rankings in January 1991 after Becker's success at the Australian Open. Brett also looked after players like Goran Ivanisevic and Marin Cilic.
In an interview with Standard, Günter Bresnik also describes the partnership with Boris Becker as his breakthrough: "Training Becker was a difficult undertaking at the time. It was good that he didn't get too close to him privately. Becker was already a superstar and more concerned with isolating himself. Later, Bob chose a completely different, more personal approach with Goran Ivanišević. It is the art of a coach to know what you allow in order to increase athletic success. " That was exactly one of the great strengths of Bob Brett, as Bresnik emphasizes.
"Leading figure for all coaches" board
With his philosophy, the Australian was a role model for many coaches, as Dominic Thiem's ex-coach explains: "He was a leading figure for all coaches for many years. He was very committed to tennis regardless of his work with his protégés . Bob lived for sport like no other. His focus was less on technique and more on fitness. " In addition, he always made far-sighted decisions for his professional future, for example went to America early to become one of Harry Hopman's "favorite students". "A large percentage of them made the right professional decisions."
Bresnik's relationship with Brett went far beyond professional nature, even though the first meeting came about because of their protégés at the time: "Bob was Boris Becker's trainer, who often talked to my protégé Horst Skoff. That's how I came into contact with him . We developed a close friendship that went far beyond tennis. " Of course there was a lot of talk about tennis, but architecture, literature and private matters were also discussed.
The running group of start trainers
The two instructors had enough time for this, as they went running together at six for years, as Bresnik reveals: "It didn't matter where we were: whether in Hamburg around the Inner Alster or along the beaches of Miami. We formed a running group with others Coaches. With Chris Lewis from New Zealand, who once trained Ivan Lendl. With Carl-Axel Hageskog from Sweden. Lots of fitness fanatics like Bob. " During these running units there was a constant exchange, and the coached players often trained together afterwards. Brett also kept telling Bresnik what he thought of Horst Skoff's matches.
The Austrian believes that the Australian's influence on his coaching career is correspondingly high: "For my coaching career, he was, together with Ion Tiriac, the most important person in my life. His kindness saved me a lot of mistakes." For him he was "someone between a father figure and a big brother", they confided in each other. When Brett had to take care of a family illness, he asked Bresnik to take care of his player during this time.
Emotional experiences together
And this close contact would have continued in the last days of Bob Brett, as Bresnik reveals: "Over the past few months I have been in daily contact with his daughter. I have seen the course of his last days very intensively. I spoke to him briefly before Christmas via video link. " According to Bresnik, the two had three main emotional experiences in common. When Bob Brett's father died, the Viennese visited him in Paris. "The evening the news came from Australia was forever depressing and I was very close. It strengthened our relationship," the 59-year-old remembers.
At the same time, Brett would have traveled to Austria to say goodbye to Bresnik's mother shortly before she died. But the Austrian also remembers an emotional experience related to tennis: "Professionally, I was most moved when Becker won the US Open in 1989. You have to know: Bob was always a very composed person. To many, he may have seemed too tough. But at that moment he was crying for joy. "