Javier Frana: "Jurij Rodionov has many qualities and virtues"
With Javier FranaJurij Rodionov has a new coach since this year - and with him great success. In conversation with matchtenis.com , the Argentine talks about his new protégé and explains what it takes to be a good coach.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 22, 2020, 03:06 pm
What was 2019 like a messed up year for Jurij Rodionov. Actually, the young Austrian should have made the breakthrough and jumped into the top 100 in the world rankings last year after the strong results in 2018, but instead it didn't go as desired for the native of Nuremberg. The result: The Austrian lost on land in the ATP world rankings and fell far outside the top 300. Something had to change. And what is the most obvious thing if it doesn't work and you don't know why? A new coach, new training conditions, new stimuli are needed.
Wolfgang Thiem brings Javier Frana
For the young Rodionov this meant getting support from Wolfgang Thiem. Since last winter, the Lower Austrian has been training under the aegis of Papa Thiem, who sees great potential in Rodionov: "He is a talented player with great strengths. For me he has incredible potential," said Thiem. It was also Wolfgang Thiem who provided Jurij Rodionov with a new touring coach. Thanks to the contacts of Nicholas Massu, the touring coach of Dominic Thiem, he was found quickly: With Javier Frana, the Austrian was not only a former world-class player under his wing, Javier Frana also has a lot of experience as a coach for some South American players.
Frana sees his time as a player as a good cornerstone for a coaching job, but this is by no means a guarantee of success: "Having played can be an advantage and make things easier, but only if you know how to transfer it, if you know how to interpret and communicate them, " said the Argentine in an interview with matchtenis.com. You can understand the situation a player is in, but that's not all. "The central role of the coach is to find the identity of the player," said Frana. If he were still an active player, the first thing he would ask his coach was: "What do you see in me and how do you see me in the future," explains the 53-year-old.
"Yuri Rodionov felt good"
A tactic that he also used as a coach from Jurij Rodionov in his early days: "What we were able to do in the few days was to work with two or three premises: you are left-handed and like to play, you feel comfortable this and that, and we started moving the chips. This order allowed him to take out his best tennis and find a strategic order that gave him the good results, "Frana said. Like Wolfgang Thiem, Javier Frana sees great potential in Jurij Rodionov: "Jurij Rodionov has many qualities and virtues."
As a coach, Javier Frana has a very own philosophy: "In the end, it doesn't matter whether the point is won or lost; if the plan was right, then the point was fine." Jurij Rodionov felt comfortable, the victories gave him the necessary confidence - this would have resulted in the victories. "His qualities also helped us," said Frana. Qualities that Jurij Rodionov has impressively demonstrated since working with Frana. Victory at the high-end Challenger in Dallas, where he eliminated three top 100 players, was just the beginning. Rodionov also clinched the title in Cuernacava, advanced to the semi-finals in Columbus and retested talent in the Davis Cup duel with Uruguay when he pushed veteran Pablo Cuevas to the brink of defeat.