Wawrinka coach Daniel Vallverdu in an interview - "I wish the NextGen significantly more participation"
Daniel Vallverdu is not only Stan Wawrinka 's coach - the Venezuelan-born ex-professional is also on the ATP Council. And is a great conversationalist.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jun 26, 2022, 07:14 pm
tennisnet : Mr. Vallverdu. Where is Stan Wawrinka currently?
Dani Vallverdu : Stan is in a very good position. Things have actually progressed positively every week since he started training again at the end of February. Physically he feels good, there are no problems with his foot and we are also making progress as a game. It will take time. Stan was out of action for almost two years. And: His motivation is still high, he loves his daily work, does what the coaches tell him to do. So far he hasn't had any setbacks.
tennisnet : There is a rumor going around here that Stan is always the first player on the training facility. Can you confirm?
Vallverdu : He likes to get up early. That's correct.
tennisnet : If you look at Dominic Thiem's tournament planning after the comeback: In retrospect, you might have done it differently. What is your summary of Stan Wawrinka, who, like Thiem, returned to Marbella?
Vallverdu : For us, the main focus is on the schedule. We always kept in mind that it takes several steps to get back to the top. Every player is different. But for Stan it wouldn't make sense to play every week. He needed phases in which he could work on his fitness. And other phases where he could work on his game. So we took it slow. he played in Marbella, then in Monte-Carlo. After that there was a break with a training block and we came back for Rome and the French Open. We are still in the build-up phase.
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tennisnet : Which phases do you distinguish?
Vallverdu : The first step is just to get back on the court and see how the body reacts. You have to be very careful there. In the second phase there is a combination of training and matches. We are in this phase right now. And the last phase means playing a full calendar again.
Vallverdu - "No winners in this decision"
tennisnet : You are still represented in the ATP Players Council. How controversial was the decision not to award ATP points at the 2022 Wimbledon tournament?
Vallverdu : Not very. What influenced our decision was how it might affect other players. But the principle was that we followed the most important rule in the ATP. And that is: Everyone should be allowed to play in all tournaments, regardless of race, religion or country of birth. It was more about protecting the fairness of the ranking. And you can only have a fair ranking at the end of the year when every single player on the ATP tour has had the opportunity to play in all tournaments. However, the decision was not easy for us. Everyone wants to play Wimbledon, it's the best tournament of the year. There have been no winners in this matter.
tennisnet : There is currently a major split in golf. In addition to the PGA Tour, a second tour was built up very quickly and with a lot of money, to which many of the top stars have migrated. Do you also see this danger for tennis?
Vallverdu : This danger is always there. But in tennis, a comparable development is more difficult than in golf. There you can set up a great event in almost any club worldwide. Competing in tennis with the Grand Slams and Masters 1000 tournaments requires a much more complicated infrastructure. You need more time in tennis for that. A new tour in tennis would have many uncertainties. And the players don't like that.
"I fully respect the basic principle of the PTPA"
tennisnet : What is the relationship between the ATP and the PTPA at the moment?
Vallverdu : I fully respect the basic principle of the PTPA. Because it means the players are better represented. I agree with that one hundred percent. But in the ATP we already have a very open and transparent structure. If you want to deal with it. Our structure is such that the players can have a very large impact. But it is difficult when people make comments who have not dealt with the background to the decisions. You can also improve player representation from within.
tennisnet : Would you like the generation around Alexander Zverev , Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas to take on more responsibility in the council?
Vallverdu : Absolutely. Félix Auger-Aliassime was the only player from the #NextGen group to be on the Council, but he has now retired. Now we don't have any of the #NextGen on the Council. I've been saying for three, four years: let's at least offer these players the opportunity to attend the meetings as guests and without obligation. whenever they can. But then they would understand what the structures are like. Many young players only see the ATP as a representation of the tournaments. And not as a 50/50 partnership between the players and the tournaments. I would like to see much more participation from the younger generation.
#IMG2#
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