WTA Cincinnati: Wim Fissette knows all the secrets
Wim Fissette , successful Belgian coach and coach of Naomi Osaka since this year, has also trained the final opponent of his protégé: Viktoria Azarenka .
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Aug 29, 2020, 08:53 am
Wim Fissette is responsible for four Grand Slam titles as coach: First, under the guidance of her Belgian compatriot, Kim Clijsters won the US Open twice and the Australian Open again, in 2018 Fissette was in Angelique Kerber's box when she was in Wimbledon celebrated its greatest career triumph. As is well known, Sabine Lisicki also made use of the services of the renowned trainer, with the result that she reached the final at Wimbledon 2013.
Fissette is currently taking care of Naomi Osaka, who in turn brings two major victories to the cooperation. This week, Osaka is not only convincing in terms of play, but has also set a political example with its boycott of the semi-finals on Wednesday. And with their campaign, the organizers moved the entire game day back by 24 hours.
Osaka with new mental hardness
In the absence of top performers such as Ashleigh Barty, Simona Halep (also by Wim Fissette), Elina Svitolina or Kiki Bertens, Osaka is one of the top favorites at the US Open that starts on Monday. During the Cincinnati / New York week, the Japanese showed not only the usual terrific pace but also mental toughness: In the quarter-finals against Anett Kontaveit, Osaka gave up a 4-1 lead in the decisive set, but still won 7-5. And against Elise Mertens on Friday, the 22-year-old made up for a deficit after winning the first set, finally prevailing 6: 2, 7: 6 (5).
Those were matches that Osaka wouldn't necessarily have won in the recent past. At the beginning of 2020, she lost to Cori Gauff as defending champion at the Australian Open. And failed almost as much on her nerves as on her opponent.
Azarenka unset in the final
Viktoria Azarenka is waiting for the final in Cincinnati / New York this Saturday (5 p.m., live on DAZN). The Belarusian also shares a common work past with Wim Fissette. After the successful period in 2015 and 2016, the two met again in 2019.
That Azarenka would reach the final of the current tournament was not necessarily foreseeable. Even in the thinned field, there was no place left for the former number one in the seeding list. On the way to the final, Azarenka was able to defeat numbers 15 and eight with Dona Vekic right at the start and with Johanna Konta in the semifinals, taking Ons Jabeur out of the competition in the quarter-finals, who had been playing on the WTA tour again had shown strong performances.
Viktoria Azarenka has played against Naomi Osaka three times, the Japanese is ahead with 2-1 wins. And now Wim Fissette in his box, who knows more about her opponent than few others.