The Tennis Coaching Merry Go Round

[atlpam]

Is it me or does David look actually thinner than when he was on tour? Looks pretty fit

I was thinking the same thing - if it hadn't been captioned, not sure I would have recognized him.

[JazzNU]

Is it me or does David look actually thinner than when he was on tour? Looks pretty fit

I'm not sure if this is just an unflattering and deceiving angle or what, but my first thought when seeing this was maybe David can also give Miomir tips on how to lose that tire around his waist... I know I'm not right.

[ponchi101]

Why not? This was a guy that was famously slightly-overweight during his career. That he got it right AFTER he retired is kind of odd.
Remember Borg. He was maniacal in keeping his weight at 68 Kgs (150 lbs) during his career. And one has to admit that part of Novak's fantastic speed is his weight. He is also fanatical at keeping it at 77 Kg(170 Lbs).
(And I meant you not being right. Athletes at this level need to pay attention to THAT detail. Enter Baghdatis as another example).

[JTContinental]

Is it me or does David look actually thinner than when he was on tour? Looks pretty fit

I'm not sure if this is just an unflattering and deceiving angle or what, but my first thought when seeing this was maybe David can also give Miomir tips on how to lose that tire around his waist... I know I'm not right.

If it helps, I thought they meant David Witt at first, and my first thought was

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[ponchi101]

Please, enlighten me. Who is Darian King?

[ti-amie]

Please, enlighten me. Who is Darian King?

From Wiki:

Darian King is a Barbadian tennis player. King has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 106 achieved on 8 May 2017 and career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 156 achieved on 21 October 2019. In 2015 he defines himself as a solid player capable to wait the right moment to attack and catch the net.

[meganfernandez]

Que loco! Working alongside FAA's current coach, not replacing him. And Toni will remain the director of the Nadal's academy.

[ponchi101]

This could be an interesting experience. How much can Tony Nadal bring to FAA? Sure, Tony was there all the way for Rafa, but Felix is no Rafa. How much can Tony bring to Felix?
I say he can make him top 15. Anything more is a bonus, anything less, proof that coaches can do very little once the players reach this level.

[meganfernandez]

This could be an interesting experience. How much can Tony Nadal bring to FAA? Sure, Tony was there all the way for Rafa, but Felix is no Rafa. How much can Tony bring to Felix?
I say he can make him top 15. Anything more is a bonus, anything less, proof that coaches can do very little once the players reach this level.

So which 14 players will be ranked ahead of FAA in a couple years, do you think? Fed will probably be retired. Who knows about Rafa's status by then. Djokovic, Thiem, Tsistipas, Medvedev, Rublev, Sinner, maybe Schwartzman, Shapo and Hurkacz. Who else is gonna stay ahead or pass FAA, or is showing more potential to? Sincerely curious. I think he's top 10-12 material at least.

Are you thinking Rudd, Fritz, Opelka, de Minaur, Sonego pass him up? Or that players like Monfils, Berrettini, Raonic, Wawrinka and Garin will stay ahead of him that long?

[ponchi101]

I don't see Diego staying much longer in the top 10. The clay season will help him but he is the weakest of that group.
I just think that Felix does not have the consistency of shots. He has it all: power and speed. But I don't know if he can be taught how to keep the ball in play.
By now, the only prediction I make is that there will be like 100 players that will reach the top 25. Hurkacz' win last week seems to prove my point: I had him losing to Raonic, and he goes to win the tournament. The point therefore being: I truly know nothing about what it takes for these players to reach the top.
Now watch FAA win the USO under Tony's watch.

[Suliso]

This could be an interesting experience. How much can Tony Nadal bring to FAA? Sure, Tony was there all the way for Rafa, but Felix is no Rafa. How much can Tony bring to Felix?
I say he can make him top 15. Anything more is a bonus, anything less, proof that coaches can do very little once the players reach this level.

So which 14 players will be ranked ahead of FAA in a couple years, do you think? Fed will probably be retired. Who knows about Rafa's status by then. Djokovic, Thiem, Tsistipas, Medvedev, Rublev, Sinner, maybe Schwartzman, Shapo and Hurkacz. Who else is gonna stay ahead or pass FAA, or is showing more potential to? Sincerely curious. I think he's top 10-12 material at least.

Are you thinking Rudd, Fritz, Opelka, de Minaur, Sonego pass him up? Or that players like Monfils, Berrettini, Raonic, Wawrinka and Garin will stay ahead of him that long?

Obviously I don't know and it's fairly like FAA will be in the top 10 himself, but if his development stalls at the current level for some reason there are many with a potential of being ahead of him. Many of those you mentioned, but also Musetti, Alcaraz, Zverev whom you just forgot, Kecmanovic and Korda possibly. Some currently impossible to predict late bloomers too.

[meganfernandez]

This could be an interesting experience. How much can Tony Nadal bring to FAA? Sure, Tony was there all the way for Rafa, but Felix is no Rafa. How much can Tony bring to Felix?
I say he can make him top 15. Anything more is a bonus, anything less, proof that coaches can do very little once the players reach this level.

So which 14 players will be ranked ahead of FAA in a couple years, do you think? Fed will probably be retired. Who knows about Rafa's status by then. Djokovic, Thiem, Tsistipas, Medvedev, Rublev, Sinner, maybe Schwartzman, Shapo and Hurkacz. Who else is gonna stay ahead or pass FAA, or is showing more potential to? Sincerely curious. I think he's top 10-12 material at least.

Are you thinking Rudd, Fritz, Opelka, de Minaur, Sonego pass him up? Or that players like Monfils, Berrettini, Raonic, Wawrinka and Garin will stay ahead of him that long?

Obviously I don't know and it's fairly like FAA will be in the top 10 himself, but if his development stalls at the current level for some reason there are many with a potential of being ahead of him. Many of those you mentioned, but also Musetti, Alcaraz, Zverev whom you just forgot, Kecmanovic and Korda possibly. Some currently impossible to predict late bloomers too.

I did forget Zverev... Yeah I know it's impossible to predict, never know when someone will put it all together, how life circumstances will come along to help or hurt, but FAA still has so much upside IMO. I'm also no expert in development...

[Suliso]

I did forget Zverev... Yeah I know it's impossible to predict, never know when someone will put it all together, how life circumstances will come along to help or hurt, but FAA still has so much upside IMO. I'm also no expert in development...

Certainly. He's fairly among the 10 best prospects under 23. High chances he'll make it to the top 10 fairly soon, but not guaranteed. Sometimes things go wrong... As an example long time ago I thought Pavlyunchenkova is certain to reach the top 10.