The tennis court can feel like a lonely place for players at times. Out there with no place to hide, singles matches are battles between two individuals who give it their all to try and earn valuable wins and ranking points on the ATP Tour and Hologic WTA Tour.
This week at the United Cup the stage is different, though, with Team Zones in the corners of the stadium courts. The innovation allows captains and players to cheer each other on, with teammates supporting their star who is stepping between the lines.
Team France started its United Cup campaign with a 5-0 victory against Team Argentina on Friday in Perth. French captain Edouard Roger-Vasselin and WTA star Caroline Garcia believe the atmosphere created on the sidelines played an important role in its opening win.
“Most of the time we are alone on court with our staff. Now we know we have the whole team together,” Roger-Vasselin said. “Five, six, seven, eight people are cheering for us every point. So, it gives us a lot of good energy.”
“I think it’s great,” Garcia added. “We are here because we love to play tennis. We like to play for our country. To do it all together, it’s a really great opportunity.”
The Team Zone also provides captains with monitors to access real-time statistics, data and insights, with on-court coaching an important factor.
In Sydney, Australia’s Jason Kubler discussed match strategy with captain Lleyton Hewitt, whose support and tactical tweaks helped him rally from 0-5 in the second set to earn a 6-3, 7-6(3) win against Great Britain’s Daniel Evans.
“It’s tough to give up when you’ve got Rusty on the bench and Demon,” Kubler said. “They’ve got that never-say-die attitude. Any time I’m down, especially in front of these guys, I’ve just got to give it my all and luckily tonight I was able to turn it around.
“At 0-5 we were saying to give him some different looks. To try and do some things that hopefully he starts to think about in the third set. That’s where my mindset was. That helped me play a bit more proactive instead of a bit reactional. I felt like I started trying to create a few things by coming to the net, started going for a few more shots.”
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Photo Credit: TENNIS AUSTRALIA, ATP Tour, Peter Staples.
Like its European neighbours France, Team Switzerland earned a perfect 5-0 victory in its opening Group B tie against Kazakhstan. WTA No. 12 Belinda Bencic starred in her singles victory…
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