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As I am writing this on the plane back to Europe, I am reflecting on the past 48 hours in Australia. The last entry was that we were looking forward to the match between Serena and Justine.
When we came back to the hotel we were just in time to get our dinner consisting of snacks that are served between 6 and 8 at the Hyatt Business lounge. The Lounge is on the 31st floor of the Grand Hyatt on Collins. The hotel I have stayed in for the past 5 years, while working with adidas. The hotel is located just a ten minute walk to the site as well as a 5 minute walk to the (in)famous Federation Square. It also just a short walk to all the best shopping streets in Melbourne. We have our breakfast there everyday as well as our team meetings and management meetings for the duration of the tournament. Since it is the official hotel most of the players, manufacturers and the management companies are staying there. This is the 2nd year of the fully refurbished hotel that has a great history together with the tournament. In the past, the lower lobby consisted of large food court that since has turned into one of the hottest night clubs in town “the Spice Market.” This year “Spice Market” took the effort with Henri Leconte to organize a charity event for the victims of the earthquake of Haiti. Prior to the tournament we attended the 2nd annual “taste of tennis” which has been for many years the main attraction of players and sponsors during the US open at the “W Hotel 49th and Lexington” in NY. The Taste of Tennis was also organized in of the greatest ballrooms in the Hyatt which in the past was the place for the Players Party.
While making ourselves comfortable in the lounge we settled down in the TV room where Serena and Justine had already started their 2010 Women’s Final. As it turned out it was one great final and I was impressed with the quality of tennis that both players were able to reach in a final. It seems that Justine really was the one that should get the credit for getting the most out of Serena. After a long battle and at times it looked like Justine was going to do the same as Kim did at the US open, Serena was victorious and the winner of the 2010 Australian Open.
I believe that Justine is a better player than when she stopped at top of the women’s ranking. She showed improvement in all areas. The only part that she might have been missing was the lack of match play over a longer period of time. So I tell you right now that we have to really consider that Justine will be favored for the next Slam of the year at the 2010 French Open at Roland Garros.
Day 14
Sunday the 31st of January 2010
Mats and I had a sleep in and went for a walk on the town and guess where we went. Yes! We went to the adidas Store and looked at the product and the layout. Around the corner was a nice shop with some cool trainers and since we are not going to support any other casual sports shoe, Mats and I both bought some cool trainers. This was our treat to ourselves for a successful 3 weeks in Melbourne.
adidas ended up having 4 finalists in the Women’s, Men’s, Girls and Boys events. Tiago Fernandes, the first Brazilian to ever win a grand slam junior event was the sole victor of this years’ finals. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to watch much of the wheelchair championships this year but I am looking forward to getting back on court with Esther Vergeer when I get back to Amsterdam (Esther is the tournament Director at the ABN-AMRO Wheel chair tennis event, which starts on the 8th of Feb, simultaneous with the ATP tour tournament).
 Mats' locker at the Aussie Open We got to the site around 3 for our workout in the players gym which was totally empty and we got a chance to have our last work out in total peace. Mats and I were also invited by the team of Andy to attend the Final of that evening. I ran into Darren Cahill who was getting ready to sit court side, for ESPN, during the match and give a detailed and specialist analysis during tonight’s final. Darren and I also are working on finalizing the list of players that Mats is compiling and doing the full admin of communication and organization for our Indian Wells Prep in Vegas — from the 25th February through the 5th of March.
7:30 p.m.
The forecast for the evening was not looking too good as rain had already forced the roof to be closed during the mixed finals that took place prior to tonight’s Final. Two friends were going to watch the final from The Oval, but were forced to go home because the rain had forced them to go inside.
 Roger Federer gets ready to serve under the orange Melborne sky. When both players walked on court at 7:30 p.m. the roof was half way opened. There was still some daylight left over and as the match progressed clouds were moving quickly across the sky with the sunset turning the sky above the court into an orange blanket.
I could not tell before the match who was going to win because I felt that Andy was ready for his first win in a Slam. The only person that could stop him from reaching his (and that of the whole of Scotland and the UK) ultimate prize, would be Roger Federer.
Before the match I sat down with Tony Godsick (IMG Manager of Roger) and we chatted about what was ahead of us that evening. Tony is also helping me with a letter of Reference from Roger in my quest to create a High Performance Center in Amsterdam together with Ex Player John Van Lottum. Tony and I both felt it was going to be a great final and it was going to be a toss up. Not only did Tony and I think this, but also when I spoke to the Sports Marketing Director of Nike he thought the same. The only argument I had was that I felt that after Roger’s victory over Davydenko had given him a boost of confidence. Especially in his interview on court with Jim Courier, he was so relaxed and confident in the words he choose that I felt he reached a victory not only over Davydenko but more importantly over himself.
So when I saw how the level of Roger was from the very beginning of the match, I knew Andy would have to come up with his best tennis of his career. Unfortunately, Andy was not able to maintain the level he needed during the match and at times where he had a chance he was not able to capitalize. I think the tie-break in the 3rd was the shorter version of the whole match. The game of cat and mouse during the match was won by Roger and the level of tennis that was reached was far above my expectations. Where normally you will see that players would try to neutralize each other in the exchanges they have, in this final, the players were not going to play passively or wait for the other to make the mistake. Both choose to go for their shots and it turned out to be 3 great sets of tennis and some of the best tennis (point by point) I have ever seen.
Yes it would have been great to see Andy win the 3rd and go into a fourth set and challenge Roger’s nerve a little. As we all know, it means so much to Roger winning in Australia and nerves do tend to come in toplay in the latter part of a match. I do not know and I could not tell you for sure but I think it has to do with his respect for the sport and the history of the game that Australia has. I also know that Roger still has a close bond with the family of his former coach, Peter Carter (who was also my colleague during my time as the Head of Swiss tennis in 1997/98.). This makes it the slam which he may see as part of his tennis roots.
 Andy Murray addresses the crowd after his final against Roger Federer. I would have loved to see Andy win his first Slam and it would have been great to have broken the dry spell for GB tennis. However I am proud of Roger and his achievements and of the player he has become, but more I am proud of Roger for who is even after all his success.
 The image of Federer kissing his winner's trophy is seen here on the big screen above the stadium. Therefore, I congratulate Roger and his whole team for the 16th Slam of his career, however, I am proud to be in the corner of Andy as I believe he shows the same qualities as Roger. I know he will succeed in his quest to win a slam.
This was the Australian Open 2010 and I want to thank on behalf of Mats and myself, all of you who have taken the time to read our blog. We look forward to many more to come and want to thank TennisWarehouse.com for showing the interest for the Game of tennis and given us a chance to share our days with you.
Thank you to all of the people at the Australian Open — especially to the people behind the practice desk, Gym/Fitness area and the people in the player’s restaurant. All of them have made it possible for us to do our work and helped us everyday to make it fun.
Sven and Mats.
Day 12 and 13
This entry is a combined entry of the past 2 days of watching the future of tennis. As Mats had mentioned about the locker room yesterday, I am not quietly sitting down and reflecting on the past month. We have now been in Australia for 2 months and if you have never been I can suggest coming to this wonderful country. The people are very friendly and the Australian Open is the best tournament in the world. You would not want to miss this if you are a big fan of tennis.
Yesterday we watched the semi finals of Tiago Fernandes and Laura Robson. It is interesting to see their developments and they both won their matches and made it into the final. Tiago beat Giani Mina from France and he was almost down and out being down a set and 2-5 in the tie-break but when Tiago hit an on the run forehand passing shot you could see the momentum change. Mina is going to be a player of the future to watch as well and maybe that matchup should have been the final.
Laura made it a little easier into the final and beating Kristyna Pliskova 3 and 1. It was very windy today and you could see that there was little rhythm so when I sent a text to Laura to congratulate her on her win she told me she was going to go for a hit with Martijn Bok, her coach, on a indoor court to get some rhythm.
 Fans make a sign before heading into the stands. Since the semi final of the men’s did not take place until the evening at 7:30 p.m. we had a chance to go into the gym again. I must say that I have missed the workouts and I am trying to get in shape so I can start hitting some balls again. Yesterday Mats and Martijn had a hit on the indoor courts. Since it is so quiet now, it almost seems like a different tournament. Now we get all the freedom to move around the facility and have a chance to relax a bit. Some of the fans were watching the tennis but also prepping for their main man in making their fan signs.
 Looking up at the big screen from Federation Square After getting back to the hotel Mats and I changed quickly to walk over to Federation Square to watch the match between Federer and Tsonga. And again Federer was just too good and made Tsonga look bad. After the match Federer gave an interview and he was so relaxed and confident that I have to say that it is going to be a tough match for Murray. Ever since I met and worked with Federer in 1997, this will be the first time that I will be cheering for one of Roger’s opponents instead of Him. Andy is a new member of the adidas team and it would be great to see him break the British Grand Slam drought of the past 74 years.
 The crowd gathers in Federation Square to watch Federer vs. Tsonga DAY 13
Today we got a chance to sleep in, after the past 3 weeks we did not get a chance to do so and this time we took advantage of our time off. Yes believe it or not we are now not working for adidas and we are now on our own bill. You would think that maybe we would go home as soon as our responsibilities were over. Instead we stay around because both Mats and I enjoy and love the sport we work in and it would be a shame if we would not be here and see the finals of the 2 juniors that we have been following for the past years.
 Tiago Fernandes celebrates winning the Aussie Open Junior title. Tiago started today at 1 p.m. and he won his first slam of his young career. He turned 17 yesterday and had a very good win on his birthday but today he outperformed the finalist from Australia. I believe Tiago is making great progress and he is getting stronger every time I see him. In his speech he thanked everybody from his coach and the tournament sponsors and officials. He took the time to even thank Mats and I when he stood on center court holding his trophy of the 2010 Australian Open championships.
 Tiago Fernandes holds his trophy after winning the Aussie Open Junior title Laura was not at the winning end today as she faced a very strong opponent in the twin sister of the girl she beat in the semi-final. Karonlina Pliskova is defiantly a girl to watch for the future of the women’s game. She has a big serve and for being as tall as she is maybe 6’2”, she was retrieving extremely well. Laura lost the first set in 22 mins and this was much too fast for a final. Because of the weapons and the powerful game of her opponent, it took Laura far too long to adjust and she could not find her rhythm. She was not able to get back into the match until the middle of the 2nd set when she broke back to get back on serve. So when it came to the tie-break it was Laura who was leading and had changed a bit of the momentum of the match as she was leading 4-1. However, she lost the next 5 points in a row and this a little too much of course, but she did get to 6 all. In the end she hit a double fault and handed the win to Karolina who was very lucky to get away with this win.
 Mats and Sven make their own 2010 Aussie stamp. Mats and I thought we would walk over to get our stamps made, a nice souvenir of this year’s Australian Open and as I am writing today’s entry Mats is back on court and having another work out with Martijn.
I am looking forward to the match of Serena and Justine and I am sure many of you will wonder about the state of tennis in the women’s game. However, I want to give the credit to Justine instead because she stopped as the number 1 player in the world and she has come back as strong or maybe even stronger than before. So may the best one win today and enjoy a great match between 2 great champions.
Tomorrow we hope to get a chance to go to the match of Andy versus Roger and if we do we will make a full match report on that match. All the best for now and look forward to another day off at the tennis.
Mats and Sven
The Locker-Rooms
Sometimes it is great to hang out in the locker rooms. You get to hear some funny inside stories and see things you usually wouldn’t.
There are 2 different locker rooms at the Australian Open — Locker Room A and Locker Room B.
If you work on the ATP side you receive a credential that allows you into Locker Rooms A and B. Locker Room A is a bit smaller, and only the player and one member of his support team are allowed in there. The players are usually preparing themselves for the match. They are preparing their special drinks, putting new overgrips on their racquets and getting ready mentally as well. It is very special to see how they have some rituals in common and how each player does his own special thing prior to the match.
Last year when Fernando Verdasco made it into the second week and advanced to the semis here, Sven and I got our credential changed, so we could get access to Locker Room A. We only could get this access because it was quieter in the second week and fewer players and support team members were there. Last year, we initially had our credentials with Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic.
Working on the WTA side with a player means you only have access to Locker Room B because you are not working with a male player.
However, Locker Room B is sometimes more popular than Locker Room A because you have more space, and you are not sharing with too many other players. Andy Roddick, for example, had his locker in Locker Room A. He was always preparing for his match in there with his coach, Larry Stefanki, and also doing his physio.
To make sure nothing is stolen or disappears, there are two gentlemen, Anthony and Ross, who are in charge of unlocking and locking the lockers. They basically share a 24/7 job during the tournament. Their day starts at 6 a.m. and ends two hours after the last match has finished. If you want to know about long days, you should ask them. They are doing an unbelievable job and whenever I walk in there, one of them is there and asks me the question, “Unlock 53, Mats?” So obviously after a certain time they know you and your locker.
 The inside of Mats' locker #53 at the Aussie Open. Jobs like this are often underestimated, and I think we owe them a big thank you for the great job that they do. They must be exhausted after those more or less three weeks of work.
Apart from hanging out in Locker Room B, we also got to watch some junior matches. Laura Robson and Tiago Fernandes, both with adidas, were playing, and we were watching some other very talented players as well of course.
Maria Kirilenko also was on to play her doubles semifinal together with Agnieszka Radwanska. They were playing Cara Black and Liezel Huber. Unfortunately they lost in three sets. It was very windy and Black/Huber are not easy opponents. They were really in Maria’s and Agnieszka’s face the entire match even when they lost the second set 1-6 Black/Huber were running back to their bench, as if they had won the second set 6-1. That’s also why they are so good at what they do. They are very professional.
But I think Maria should still be confident with a quarterfinal in singles and a semifinal in doubles, she had a very good run over the last two weeks. Let’s cross fingers for her and hope she won’t get injured and will be able to maintain that level of very good tennis.
Have a great day,
Mats
Since our time in Australia is coming to an end, Mats and I will be reporting a little less news on the blog. We would like to thank you for taking the time to read our daily activities, and because we have only one of our players in the tournament we will be slowing down a lot.
 Sven and Mats have some down time at the Australian Open. Yesterday was a day of walking around the grounds, and in the second week there are fewer players in the tournament and fewer people roaming the grounds. It is always a special feeling in the second week of a slam.
When you arrive at the site and are walking in the corridors, it is much more quiet, and it is also a sad feeling because you realize it is coming to an end. Everything becomes easier, from booking practice courts to getting transportation to getting new balls for practices.
We wanted to watch some juniors because this is where the new generation is preparing for the big world of tennis. They are playing on the outside courts, and you have to do quite a bit of walking to cover all the courts from Court 20 to Court 10. Rod Laver Arena stands between these courts, and it takes at least 10 minutes before you reach the other side of the site.
The weather has been extremely mild this year, so it has been very pleasant for fans, players and coaches and has been one of the best in the 19 years I’ve been coming to the Australian Open.
We wanted to watch Laura Robson again, so along the way we also passed Court 4 where Andy Murray was having his day of recovery. It is always strange to congratulate somebody if they have won through retirement, but this one is special because it is his first semifinal here in Australia. There is a slight possibility that Mats will be hitting with Andy in the next few days because his coach Miles has a sore back.
Laura won her match and was not the most energetic on the court. I spoke to her after the match, and she said she had slept poorly and her mind was thinking of her whole day. She had to play her quarterfinal (open division) women’s doubles match, which was scheduled to be after Tsonga-Djokovic at 7:30 p.m. I fully understand that a 16-year-old can get tired and her mind may wonder.
 Serena on the big screen at the Aussie Open. After her match, we decided to have a quick sandwich before heading to The Oval, where there is a big beer garden and other activities for the fans with live music and bars and restaurants. We wanted to watch the Serena and Roger matches there. We ended up staying there until about 6 p.m., and Roger had just won the second set before we walked over to Maria Kirilenko’s at 6:30 p.m. warm-up for her doubles match.
We watched the end of the Federer match in the lounge, and we had a nice dinner in the players’ restaurant before we headed over to the night match of the day: Tsonga vs. Djokovic. The first two sets were spectacular. The women’s doubles match that was originally planned after the match was moved to the Margaret Court Arena at 10 p.m., and I was getting updates from Laura Robson’s coach. She and her partner were leading 4-0 in the first. So I decided to walk over and watch a little from the side of the court. (I am not supposed to be in the player’s box of either of the players, but I am allowed to sit and watch neutrally.) I came in at 4-3 for Robson and Peers, but Kirilenko and Radwanska turned it around and won the set 6-4. I stayed for one more game before heading back to center court. I watched as Tsonga was fighting his way back after losing the third, and Djokovic was running of the court because he seemed ill. At the end Tsonga won the battle and put another adidas player into the semis.
Today is going to be a bit slower, but I look forward to see Justine Henin play her comeback semi and roam the grounds again and in between have a personal workout in the gym.
Another day of Paradise is beginning.
Sven
Day 9 - Australia Day (the 4th of July for Australia)
Today was a big day not only for Maria Kirilenko, but also for the adidas Development Program. Maria has been with the program on and off for the past 4 years, and she has really has developed into an all-court player, but most of all a great girl.
At 9 a.m. we took the bus so we could have our coffee in the players’ restaurant before warming up with Maria at 10 a.m. on center court. Maria warmed up with her doubles partner, Agnieszka Radwanska, and next to them on the same court was her opponent hitting with her coach/husband.
The Henin - Petrova match started at 11 a.m., and it turned out to be another great performance by Justine. For her to reach the semifinal in her second tournament after her two-year retirement it speaks volumes for Justine’s quality of play rather than the state of women’s tennis.
Maria was a bit nervous about the match and her ability to move as well as she need to against Jie Zheng. As it turned out, it was not enough. I was impressed with Zheng’s performance but not surprised. She is one of the greatest movers, and when she is on, you really need to be at your best to be able to get her out of her rhythm. Maria could not and was unfortunately not the one moving onto the semifinal.
After the match, Mats and I walked to Court 3 to meet up with Claus Marten, who was scouting matches on the outside courts. Laura Robson was battling with Yulia Putintseva, a Russian female version of Nadal. She and Laura both train at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy. However, it did not look like Yulia cared about the sportsmanship of the game, let alone respect one of her academy teammates. Laura tried to compose herself and focus on her game and not Yulia’s screams, jumps and fist pumps. The better player won this match, and Laura walked toward the net victorious. At that instant, Yulia’s racquet was flying toward the referee. Perhaps it was not intentional, but she hit is so hard on the court that it bounced 10 meters high and was caught by the wind. I am sure the match-up between the two will not be the last, but I do hope somebody will educate Yulia about what sportsmanship is all about.
When Laura’s match was finished, I went to the gym for a nice workout and had a good chat with Anders Jarryd, who is playing the seniors event. It is great to be around these great champions of the past to hear what they have to say about tennis and its development. Whether it is a Thomas Muster, Henri Leconte or Martina Navratilova, all of them take the time to have a chat and catch up. They are the legends of the game and they make tennis so special because they are still around to share their experiences with all of us.
It was now around 7 p.m., and I was about to leave for the hotel, call it a night and get ready for the Murray vs. Nadal match. As I was leaving, I ran into Laura Robson’s father, and we were chatting about her future plans and schedule. When the schedule was released, we found out that Laura would have to play her quarterfinals women’s doubles match at night and was scheduled to play after Djokovic vs. Tsonga.
This scheduling is an absolute disgrace, and I find it hard to believe that the WTA and the ITF, both of which are taking part in scheduling, allowed this to take place. Laura is also competing in the girls/junior event and turned 16 last week. Her singles match is the second one on after 11 a.m., followed by her doubles match tonight, and if she wins her singles match, the following day she would play another morning singles match in the junior event. I will say any more, but the tournament has made very bad judgment call.
Meanwhile, Mats left the site at 5 p.m. because he was invited for dinner at Jimmy Tansey’s place at Port Melbourne with Claus. Jimmy Tansey works in sports marketing for Olympic sports, individual sports and team sports so he has a lot of responsibilities. Claus and Mats have this as an annual event in Melbourne.
I got back to the hotel around 8 p.m., and as I turned on the TV to watch Nadal-Murray (who has just signed a contract with the 3 stripes), the match was is in full swing. It was 2-2, and I walked to Federation Square to watch the match on the big screen. It was Australia Day so it was very busy. On the big screen TV, there was live music, so they showed the match in the Atrium. The screen was little smaller, but the atmosphere that was incredible. Fans of both Rafa and Andy were chanting their names and waving flags. Unfortunately it was a sad ending because Nadal was hurt and could not continue his quest to defend his title.
Tomorrow will be our last day at the site, and we will round things up with checking on juniors, meetings with managers and having a nice day at the tennis without having to run from one court to another.
Sven and Mats
Day 8 with Sven
 Mats Merkel, left, and Sven Groenefeld sitting courtside at the Australian Open. Photo by Paul Zimmer. Getting up early every morning is part of our routine. This is the only time we get a chance to reflect and relax at a nice breakfast on the executive floor of the Grand Hyatt. Before we take the bus, we can catch up and review the upcoming day’s schedule.
Today we had a warm-up with Caroline on Hisense Arena court at 10 a.m. It went really well and showed no indication of what was waiting for us later in the day.
At 10:30 a.m., Mats ran over to Court 16 where he warmed up Fernando for his match. This did not give him much time after Caroline’s warm-up, but Fernando is not too stressed about starting exactly on time. When I got to the court, Fernando walked in as well, and they were off to prepare for his match with Davydenko.
Because it was Maria Kirilenko’s birthday (turning 23 today), I wanted a chance to meet with her before Caroline played Na Li of China. Maria had planned a warm up with her doubles partner at 12.
As I was walking over to Maria’s practice court and checking out some juniors (I won’t mention any names), I saw some new talent on the boys side and made a note for Claus Marten to check on him later today. Claus, who is part of the adidas Global Marketing team, focuses on the next generation of players who are playing the junior event. Our focus will stay the same but because we have time in between practices and matches, we can check out what the next generation will be holding for us.
On my way to Caroline’s match, I wished Maria and a happy birthday and told her I would see her after Caroline’s match.
Caroline was not able to put it together today and had a disappointing loss to a player who would normally cause her no harm. However, she also lost to her in Sydney, a lead-up tournament for the Australian Open. Even though it was a loss, Caroline told me, “At least I am one round further than last year.” I told her that there is more to come, and if we can improve each tournament by one round, she would have a very good year.
After the match I walked back to the player’s lounge, which is located in the Rod Laver Arena where Fernando was playing his 4th round match. Mats and I had decided that he would watch Fernando’s match, and I would watch Caroline. So when I saw that it was 2 sets to love for Davydenko, I thought it would not be much longer. However, Fernando turned it around and was heading into a 5th set.
At the end of the day, both matches were lost, but on her birthday, Maria won her doubles match against the reigning Masters champions in convincing fashion.
 Maria Kirilenko celebrates her 23rd birthday at the Australian Open. After the match, she was presented with a birthday cake and we all sang “Happy Birthday” to her on Margaret Court Arena.
Before leaving the site, we had some meetings with the management of the players we are inviting to come to Vegas.
We also got a chance to say hello to players in the Wheelchair competition who start their tournament Wednesday. Because I have been working with Esther Vergeer since last October, I have gotten to know most of the players who are participating in the tournament. Esther decided not to play this Australian Open and take some time off after reaching her ultimate goal of winning the Masters in November. She has finished the year No. 1 for 10 consecutive years and won the Masters 12 consecutive times.
Another day has come to an end, and although we did not get the results we wanted, we are looking forward to Maria Kirilenko’s first Australian Open quarterfinal.
Day 8 with Mats
Fernando Verdasco vs. Davydenko was a strange match to watch. I was sitting in Fernando’s box with his father and two friends of his, Garry and Claudio.
Fernando had a lot of chances to break Davydenko in the first set but didn’t convert them and lost the first set. In the second set he managed to break Davydenko, but was broken right back.
It felt like the momentum was always on Davydenko’s side. He was moving unbelievably well and retrieved some of Fernando’s forehands.
Fernando was down 2–0 in sets, but still it didn’t really feel like a match yet. When he managed to break Davydenko in the third set and held despite facing break points, I knew that it now was going to be a match.
 Mats Merkel with Fernando Verdasco on the practice court. Photo by Cynthia Lum. Fernando won the third set and started out very strong into the fourth. He was up a break again, but Davydenko was playing well, and they played their first tiebreaker of the match. After being down 1-3 then 3-5, Fernando managed to win the breaker 7-5.
I was sitting in the sun, cooking and screaming, trying to push him and give him the feeling that we in his box believe in him!
The fifth and final set started, and Fernando had chances to break Davydenko in the first game to go up 1-0, but Davydenko came up with some great answers. At 2-2 Fernando had Love-30 on Davydenko’s serve, but again the Russian played some unbelievable points! At 2-3 Fernando was broken in a very strange service game. He lost the fifth set 3-6 and with this the match.
It was such an awkward feeling to see the match end like this. Fernando fought back after being down 2 sets to love and then the fifth set takes such a turn again. Davydenko seemed to be not as physically strong as Fernando, but Fernando couldn’t take advantage of it. I believe if Fernando could win just one of those close matches against those Top 5 players, it would give such a big boost to his career. I am sure he will be able to do that eventually. He has shown great fighting spirit, and we believe that he will do it!
Have a great day!
Sven and Mats
 Sven Groenefeld on the practice court at The Australian Open. Photo by Cynthia Lum. Today would be a day with not too many matches. Only Sania Mirza is playing doubles and Maria Kirilenko plays against Dinara Safina later that day, but due to the fact that both players are with adidas the “adidas vs. adidas – RULE” comes in.
We are only allowed to do the warm-up, but we cannot talk about any tactics at all. Also we are not allowed to watch the match in the box of the player we work with, because this would also be a conflict of interest.
At 11:00 – 11:30 a.m. Sania was warming up with her doubles partner Vivi Ruano Pasqual. Sven and Ruano Pasqual’s coach were with them on court 15 and I was sitting at court 14 watching Eugenie Bouchard from Canada who was playing her first round match. She is with adidas and it is one of our responsibilities to observe juniors to see the next generation of players.
Talking about next generation, on Court 12 Tiago Fernandes from Brasil was playing. Tiago has been with adidas for a couple of years now and we know Tiago quite well from prior preparations that Sven and I had with juniors in Saddlebrook (Tampa, Florida) — prior to Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl.
 Mats Merkel hitting with Maria Kirilenko on the practice court at The Australian Open. Photo by Cynthia Lum. Sven joined me at 11:35am and we had 15 minutes to watch Tiago until we had to go to the next practice, which was at 12:00 01:00 p.m. on court 16 with Maria Kirilenko. We went through the routines with her and basically did the warm-up like every other day.
From court 16 we went straight to court 17 at 1:00 p.m. because we had a practice with Caroline. A lot of people came to the court to watch her practice. We had a very good session. Worked on her game and specifically on the transition game, coming in to the net.
Now it was time to grab something to eat. Sven quickly left to see the end of Sania Mirza’s doubles match, who unfortunately lost. Sven then came back to sit down with me and relax for half an hour.
We also had to start working on a presentation to our boss Jim Latham concerning training we will have in Las Vegas at the end of February — prior to Indian Wells and Miami. We trained there last year and it was a big success.
 Mats Merkel hitting on the practice court with Fernando Verdasco at The Australian Open. Photo by Cynthia Lum. At 4:00 p.m. I had a training session with Fernando Verdasco on court 16 for an hour. We were just working on having a good rhythm and played some points at the end.
After the practice with Fernando, Sven and I then met with Darren Cahill to go through a list of players for the preparation in Las Vegas and to finalize that list before sending it out to our boss.
The bus back to the Grand Hyatt left at 6 o’clock and I met up with Claus Marten to help him pack up the leftovers from the distribution. Everything will be shipped to the warehouse of adidas Australia. We had 3 other helpers and we were really fast this time. In between we were eating some pizzas that we ordered and were watching the match on Rod Laver Arena between Henin against Wickmayer, where Justine managed to win in 3 sets. It is always the Sunday of the first week, where we meet up and pack up all the boxes. I remember last year we did that starting at midnight, because one of our players was playing late.
 Packing boxes after the player gear distribution. Sven didn’t go back with me, because he had to take care of the schedule for the next day, so all of our players would be set with their warm-ups. Another reason why he stayed to watch the match (from a location unknown) of Maria against Dinara which was played on Hisense Arena. Unfortunately Dinara had to stop because of an injury (back) and Maria advanced into her first Quarter-Final in her career in a slam.
We were all done with packing up the boxes at around 10:00 p.m. and Claus and I decided to watch some tennis at the Federation Square which has a big screen set up on a modern square surrounded by bars and restaurants — it creates an atmosphere only possible in Australia. Gonzalez was on against Roddick and we were watching the second and third set before heading back to the hotel, because we were freezing!
As you can see we can never get enough of tennis. Even when we could or maybe should shut off we still keep going. We are looking forward to another day and some big matches tomorrow, since Fernando Verdasco will be on against Davydenko on Rod Laver and Caroline Wozniacki play against Na Li on Hisense.
Have a great day!
Mats and Sven
Day 6
 January 24, 2010. Mats Merkel and Sven Groenefeld with Maria Kirilenko on the practice court at The Australian Open, Melbourne Australia. Photo by Cynthia Lum. When you are getting into the end of the first week things are starting to change again while players are leaving due to the fact they lost. Our adidas team is sliming down since all the product has been delivered to players and their coaches and everybody is packing up again. However a new wave of people are coming to the Open and those are the next generation juniors that are now entering the arena of the first slam of the year.
Today it is Sunday the 24th of January and the Juniors will start their matches today on the outside courts.
Yesterday started out with an 8:30 a.m. meeting with Sorana Cirstea. Since she was leaving to go back home we needed to catch up on her status and development as she has now joined the Mouratoglou team in Paris.
After sitting down with Sorana, I had to walk over to another hotel around 10 a.m. to meet with Ana Ivanovic’s mother to discuss the next steps and make a plan for the coming weeks ahead.
 January 24, 2010.The Australian Open, Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia. Mats Merkel with Fernando Verdasco on the practice court. Photo by Cynthia Lum. Before I knew it, it was 11:40 a.m. and were on the bus to the site where Mats had to hit with Fernando and prepare him for his match with Koubek. In the player’s lounge I had a chance to catch up with Darrin Cahill. We spoke and planned a training camp for the Player Development Program. We are thinking it will be similar to last year and we will have a 10 day prep time prior to the Indian Wells tournament.
At 1 p.m. I had a doubles prep with Sania Mirza who was having a session with her doubles partner ViVi Ruano Pasqual. They had a day off so it was a perfect time to have a good training session to prepare them for their next match up. As we were having a hit Maria (who had to warm up for her doubles at 11) joined us and we could stay on the same court for the 2 hours of practice. Now it may sound very easy, but juggling all the players and their plans/preparations is a great deal of our daily planning and communication — which we have to have dialed in at the end of everyday. I must say, the people behind the desks making the court reservations have been helping tremendously. Without them showing some leniency we could not do our work.
Since we did not have a big match schedule we could have some meetings again with coaches and players that were arriving and leaving for their next destination. We ended up going up to the second level of the player’s lounge where we could sit outside on a terrace overlooking the Oval. A big screen is stationed at the Oval and many fans were having a nice picnic while watching the tennis on the screen. We call it our office for the week. Mats and I were catching up for a little bit there with Martijn Bok the coach of Laura Robson.
 Sven meets with Martijn Bok, coach of Laura Robson Inside there is an internet lounge with couches and TVs and I watched Daniela Hantuchova loose her 3rd round match against Na Li. Since Caroline was playing the winner I had a chance to scout her next opponent and see if I could also be of help to Darren with the work he does with Daniela.
Maria won her doubles and is in good shape but will be taking on Dinara Safina in her next match today.
Since Fernando had a walkover after completing the first set, due to the fact that his opponent was sick, Mats was called to have another workout on court with Fernando to make sure he had enough rhythm and a good sweat.
 January 24, 2010. Fernando Verdasco hitting on the practice court with Mats at The Australian Open, Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Cynthia Lum. At 6 p.m. we had a warm up with Caroline on center court where she would be playing her third round match against Shahar Peer later that evening. The music was playing and the spectators were getting their seats when Mats and Caroline were warming up. The hit took only 20 minutes since it was just to get a feeling for the court. Mats and I went into the gym right after and had an hour to get our muscles into shape again.
We expected that the Hewitt vs Baghdatis match would be a long one since their match up from a few years ago lasted more than 5 hours. With that in mind the WTA and tournament officials even warned us if the match went long the court could be changed. Instead, after less than an hour I received a call from Caroline asking me if I had seen the score and that the trainer was called.
Caroline was on the treadmill and warming up as we were watching the match. As anticipated, the match was called off and instead of going on court at 11 p.m. Caroline walked on at 8:30 p.m.
Caroline was victorious after an early scare but played an incredible match of numbers.
Mats and I made it back to the hotel at around 11 p.m. and called it a day.
Have a good one.
Sven and Mats
 Sven in action blogging Day 4 with Sven
Melbourne is heating up as the weather is getting better, the summer is now in full swing and the tournament is approaching the weekend. The third and fourth rounds are ahead and those are the times when we get a real indication of who will be a contender for the trophies.
Mats and I were on the 8 o’clock bus, entered the site at approximately 8:15 a.m. and welcomed by Charlie who was the first person to screen our credentials — with a scanner like those used at convenience stores. He has taken it to himself to say everybody’s name and he will be there for 6 hours straight.
We met Ana in the Gym who was going through her warm up routines with her fitness coach who joined her personal team about 4 weeks ago. He has been doing an incredible job with Ana in such a short period and will be a major strength for Ana in the future. Ana is such a powerful player with a dominant game but unfortunately yesterday her inconsistency got the better of her. It is always hard when you have to fight back and it was just too much for Ana yesterday.
Caroline was having a warm up with Mats when Ana’s match started. Caroline had to wait till the match was over after 2 hours and 40 some minutes. While I was having a talk with Ana after her defeat Caroline was in full swing, and when I entered the stadium again she was leading 5-2.
Caroline has showed the progress that you want to see — especially since she did not play many matches with only some exhibitions and a first round loss in Sydney before the tournament. Therefore, the match in the first round compared to the one of yesterday was just a simple numbers game. For Caroline to continue her path in the tournament she will continue to do the same as she did yesterday. She more than halved her unforced errors compared to the first match and this is just a sign she is getting into a match rhythm.
There are always nerves when you start a slam. If you are willing to compete and compose yourself then realize that it is perfectly normal to have more unforced errors in the beginning, you can remain objective and keep your focus on the present.
After being in the sun and sitting in the player’s box for about 4 hours, I needed to have a small bite and also get some fluids. I have the habit of not drinking a lot during tournaments, especially on a match day because there is nothing worse than having to go to the toilet during a very important moment. Since Mats and I are working with many players we sometimes forget about ourselves, but we are improving this to make sure we are hydrated, rested and can give our best to our players.
The tennis is one thing but there is another part that is taking place behind the scenes. The sponsors, such as adidas and many others are present to make sure their new product and new players are in place. The meetings with management companies are always important to keep the personal contact so the new generation is being scouted and talked about. So after Caroline’s match we sat down with one of the management groups, Octagon, who represent many players and have quite a few players in adidas gear. The managers are the ones that have the best overview. They help us work with the players, determine the best schedule and the places for the adidas Player Development Program to step in and provide our services.
Day 4 with Mats
Fernando and I actually had a warm-up scheduled for 4:30 p.m., but because the other matches on his court were progressing really slowly, we decided to changed the time to 5:00 p.m. on court 16. When we got there Roger Federer had just finished his warm-up for his match against Victor Hanescu. Roger and Fernando were joking around a little bit before he took off and Fernando and I were hitting together.
Fernando just recently switched from the adidas Barricade V into the adidas CC Genius II and he had a new pair of shoes he was breaking in for the upcoming match. He really likes the shoe and I can only agree with him, that it is a very good shoe to play tennis in.
Once the schedule was out, we booked all our practices and warm ups for the next day, then Sven and I took off to go back to the Hotel and get changed. We were invited to the birthday party of Laura Robson, who was celebrating her 16th birthday and asked Sven and I to come and join them. We were about 11 people sitting at a round table having Japanese dinner. After the main courses the most special part of the dinner was coming: THE BIRTHDAY CAKE. Even Andy Murray, who played together with Laura at the Hopman Cup in Perth, stopped by with his physical coach Jesse to have a piece of cake. It was a great dinner and we had a lot of fun.
Day 5 with Mats
We were getting ready for a 38-degree day today. Our first practice of the day was with Ayumi Morita, who was leaving later that day. We worked again with her on her serve and did some footwork drills with a basket. It is a pleasure working with her, since she is very open for any kind of advice that Sven and I are giving. We both agree, that she already improved and we are looking forward to seeing her soon again.
At 10:00 a.m. Maria was getting ready for her Match against Roberta Vinci, an Italian player that plays a lot of slice on her backhand side, unlike most of the WTA players nowadays. Maria was hitting with Agnieszka Radwanska, who had a day off. But the last 10 minutes she wanted me to play with her and I had to hit a lot of slice backhands, so she could get used to getting under the ball and be ready for her match.
By 11:00 a.m. we were on court 16, the players favorite court to practice on, since it is very close to the facility and the players don’t have to walk too long through the crowds. Caroline and I went through the routines on her day off. We warmed up, then hit serves and returns to keep her body going.
Sania was warming up with her doubles partner Virginia Ruano Pascual at 12:00 p.m. on court 20, which is very close to court 16. We didn’t have to hurry to our next practice, since we stopped 10 minutes earlier with Caroline.
As Maria walked on to Show court 3, our other players, Sania and Laura Robson were starting to play doubles. Maria played very well and managed to win 7-5, 7-6. During the change-overs, the scores of the other courts were shown on the result screen and we saw that Laura Robson won her doubles and Sania did as well. So a good day in the office for our adidas players!
Sven and I went to the gym until the schedule came out, we had about 45 minutes to do some exercises. It is nice to get to work out, so we can switch off a little bit, even if we are working out on site.
After the schedule was done and the practices for the next day were taken care of, we went back to the Hotel to meet up with Claus Marten who has been working over 25 years in Global Sports Marketing Tennis for adidas. One of his responsibilities is taking care of the players and equipping them with clothes. He and his team are equipping approximately 45 players (male and female) and their support teams, so it probably comes down to about 100 people.
I think, we can consider ourselves very lucky being able to work within such a nice structure of people. It is not always given to get along with everybody within the team, but for us it is so.
Enjoy your day,
Mats and Sven
 Sven Groeneveld and Mats Merkel
Today was the best day of tennis, not only in terms of quality, but the weather was absolutely perfect, too.
Mats and I came in early for Ana because she had a day off after her match yesterday.
As we walked into the facilities we were greeted with the daily “G’day, mate,” and we headed straight for the cappuccino.
It makes it so nice to be at one of the slams and be greeted as if you are a local and have people actually remember your name. It makes it feel like home, and that is what it feels like for all of the players here at the Australian Open. This is the friendly slam, the happy slam.
I have been coming here since 1992 when I was working with Monica Seles, who won the tournament that year. Each year I look forward to the Australian Open because it is a very special place to me — with results also backing this up. Besides Monica, I’ve had a few other nice experiences:
Mary Pierce won in 1995
Mary Pierce reached the final in 1997
Nathalie Dechy reached the semifinal in 2005
Ana Ivanovic reached the final in 2008
Fernando Verdasco reached the semis in 2009
I hope this year will be another special year for all of the people I work with.
Mats and I arrived in Australia a little earlier than normal as we had planned to prepare with Ana Ivanovic and to spend some time to soak in the coast of Australia. One of the routines we had during our preparation was the early start to our days. We would start at 7:30 with a good warm-up and finish the morning session around 10:30. This gave us the rest of the day to relax and recover from our hard work.
So when we walked in at 7:30 yesterday and nobody was there besides the staff and security of Melbourne Park, it reminded us of the work we did in the off-season. Yesterday we finished the morning session with Ana on Court 16 at 9:20. This was planned because after working with Ana we had our prep with Caroline Wozniacki on Hisense Arena. She was getting ready for her first round match against Wozniak.
I also found out why Caroline is using the name Wozniacki and not Wozniack or Wozniacka, which is normally used in the standard rules of Polish. Peter, Caroline’s father, explained that when they moved to Denmark they wanted to have one family name. Peter’s name is Wozniacki, so Caroline kept the same last name to make it easier because the family now lived in a different country.
After Caroline’s prep, I moved to show court No. 2 where Maria Kirilenko was warming up for her match. She was still a little sore after the match with Sharapova. What can you expect after a match of 3 hours, 22 minutes?
When I was walking off Court 2 I had a half-hour to meet up with Mats and walk over to watch Caroline’s match, which she won 6-4, 6-2. She put in a solid performance and can look forward to her next round. Next I walked over to Maria’s match, which had just started, and Mats went to see Daniela Hantuchova, who is a new member of our team.
All three girls won their matches, and it was time for some lunch and a meeting with Ayumi Morita and her team. She lost her match yesterday, but she is staying for an extra couple of days to plan our schedule and get some more court time with us. After finishing the meeting and going over the schedule, Mats and I went over to see one of our players from last year, Sorana Cirstea
Sorana is now working with the Patrick Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris, France. Our team is different because we are a team of advisers and consultants and advise players and their teams on their on- and off-court development. The Mouratoglou team is a real tennis academy that supports the players year-round, and they have decided to invest into the best players in the world to create champions. They started last year and have a big group of players who are now calling Paris their home base.
Although no longer part of our team, she is still sponsored by adidas and is a player of the future. We believe with the new structure she will get more continuous support during the year, which we could not provide. Unfortunately she lost, but looking at her movement she is still a month or two away from her best. Sorana was in a cast for six weeks at the end of last year, and to see where she is now, it’s easy to see her team has done a great job to get her ready for the Oz Open.
During our meeting with Ayumi, we also planned an indoor court session (there are 6 indoor courts at this year’s Australian Open, and it gives those players a good chance to work before they head back to colder climates.) Even though the indoor season on both tours has been reduced to a minimum, it does help to take advantage of these courts and work on some technical, tactical or mechanical parts of your game.
Since it was now 6:30 p.m. and I was done with the day, I decided to meet up with some friends and watch tennis as a spectator rather than as my job. We wanted to see Andy Murray, who has just signed on with adidas. However, it was so busy on Margaret Court Arena that we could not get in. Instead of sitting in the stands we went to the Oval. We sat down and watched Henin and Dementieva on the big screen. However, my friend wanted to watch the fifth set of the Blake vs. Del Potro. I am glad I listened because it was a great match, won by Del Potro 10-8 in the final set. I was freezing by the end of the match, and my friend had to go home. It was 10:30 p.m. now. I decided it would be a good to have my own personal workout. As I walked into the gym, Mats was already there and in full swing of his workout. In addition to Mats and me, Del Potro on the bike with ice packs all over his legs, arms shoulders and wrist, while Justine was stretching after her victory over Dementieva.
I’m now back in the players’ lounge with my cappuccino on my right while we are getting ready for Day 4. Ana is first on so I’ve got to run. It is 8:30 a.m., and we are warming up on the match court where she will play Gisela Dulko at 11. Caroline Wozniacki will follow her on the same court. So I will park myself for two matches of two young tennis stars.
Have a great day and enjoy the tennis.
Sven and Mats
Read Mat and Sven’s Day 1 Blog
Read Mat and Sven’s Day 2 Blog
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