The first of a series of ATP Podcast specials focusing on various aspects of the game and to kick things off we look at how tennis was played and viewed 20-30 years ago, how it is currently and how we think it might shape up in the future and to do that presenter Chris Bowers is joined by some of the greatest minds on the circuit including Roger Federer’s former coach, Ivan Ljubicic, top 10 player Radek Stepanek, who after spending time coaching Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov, can now be found helping young American Sebastian Korda with his game and Tommy Paul’s current coach Brad Stine, who in the early 90s alongside Jose Higueras, helped Jim Courier reach world number one.
IVAN LJUBICIC ON THE SERVE - ’The biggest difference is the serve. This is one shot which has deteriorated over the years and the reason for that is that people used to serve big and now I think that has changed completely and people are now just serving ok’.
IVAN LJUBICIC ON STYLES - ‘Our sport is too complex to end up having the same kind of players in the future, so I think our sport will keep evolving and will always be interesting’.
RADEK STEPANEK ON PHYSICALITY - ‘Look at Novak Djokovic, he’s pushing his physicality with every year and he’s putting youngsters on the edge, so to be physically prepared, you need to be disciplined and to have good rest and recovery'
BRAD STINE ON RECOVERY - ‘It’s a factor that’s become a very big aspect of the game and even people outside the top 100 now are travelling with a physio and the physio has become a very significant aspect of a team’.
IVAN LJUBICIC ON TENNIS IN THE FUTURE - ’We need to think in every single aspect, do we include the data, do we include the way of working on the tennis court, do we need to include the way of working in the gym? There are many things we need to question’.
RADEK STEPANEK ON TENNIS IN THE FUTURE - ‘I hope the creativity will be there, the emotions will be there, the rivalries will be there and in terms of how it’s going to look, who know where racquets will be in ten years time, who know where balls will be, what surface, what formats? I don’t know where we’ll be in ten to fifteen years. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow’.
BRAD STINE ON TENNIS IN THE FUTURE - ’The game right now is in very, very good hands. People are always worried about generational change, but it doesn’t change the sport. You go to the Grand Slams and the Masters 1000 events and the drama and quality of tennis that being produced on the courts creates narratives that are exciting for people to watch and follow’.