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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL

December 30, 2018

Philippe Dehaes

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Q. Just a few questions for you in terms of off season preparation. When you sit down with a player whether it's Daria or any of your other players and you start to plan out what you need to do, what goes through your mind? What are the goals and priorities, your philosophy I guess?
PHILIPPE DEHAES: You know, when you see Serena, when you see Halep, when you see Wozniacki, all those girls who are on the top, they're very consistent from the baseline, very solid, running very good. And Daria, if she had some hole in the season it's because she couldn't stay very solid against those girls. So I make it very simple. Four weeks, because a lot of people think when we think about Daria she's an artist, she can do a lot of things, and it's true, drop shot, slice, mixing all the balls, but sometimes it's not enough. So we work a lot to be more consistent on the baseline, very solid, to keep the line, not to go too far, because when she's a little bit afraid or too emotional, she's moving, yeah, she's going too far back. And so I push her to keep the line, and that's it. So we hit like ten million forehands, ten million backhands so close as possible on the line and continue of course to work going to the net. But to be very solid.

Q. In terms of how receptive is she to that? I mean I know for a while it was play free, play open, play with your spirit. Now maybe a little bit more structure?
PHILIPPE DEHAES: Yeah, more structure because now I have one year, so with this, and I use a lot of video, I don't have to speak too much. It's very clear when you see the matches and the point when she's winning or losing. So she can see it. And I saw it. So now I can come with more concrete things. When we start last year, in October '17, I had only one tournament. She played Moscow. It was the final, but it was not my job. It was a good week but it was a lucky week. And then we had this year, 2018, where I really discover her. So I think I had more, yeah, stuff to -- I saw a lot of things which was very easier for me to prepare this off son.

Q. She says that it was the toughest preseason she's done yet. Did you intentionally raise the intensity or do you think it had more to do with that change?
PHILIPPE DEHAES: It's because, yeah, I make it simple but very difficult. Because one more time, last year, I know Daria since she's 15, 16. But without the experience you have to go like you're saying it's good. Now with the year we had, I say, okay, we're going to make it simple, but it's not because it's simple that it's easy. It's simple but it's going to be tough. And she work a lot and also physically on court with the physical coaches to be competitive, to beat the girl like Wozniacki and Halep and all those girls in the big tournaments like this. So we will see if it works or not, but at least we have a plan, we have a goal.

Q. I spoke to her about her personal goals. What is it that you really want to see from her in the season?
PHILIPPE DEHAES: I don't want to talk about ranking because for me the ranking it's not a goal. She has, of course, a goal to be Top 5. I can read. But actually I asked her. Me, the ranking it's not the goal, because, okay, today she's Top 10, but she doesn't own the ranking. Doesn't mean anything. What you can own is the titles. That's for sure. So I'm more focused on winning tournaments. And the most important, it's to be focused on the process. So now we have to fix a plan. And for me, my target personally is to see her doing this thing day by day, every week, match by match. For sure she will lose because the level is strong and the girls are playing very good. But at least if she lose, she lose the right way and the good way. This is my goal. If she's doing this with a good spirit, I'm not too scary about the ranking.

Now, to be more concrete in my answer, if she can finish 2019 in the Top 10, it will be great for me, even 10 or 11. I mean in this zone, because she has to improve a lot of things to stay there.

Q. How hard is it, then, to -- obviously you have the off season to make these changes, to try and get some work done and improve the game. But obviously the stakes are so high every week when you play a tournament. Players come out of the off season and they say, yes, I'm going to do these ten different things, but I'm doing those things, I'm losing, I don't want to do it anymore, I go back to the old way.
PHILIPPE DEHAES: Yeah. It's a very good question because we had this situation actually yesterday with Daria. Because between 2018 and '19, it's five weeks. You cannot change in five weeks. It's stupid to think, that oh, new season arrive, woo-woo I'll, be another player. No, it's not possible. But you can enter in the way of change. So the main point is to make all the things she has to improve, we may not see it here in Brisbane, impossible. But if I can see a little bit, I will be very happy and see a little bit more in Sydney and a little bit more in the Aussie Open and blah, blah, blah and to see that in three, four months she will start to be another player. But as you said, it's crazy to -- it's too short. And we know that the practice and the competition, it's two different worlds. So I remember her yesterday and the conversation we had, okay, you had a good preseason. You worked super hard. Every practice was amazing, but unfortunately that doesn't mean you will arrive here and beat everybody like this. It's not so easy.

One more time, I'm coming back on this (indicating mental), it's about the attitude, it's about the mentality; it's about to accept, you know, to do something a bit different, even if you think ranking is good, it's possible to go farther. So make the change.

Q. Now, having a year of sitting court side and watching a lot of women's tennis, a lot of WTA tennis, what do you make of where the tour is right now?
PHILIPPE DEHAES: I don't understand. What do you mean?

Q. You've spent a year on the sidelines watching a lot of competition on the WTA tour. What is the state of the game for the women, do you think? Is it chaos? Is it hyper competitive? Is it deep? Is it dominated by only a few players? What do you think right now the landscape is?
PHILIPPE DEHAES: First point, it's tough, because the girls I have the feeling -- because today I'm coaching Daria, but before I was with a girl who was between 100 and 150. And we consider that there was a huge difference. I was coaching boys before and the difference in the boys it's not so high. Girls here, we have, for sure, eight to ten girls who can win the Australian Open. That's for sure. And then maybe 10 behind who also, you know, maybe can accept something. So the first point it's not every match is extremely difficult. Everything is tough. And Daria, if she want to be one of the best ones, she has to be extremely consistent against everybody. So it's tough. The first thing is this.

Then, of course, in the game. She will see. Sharapova looks to come back also in great shape. Those two girls, what can we do. It's another level. They're just better than everybody. All of this, new generation, Osaka, Ostapenko -- okay, she has tough year, but I mean, she's there. Kontaveit, Sabalenka, all those girls they will be for sure the next champion. And it's very open, very open. Everything is possible. It's very difficult, but I think it's very exciting because we enter to the Australian Open, and okay, why not. You can say as a coach it's very exciting to say, well, it's possible to win. It was not the case before, with Justin Henin, with Kim Clijsters, Sharapova, Serena, all those girls, we knew that, okay, the title was for those girls. Now it's not the case. So it's excited.

Q. Does that increase or decrease pressure on the player? Because anything is possible?
PHILIPPE DEHAES: I think, no, the pressure is -- I mean it's here, it's there, yeah, it doesn't change anything, but it's more excited for all those girls. They know that it's possible. People have to accept this and not watching this like oh, we miss the time when Serena -- okay. She's still winning a lot. But you know what I mean. No, now it's this new generation and I hope that the people will enjoy to see those girls, because they are great, all of them, very exciting to watch. Different kind of style, and it's a race, and when you start the race, tough to say who will finish, and that's for me very excited.

Q. You mentioned the need for consistency. Obviously Daria's first round playing Kim. She's from here in Queensland, but she's quite lower ranked. What challenge does she pose for Daria this week?
PHILIPPE DEHAES: As I said, to play the first point with a good philosophy of the game. It can be against this girl that I don't know her, but I mean if she's in the draw, I mean I think she won like Australian -- something to come. I mean for sure she can play. And that's what I said, the level is very high, so we're going to prepare this match like very seriously. For me it's not easy draw. Doesn't mean anything, because Daria also when you're 10, you don't authorize yourself to lose against those girls, which this is extra pressure. So I will try to keep her out of this way to think. Just play the ball, not the Opener, and be in the process of what we were in those four weeks and then we will see. And then we will see. But nothing think about tournament, opponent, where are you in the tournament. Just playing to be the same all the time. For me that's the main key. That's the main key. We will see if she will be able to do this. But it's going to be tough. But I think it's tough for everybody. First match, it will be tough for everybody. And this girl will arrive, home, no pressure. If she's on fire, it can be difficult, for sure. So we will see.

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