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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 21, 2019Sascha BajinMelbourne, Victoria, Australia THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the work that Naomi was doing with Abdul in the off-season, particularly in regards to, like, stamina? SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, I mean, that's Abdul's field. The way we structured the off-season was we started the first week where we prioritized only strength and conditioning. So we did, yeah, just a lot of running. That was the main focus. There was no tennis. It was just in the morning and afternoon was gym session or field or whatever it was that Abdul had set up. And then second week still a little bit more with strength and conditioning as the main focus and then tennis slowly took over. So we just wanted to make sure that the body feels right and she's in the best possible shape. You will have to ask for Abdul for all that. Q. Advance to quarterfinals here first time. What do you think about her results so far? SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, it's great. You know, especially coming off of the last two matches where she lost the first set, seeing how she's able to solve, you know, the problem on court and comes back and wins it is beautiful to see, shows maturity, and shows that she's come a long way. She's getting her emotions better under control. And overall just very proud of how she's handled this tournament so far. Q. Of course we can see how fit she is now, and of course she made huge progress in her fitness, but at the same time, she can hit a lot of dropshots. Today she made a lot of good volleys and dealing with slice shots. Could you talk a little bit about these kind of techniques aspect, what kind of things she has done during the off-season? SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, we always try to, you know, make sure her game evolves, not just body, the physique. That's, like, kind of the quickest change you can have, you know. It doesn't take too long. But making sure that, like, an old habit on court gets straightened out or to give her new weapons like a dropshot, we worked a lot, and I wanted her to come in to the net a bit more. So she kind of tried that a little bit with Sevastova today. But, yeah, it's just nice to see that certain things are working, you know, on court, and we just always keep trying to evolve and make sure she has more weapons than just hitting it hard. Q. When Naomi comes in here and talks to us, she seems very blunt about her game. Almost critical, very critical. Do you see that as a strength, or do you sometimes have to remind her that her bar is very high and almost talk her down from her perfectionism? SASCHA BAJIN: No, I don't have to talk her down. I just have to tell her grass is green, water flows, and everything is all right sometimes. Overall, she's very hard on herself. She has very high expectations. She wants to do well. She wants to get better. That's a good thing. I would not want to have it the other way. So if I have to choose, I will pick that. Q. Was that partly why she was struggling after losing first sets last year, that she would get maybe self-critical as the second set is going on? SASCHA BAJIN: Maybe. I believe that her mindset is just changing, you know, a lot. I don't think it has something to do with perfectionism, I just don't know if she knew how to tap into a different mindset. If you just start telling yourself, Yes, I can, there is always something that is working. Instead of trying to fix what isn't, it's easier to see what is working and then kind of try to do that. It's been working so far, and I want to see her do that more. Q. When you talk about her problem solving and ability to problem solve not just this match but against Su-Wei, as well. Obviously no on-court coaching here. Can you talk about her evolution as a problem solver from the time you first started working with her because she used to be so boxed into one way of playing? SASCHA BAJIN: No, from the very beginning, like, when I started with her, I always tried to tell her, you know, that there is so much more different types of pressure than just blasting the ball. So you can, you know, hit angles, different types of spins, a dropshot coming in, getting 50 balls back in a row is putting pressure on the opponent. So I wanted her to understand that. And knowing that she did have already so much power, it was very -- I mean, for me, it was very obvious she just had to do more of the other stuff. I always want her to play her game first and start trying, you know, win these matches as easy as she can. But if something isn't working, you need to have a plan B, plan C. That's what we have been trying to work on in practice. Q. I'd like to follow up about coming in behind her shots a little bit. How do you coach someone to do that? It's such a psychologically different way to play tennis in dealing with getting passed, you know. Just as a coach, how do you bring someone along to do those sorts of things? There were points today I thought, Oh, why isn't she coming in behind those things? SASCHA BAJIN: I kind of tried to tell Naomi from the very beginning is most important for me is not only the result but just making the right decisions. If she can understand that the decision is there and I have to go in, long term, she's going to end up winning. It's not about me in that moment, you know, telling her if it's 30-All and the ball is short, 5-All third set, you gotta come in, you gotta come in. Having said that, and of course saying it and doing it in practice and doing it on court is a completely different thing. But with Naomi, she's pretty brave when it comes to that, and she sees that also the success rate is there. So even today she won more points than lost them. As a coach, obviously you need a little bit of luck with that, too, because if she does come in and then loses, like, I don't know, every six points, you know, that she comes in, it's a little tough, you know, to justify it. But so far it's been working. She's picked the right shots. She has a good feel for it. And she knows, she knows what she has to do. It's just encouraging her to do the right decision. Q. You know, how Naomi talks about her wanting to be more mature during the matches. Is that something that she's trying to do by herself, or do you help her out in any way? SASCHA BAJIN: No, I can't speed up time, you know. I can only help so much (smiling). No, I believe that she learned so much from last year. She's had major ups, had three first-round losses. We have had injuries. We have had a little bit of everything. She's learned from every single situation. And I believe that's what prepares her for this year. You know, certain, like, not even mistakes but things happen to you in life that you can't avoid. And then you just learn from it and grow. As you get older, just gotta make sure you're open-minded and see it as a good thing. And that's what she's been doing. That's all kudos to her and the parents who raised her that way, not me. Q. We talked to her about the cameras. In entertainment of tennis, they are showing people in the stands or you in the hallways, microphone, on-court coaching, looking at you. I'm wondering if you're always comfortable with that? Access is getting more and more, especially here. Or if you wish there is more of a barrier and privacy sometimes for you and your role. SASCHA BAJIN: I signed up for Instagram two weeks ago, three weeks ago, that should tell you about my camera relationship. So I know there are certain moments where I think it's fun for the fans and stuff, you know, but I think that the one -- the little thing right in the box, like, I don't like, for example, because I feel like it's right there. I don't know, does it pick up sound, does it not, am I -- if I just, you know, like, if I show something or to myself, will I be judged upon it or not? So that, I personally don't like. If the ones on TV and stuff that you see, kind of, it's okay. But if they're hidden too much, then I feel like you run -- yeah, they're just kind of trying to catch you on something, you know. I don't know. That's just my opinion. Q. She said she only knew about one camera. Do you know where all the cameras are in the hallways? SASCHA BAJIN: Now I do. By the warmup area, outside towards Court 16, then under Margaret Court Arena there's another one by that warmup area. You'll see me, like, leaning against it, against the pillar there in the middle. Yeah, I'm trying to stay away from that. Q. She said last night she watched Federer-Tsitsipas match. Do you think she's a kind of player who likes to watch tennis in general and to analyze or to learn something from these matches? SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, I think it's a good thing. You know, we had our team chat going. We were all in our rooms and WhatsApp'ing each other about the match. I mean, come on, it's Roger. How would you not want to watch him play? Doesn't matter who he plays. And especially, you know, with a young kid like Tsitsipas coming up this much, playing some sensational tennis, huge drama in the first game already, you know, what's better than that? Yeah, we enjoyed it. Q. What has been the most challenging aspect of this partnership for you? I know you have had tons of experience with players but maybe as their only head coach. You must be learning a lot, as well, I guess. SASCHA BAJIN: I don't think it has anything to do with my role that really has, you know, made anything. There is always things that work better and things that don't. I don't know. So far I can't really pinpoint anything that hasn't been working or I can say, Oh, I wish this wasn't like that. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. And so far, at least when I think, you know, things have been working out well and the results do show it, too. I mean, I'm happy. I hope she is, too. Q. Naomi's first Grand Slam winning. Many women players struggling, but Naomi can get here and quarterfinal. Why? SASCHA BAJIN: She played some good tennis. I mean, the matches she had, she was down also 1-4 and 15-40? She was almost on the way home too. No, she's just played some great tennis here so far, and I can't answer why the other girls lost and what they did preseason and what they didn't do. I can only talk about Naomi, you know. She's worked her ass off, you know, and she's deservedly in the quarterfinals, in my mind. Q. Does she use an average racquet or heavier racquet? SASCHA BAJIN: What's average? Q. 280 grams. SASCHA BAJIN: 280? That's really light. Q. What is the weight of her racquet? SASCHA BAJIN: That's a secret. I'm not telling you that (smiling). Q. Naomi has won a Grand Slam. How does that, you know, the sponsorship, all that that comes with that kind of a victory, how do you navigate her time in a different way? Obviously there are other claims on her time as a result of that. SASCHA BAJIN: That's not so much my job yet. I want to say, you know, we have unbelievable relationship with her agent, you know, Stuart, who is doing a great job. He sets -- you know, ahead of time there was a bunch of like photo shoots or meetings she had to fly out maybe for another day and he came and asked me before the preseason started, Hey, Sascha, she needs to go and do this for two days, when is a good time? We communicate and work around the schedule. Naomi knows so far her priorities, and it's not been like, you know, something where she's had every day something else to do. If it ever gets too much, then I will speak up. But so far, yeah, her agent has been doing a great job. Mom and dad are also structuring it. I just make sure she shows up at the courts. Q. Talk about possibly adding more mid-match coaching, making it legal in Grand Slam events. Do you think the rule should change? If so, would you like the WTA tournament style, coach goes on court, or like quallies, player walks to the side of the court and talks to the coach from the stands? SASCHA BAJIN: I have never seen it. I have never had a player to interact like on the side of the fence. But I mean, personally, my personal opinion is I don't like it. I don't like on-court coaching, I don't like coaching from the sidelines. I think it takes away the purity that tennis was. I do believe that -- you know, my father, you know, put me out there on the court in order to become more independent, to learn how to handle problems, to learn how to be by myself so that nobody can help me. And I think that still parents do that for their kids. That's why they want them to start this sport, because it's something special. And I wish we would keep it that way, and that's just my opinion. Not changing it for the viewer or something, you know, to make it more interesting. Yeah, that's just my take on it. Q. (Question about enforcement.) SASCHA BAJIN: Everybody knows, like all the coaches know what's allowed and what's not allowed. Sometimes you try to sneak something by. You know, I'm guilty of that. You know, I've gotten a coaching warning before. But we are all grownup men. We know what we have to do. We can't show up, do some crazy stuff in the box. Ultimately, I do believe that, yeah, I think it's better to leave it for the players to, you know, battle it out by themselves and see who's better at the end of the day. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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