This week on the ATP Tennis Podcast…

HOLGER RUNE ON WINNING THE ROLEX PARIS MASTERS AND BECOMING AN ALTERNATE FOR THE NITTO ATP FINALS – “I’m feeling lovely, to be honest, it’s the possible best feeling to be one out of Turin and if you told me this four weeks ago that I would be top ten and one alternate for the [Nitto ATP] Finals I’d be like, ‘What sorry?’ but now I’m there and I’m super proud and hopefully I’ll get to play.”

PATRICK MOURATOGLU ON HOLGER RUNE’S POTENTIAL – “I think a few guys have this potential to become Grand Slam champions and in general those guys go really fast, they climb the rankings really fast, but I guess that Holger has what it takes to become a Grand Slam Champion, he has the self-belief, an incredible determination, a love and passion for the game which is huge and he’s prepared to do what it takes, even if it’s extremely painful to achieve his goals.”

FREDERIC FONTANG ON FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME’S ANIMATED DEMEANOUR – ‘It was something that we were feeling was important for Felix because he’s an aggressive player, he’s athletic and when he shows this athleticism on the court it’s very positive because it’s going to match with his game, going forward, going to the net, so that’s why he needs to show lots of emotion.”

GILLES SIMON ON THE REASON FOR RETIRING – “It was just my life, always wanting to be a tennis player since I was six years old and first watching tennis was here in this stadium and in my head I’m still a tennis player, but it’s just that I’m not able to play anymore, it’s too painful and I’m not at the level, the guys are too young, too strong, so that’s why I stop, I’m not able to compete at this level anymore, but I’m also very happy now that I’ve stopped to enjoy other things and first priority is the family.”

JEREMY CHARDY ON TRYING OUT COACHING WHILE INJURED – “It’s really different because when you are playing it’s more about the feeling, the next point, the next match and when you are a coach you have to think about the preparation, the goal for the game, how to improve and for sure you want to win the next match, but you have to build the game for the next match, the next month. Since I’m coaching I watch video all the time, video of the best guys and I’m much more into tennis now than when I’m playing.”
LORENZO MUSETTI ON TAKING INSPIRATION FROM HIS GRANDFATHER – “I take a lot of inspiration from him. He was an honest man with great values and I’m trying to be as him because he tried to transfer to me all the passion he had for his work, for life, for his family and I’m trying to be like him in these kind of feelings and I think these things are helping me a lot, because having a balance in your head when you are under stress, for sure it helps you for what you really want.”
JACK DRAPER ON THE REASON FOR HIS RISE UP THE RANKINGS – “The main thing for me is to stay injury free. The last few years I’ve been constantly injured, so getting that consistency this year of being on court more and having more trust in my body when competing is the main thing. Obviously there is still a long way to go, but I’ve always known that my tennis has been good enough, it’s just about staying on court and it’s about working smarter, not harder.”

DOMINIC STRICKER’S COACH SVEN SWINNEN ON THE YOUNGSTER’S SURPRISE PROGRESSION – “I think he has great potential and I’m sure he will soon crack the top 100. It was great that we were able to give him a wildcard into a Challenger in Switzerland and it was great that he came from nowhere to winning it and made a lot of points and moved up the rankings quickly. I think for his height he’s working pretty well and working well on his serve and I like to keep the focus on his strengths and not his weaknesses, but we try to keep mixing up the serve a little bit that he becomes really unpredictable on his service games.”

PLUS DAVID NALBANDIAN FEATURE ON WINNING THE 2005 NITTO ATP FINALS

– Podcast presented by Seb Lauzier
– Interviews by Seb Lauzier, Jill Craybas and Chris Bowers
– Features by ATP Uncovered
– Rolex Paris Masters commentary by Lee Goodall

Source Tennis – ATP World Tour