Back on the interview by Robin Haziza in “Live with an athlete” of Belgian tennis player David Goffin, current number 10 in the ATP ranking.

  • On containment

I miss tennis, I hope we come to the end of confinement. I maintained myself physically by doing sessions every day but I did not touch the racket once. I'm ready to go again, I hope to be able to resume soon.

  • On innovations in tennis

From May 16 and for 5 weekends, there will be matches that will take place at the Mouratoglou Academy. There will be very good players like Fognigni, Paire… For us it will be “training” matches, but people will be able to follow them thanks to a streaming platform. The goal is that it looks real for people who will be watching with sponsors, music, entertainment.

Basically, I am rather conservative of the rules, of the things that have been installed from the start. But it is true that things evolve like technology. We had a virtual tennis tournament this week with other professional players, in fact I just lost in the final against Andy Murray. This virtual edition aimed to raise funds for the players facing the most difficulties in the face of the consequences of the coronavirus.

  • Defeat management

I work with a mental trainer. Most players in tennis can do it all now. The difference is played on the management of emotions in important moments.

We must try to retain the positive of each match. We have almost one defeat per week. The following Monday we have another chance to be able to have a good tournament. Of course, I prefer to lose in the semi final of a tournament, rather than in the first or second round. But sometimes winning a tournament on a Sunday and then going on to the following week is not easy either. You always have to stay focused in this sport.

Each match is different. Sometimes I come back to simpler things, the time to fall back on my feet. When the service is going well, I try to focus only on my services rather than wanting to put pressure on the return games. We must try to remain as calm as possible and as lucid as possible to chain the points.

  • 30 years: a second step?

I'm going to be 30 at the end of the year, but I feel good physically. I have a light build and I am fluid in my movements as well as in my game. I don't feel worn out at the joints.

I see things differently thanks to the experience I have been able to acquire. We have seen many players who pass a milestone after this age, I am thinking of Stan who won his three grand chelems after turning 30, I also think of Roger Federer who continues to play very well, Nadal, Djokovic...

With my trainer Thomas Johansson, for more than a year we laid the foundations. Then the work focused on aggressiveness, the game forward. I worked a lot on my service too. When we started together, I was around 30th place, at the moment, I found the top 10.

The year 2020 had started very well (with a victory over Rafael Nadal in the ATP Cup), I was looking forward to the American tour. The sanitary causes that we know cause these tournaments to be canceled.

  • ATP Cup / Davis Cup

In between, there is no photo, the ATP cup was a real success. There were three cities for the group stages, then the final phase took place in Sydney. There was a great atmosphere, it was a great experience. It was summer, everyone was on vacation, and people follow tennis a lot in Australia. Even at 10 a.m. against Moldova, the stadium was full.

Compared to the Davis Cup in Madrid, where we lost in the group stage with Belgium, we played in almost empty stadiums. It was certainly not the right time.

  • The key to the success of Belgian training

There is a good training at the level of the young people by using balls and grounds adapted to any age. On the circuit, we have always had this reputation for having a fairly clean and fluid technique. We are a small country, we have few candidates but we still had two world number one (Henin, Clijsters).

  • Discovery padel

My trainer made me discover the padel, he is thoroughly. There are always players that we can play with. It's really a sport that has become a passion for me. Tennis is my first passion of course, but I really fell in love with it. padel.

I thought I would have more difficulty with the windows, but I have a good eye and I am fast in the legs. However, I have a problem with strength dosing. I'm used to slamming my balls hard, which is not necessarily a good thing. We had to adapt, find zones, speeds different from those of tennis.

I would say that my strong point is my short backhand volley crossed in the grid.

Le padel brings me in regards to the little game for tennis. My weak point in tennis is that I arrive very quickly on short balls, with haste. At padel, you have to turn quickly, then find your composure when hitting the ball.

Represent Belgium in padel ? Why not, at the end of my career or when I'm even finished, why not get into this.

  • The development of padel according to him

Since I started, there has been a real boom. I knew the padel via Spain for several years. This activity is growing in many countries. I hope that this will evolve, that the public and the players will be more and more numerous, that the level will increase from year to year and finally that the prize money for the players will also increase.

 

Find the + / anecdotes / answers to Internet users' questions / INSIDE in the YouTube podcast:

 

Xan is a fan of padel. But also rugby! And his posts are just as punchy. Physical trainer of several padel, he unearths atypical posts or deals with topical subjects. It also gives you some tips to develop your physique for the padel. Clearly, he imposes his offensive style as on the field of padel !

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