G’day,
January was a big month for the Brain Game all around the world. Developing the website, coaching players through MY Brain Game and assisting remotely at tournaments dominated the work day. Here are a few highlights from the past month.
1. Tennis Canada – Very happy to announce the Brain Game as an official partner of Tennis Canada for 2011. I will be assisting with video and strategy work with their top players at tournaments around the globe. Which brings us to the sucess of….
2. Milos Raonic – WOW! Milos came through qualifying and reached the 4th round of the Australian Open – taking down #24 Michael Llodra and #10 Mikhail Youzhny in the process. Milos jumped 58 spots to #92 in the world. Milos is now carving his way through the ATP #250 South African Open where he came through qualifying on the weekend and defeated #37 Yen-Hsun Lu 6-3, 6-3 in the 1st round. Lu was the second seed. Next up is Simon Greul from Germany. Milos’ coach, Galo Blanco, is doing a fantastic job developing Milos into a real force on the ATP Tour. We at the Brain Game assist Galo and Milos, and all top Canadian players, with remote scouting reports and analysis of their matches. This is a big advantage for these guys as they look to get an edge over their opponents. In fact, the Brain Game is the world leader in this area of global tennis. Advantage Canada….
3. Kevin Anderson – Kevin also hit a career high in January of #56 after reaching the semi-finals of the ATP250 event in Brisbane. Kevin defeated #32 Feliciano Lopez on the way to bowing out to Andy Roddick in 3 sets in the semi’s. Kevin is coached by South African Louis Vosloo, who has been travelling with him for about a year now. Louis has a great feel for developing Kevin’s game, and I really enjoy working with both of them – expect for the home cooked meals. Basically, Kevin is very challenged in the kitchen, including things such as boiling water, so if it was not for Louis’ culinary skills, Kevin would probably starve to death.
4. Jesse Levine – Jesse had a tough 2010 with injuries and we are very happy to be working with him this year. Jesse is a great young talent and the video work we have been doing together in the past month has really helped develop his patterns of play. Jesse’s next tournament will be in qualies of San Jose. Keep an eye out for Jesse as he sinks his teeth into 2011.
5. Chiara Lommer – Chiara is a talented lefty out of Chicago who just won her first Level 3 Girl’s 12’s National Midwest Singles Championship in Rockford, Illinois, on the weekend. Chiara has come a long way in the last month with her strategy – maximizing her natural lefty skills . Chiara is understanding her patterns of play a lot from the video work we do, and is on the right track with her junior development. Chiara is coached in Chicago by Russ Hadziabdich, who not only is a great coach, but also knows how to destroy a sushi bar with hand tied behind his back. I will be in Chicago this Sunday with Chiara and Russ. Looking forward to it guys!
6. Denes Lukacs – Denes is a former stand-out from Baylor University who is now transitioning to the pro tour. Denes has been ploughing away at Futures events in Florida the past month, and has played about 300 matches in the past 30 days. As you probably read from Denes’ blog yesterday, he is right on the edge of a breakthrough. The main development in his game is with strategy – not “opening the door” and changing directions for the hell of it. Denes is also getting better at establishing patterns and putting his opponent first on the court. If you want to see someone working his tail off to be successful, go and spend a couple of weeks with Denes. He will be playing Futures in Texas in February. He needs a cook, stringer and a masseur for a month – any takers?
That’s about it for now. Keep an eye out for Kevin and Milos in the 2nd Round of the South African Open this week. Both have an excellent chance to win their first tour title there. I will be travelling to Cleveland, Chicago, North Carolina and NYC in the next 10 days, bringing the Brain Game’s good oil to those that are looking for an edge with their game. I hope it stops snowing.
Cheers,
Craig