If David Ferrer reached the pinnacle of success in tennis from nowhere, much credit also goes to Javier Piles, the man behind his triumphs. Widely acknowledged for his unique approach, Javier Piles has become a force to reckon with in tennis circles.
Working with Ferrer for more than a decade helps Javier Piles understand the travails of an aspiring player. “It is a struggle. Being an international player involves lot of travel. You need to play a lot of ATP tournaments to fund your travel and other expenses,” he says. “If a player has to go up in the rankings, he has to be in the circuit throughout the year. Even a fortnight’s absence can affect the ranking. It is a tough job,” he adds. Ferrer had the fire in him to go through that phase clinically. He rose to great heights and was ranked No.3 in the world. He also reached the French Open final in Roland Garros in 2013 only to be beaten by his countryman Rafael Nadal.
Coming from Spain, the land of clay courts, Javier Piles knows only one route to glory. Play hard. A hard taskmaster that he is, Javier Piles puts his wards on the grind right from the word go. “If you want to become a tennis player of some substance, there is no other way than to work for it. It should become your lifestyle,” he says.
His approach is more traditional than what it seems to be. He believes in ‘Gurukul’ style of coaching. He establishes a close relationship with his wards and loves to be part of the highs and lows in their life both on and off court. “A coach is like a shock absorber. He should try to relieve his ward of all the stress. Only then the player can concentrate better on tennis. Also the coach is responsible for the player’s health. At international level all players are both skilful and powerful. Only those with better mental edge emerge successful. It is all about how good you feel on that day,” he says.
Pointing out that preparation is the same irrespective of the surface one plays, he says that there are some minor adjustments a player has to make. For instance if it is a clay court, a player should be prepared for longer rallies. “Hard courts have accelerated the pace of the game as players now try to finish off the game in quick time,” he says.
Also he prefers playing outdoor tennis, as he feels the beauty of the game is well demonstrated there with external factors like wind and humidity playing a part. “In Spain, we play mostly outdoors. On clay courts the ball comes slower where the player needs more hitting power to win a point. Today, it is difficult to find mistakes in players as they are strong in all fronts. Most of them are battle hardened and are prepared to play for longer duration,” he says.
Basically a marathoner, Javier Piles stresses on physical conditioning and endurance. He insists his trainees to practice hard so that the players will have the stamina to make a comeback even if they miss few sets. He is result oriented and designs training modules after assessing the pros and cons of the player. “Each player sees the game differently. Physical conditioning contributes to 60 per cent of training,” he says.
Javier Piles believes 16 years is the right age for players to turn professional. He believes India has bright future with the current crop of players. “The country is blessed with talents in abundance but most of them need more physical training, personal attention and encouragement to succeed in international championships,” he says. He singles out Yuki Bhambri as the future prospect for the country.
Javier Piles in Madurai
Tennis coach Javier Piles was in Madurai as part of the career guidance and training programme of TIE UP, a global sports networking company identifying and nurturing talent through its ‘train, gain, shine’ initiative. Some of the top Indian players like Vijay Sundar Prashanth and Prajnesh Gunneswaran and upcoming players like Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha, Neeraj Elangovan and Junior India no.1 Nikshep Ravikumar are part of the program.
