Alex to be based in the USA

admin · Alex to be based in the USA

Alex, his coach Mike Raphael, Alan Mackin and Miles Kasiri have decided to make the Saddlebrooks Academy in Florida their training base from December onwards.

Speaking exclusively to Alex's official website, Mike Raphael said "Alex and I went over to the USA about four weeks ago, just before ATP Bangkok, to look at Saddlebrooks and the Bollettieri academy with a view to making one of them our training base. We chose Saddlebrooks as it has better gym facilities."

"I feel that being based in the States will help Alex, Alan and Miles a lot as over there the conditions are a lot tougher. It's hotter and the courts bounce higher and also, the American players compete with a much higher intensity than players in Britain. Alex has had a lot of success indoors but when he's competed in outdoor tournaments in the States, he's struggled as he hasn't been able to compete with the intensity level of the players for 3 whole sets and has been outlasted and so we'll be able to work on that. Also, US tournaments use Wilson balls while in Britain we always use Slazengers. This makes a big difference and is tricky for British players competing in a series of tournaments over there, to get used to as the Wilson balls really fly off the court."

"Brad Gilbert's place is also only about 45 minutes away from Saddlebrooks so we're going to look to link up with Brad and Andy, 2 or 3 days a week."

admin

All of the players are looking forward to this move, Mackin is aiming to get near the top 100 by the end of 2007. I reckon he's got a good chance, his game has really improved immensely this year - his serve and forehand are now real weapons and he's been beating top 200 players on a regular basis this autumn.

Kasiri aims to get into the top 500, he's had a difficult last couple of years, having been struggling a lot with injuries. Hopefully those problems are behind him now.

Feel free to post your thoughts on this in this thread.

Arka

It's a great move in my opinion. Alex did qualify for the US Open and was a bit unlucky to lose against Calatrava, but he hasn't done much on outdoor hards since then when you compare it to his great performances on grass and indoors.

Alex aims to crack the top 50 soon and it's really important that he does well on outdoor courts as well. Warm weather training is a must and it will also help him in Australia.

Mackin has done well since his great show at Wimbledon. I reckon that he can get to 150 by next Wimbledon.

Miles needs to get his act together next season. The LTA must be funding him for this trip. I don't think that he will be able to afford this.

reef

Just joined and good to hear the latest news. I lived in Surbiton for a few years and watched Alex play in the Surbiton Trophy several times. The talent is there but I feel he needs to develop his confidence and this move could make all the difference. He deserves to be in the top 100 SOON.

janko17

I'm really excited that you're coming to the US; it should really help your game and hopefully you'll play more American tournaments so I can come see you play in person! Hope to see you crack the top 100 soon!

Jono · Rankings

I think Alex can make the top 100, but would ease back on top 50 just yet, as cracking the top 100 will be a major achievement. To stay in the top 100 all year would be a better challenge. As for Mackin, I would say top 200 should be a target and maybe push to 150.It can also depend how the year pans out, because some weeks all of a sudden points are deducted from previous year which can be a really blow!

admin

Hi reef and janko 17, welcome to this site Very Happy

Reef, did you see Alex in the 2003 Surbiton Trophy when he made the final ? Some brilliant results for him that summer, in particular the 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 semi-final win over Karlovic who went on to beat Hewitt at Wimbledon a few weeks later. I heard that after that match, Karlovic did some serial racket trashing, which meant he got fined most of his prize money, lol.

I think that Mike recognises that one of the big differences between the ATP tour and the challenger circuit is that ATP players compete with a much higher intensity and so Alex needs to improve that in his game to get further up the rankings. I think he's also planning to do a lot of work in the gym to get himself physically to the level he'd need to be to get into the top 50. Over the past few years Alex has recognised this and has bulked up quite a bit.

Where abouts are you in the States, janko ? I just wondered which challenger and ATP tournaments are near you ?

With Mackin, I think he's hoping to crack the top 250 by the end of November. He hasn't got many points to defend and on current form it looks very possible. I think he'd be disappointed if he doesn't get close to the top 150 by the end of 2007 given that he's got few points to defend until July.

Jono

Will Alex spend most of December training for the New Year with a rest from tournament play?

admin

All the challengers finish by the end of November, in December it's just futures. Alex will end his year with the Shrewsbury challenger in the 3rd week of November and then he'll spend the next 5 weeks training in the States for the new season.

He'll open his 2007 season by playing ATP Chennai in the first week of the year. If his ranking is about 110, he should have a good chance of getting in directly.

reef

Admin - yes I did see Alex in the final at Surbiton 2003!

The year before that he lost in the final to Wesley Moodie I think. Correct me if I'm wrong?

The year I moved (2004) I think he went out in the first round.

I think the USA is a great move as he's still only 23 but you can't leave these things too late.

I also remember he won the National title (before it was abolished) twice - at 17 & 18. Correct me if all my stats are wrong as the grey matter isn't always in working order.

Jac

It was in 03 that alex lost to moodie in the final. Since then he ahs lost in 1st round everyhtime there: In 04 to Karol Beck, 05 to Travis Rattnemier and this year to Amir Delic.

I think he only won the nationl championships once, which was the last time they were held, he has lost in the final before though (i believe Bloomfield beat him one year).

Also just so you know he is still 22.

reef

I meant SEMI-final in earlier post - sorry Admin. That was the first time I saw him play.

Jac, apologies for not checking my facts/stats and that I've added a year to his age.

Perhaps we could have a biog on the site?

reef

I've just remembered it was Lee Childs who won National title twice. And I don't think I'm wrong this time!

admin

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reef

Thanks very much Admin for all the background info and link to the biog which I read with interest.

Alex is a frustrating player in many ways as he is obviously so talented but appears to suffer from nerves on the big occasions (eg Davis Cup). I remember the criticism by the LTA (again correct me if I'm wrong!) when his funding was withdrawn due to what was perceived to be `a lack of motivation' (or something along those lines).

I really hope this move to the US will help him achieve his full potential. His short time with Brad in the UK seemed to have a good impact and with Brad and Andy in close proximity I think this will help enormously.

What do you see as the best part of his game? I love his single-handed backhand.

admin

Alex looks to spend some time with Gilbert (Nov 2006):

Alex will be hoping to continue his recent form as he prepares to enter the final 6 weeks of the season; he's entered a series of indoor tournaments across Central and Eastern Europe - Kolding, Nottingham, Aachen, Bratislava, Dnepropetrovsk and Shrewsbury. Alex will be hoping that his new career high ranking of 119 will ensure that he's seeded in most of these tournaments and also that he can stay injury free and build on his recent performances. His aim is to gain direct entry into the Australian Open in January. The cut usually extends down to about 115 but in order to make absolutely sure Alex will need to get into the top 110. This requires him to win 23 more ranking points and he's also defending 77 points from tournaments in autumn 2005. Alex will probably need to do well in one of the big money tournaments in Slovakia or the Ukraine and to make the latter stages of both the British challengers. Alex has a fine record in British 25Ks, having won 3 out of the last 5 which he has entered.

Alex is also hoping to line up some court time in the off-season with Andy Murray’s world class coach Brad Gilbert. This will surely be extremely beneficial to a player often regarded as having an abundance of natural talent, but who has not always been able to make full use of it in matches. Gilbert is also superb on the fitness side of the game and Alex will need to be at his physical peak for the tournaments down under at the start of 2007 as they are played at the height of the Australian summer and on-court temperatures have been known to reach up to 45 degrees celsius.

admin

Alex sets sights on top 50 (Nov 2006):

British number three Alex Bogdanovic believes Brad Gilbert can help him reach the world's top 50 next year.

Gilbert, who is employed by the Lawn Tennis Association to coach Andy Murray and help other British players, has been working with Bogdanovic this week.

"His attitude is so positive all the time and it rubs off," the 22-year-old, currently ranked 119, told BBC Sport.

"Working with him is going to help me a lot and hopefully next year I can break into the top 50."

Bogdanovic has been training with Murray and Gilbert at London's Queen's Club and the trio, along with Miles Kasiri and Alan Mackin, will take part in a four-week training camp at the Saddlebrook Tennis Centre in Florida in December.

"Pre-season with Andy and Brad is going to help me a lot," Bogdanovic said.

"It helps so much to be playing with a great player like Andy and also to have Brad around.

"Brad is going to give that extra buzz to everyone. Here is a guy who has done it before and produced great players.

"It doesn't matter where you are, even if the atmosphere of a place is not good, Brad's positive attitude gets you up for it and gets the buzz going. "He's always got something positive to say - it's just fantastic. Obviously he's helped Andy a lot and it's also going to help a lot of the other guys just to have him around. I'd certainly like to work with Brad in the future. When I get my ranking up there with Andy I'm sure I'll be able to travel with those guys as well."

Bogdanovic also hopes a rise up the rankings will force him back into Britain's Davis Cup squad. John Lloyd questioned the player's temperament following defeat by Ukraine in July and, upon succeeding Jeremy Bates as Britain's captain, immediately dropped him for the next match against Ukraine.

"He said I couldn't cope with the pressure, and maybe at the time I couldn't, because everyone expected me to win," Bogdanovic said. "I want to prove to John that I'm good enough for the team. Maybe he doesn't think I can take the pressure or that I am ready for the team. My job is to go out there, get my ranking into the top 100 and prove to him that I want to be part of his team. I'm sure I will get back in sooner or later. I've just got to keep working hard - I know there's a lot of work to be done. The better I play, the more he's got to have to think about whether he wants me in the team or not.
"I would love to play Davis Cup. It's always been part of me and in Andy, myself and a couple of other guys who have been doing so well, it's going to be a great team for the future."

To read the full story go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6047640.stm

Alex to be based in the USA

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