Can Roche rectify Sania's serve?

http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/02/stories/2005100206401800.htm

V. V. Subrahmanyam

# The objective is to try and improve her serve.
# Efforts are also on to engage a full-fledged support team.



USEFUL INPUTS: Coach John Farrington has added a new dimension to Sania's game, the sliced backhand, which has helped her a lot.

HYDERABAD: : If everything goes according to plan, the legendary Tony Roche, now coach of Roger Federer, may well guide the destiny of tennis sensation Sania Mirza for the next one year.

According to a tentative schedule, the famous Australian may train Sania in Sydney for about three weeks before the first Grand Slam of 2006 — the Australian Open. Sania's think tank believes that John Farrington, currently her travelling coach, is doing an adequate job and will continue to be part of the preparations at least till the Australian event.

However, since Sania now feels that she has a realistic chance to inch closer to the top 10, this move seemed inevitable.

Roche is being sounded for the undoubtedly expensive assignment (it is roughly estimated that it would cost about $10,000 per week) is to mainly improve upon Sania's serves. The decision to hire Roche was taken after the think tank analysed Sania's game immediately after the US Open through extensive study of video footage and came to the conclusion that her serve is the weakest link in her game.

Farrington's contribution

Italy-based Bob Brett, in whose academy Sania has been training of and on, has helped her make a dramatic improvement in her physical conditioning and the acquisition of a lethal backhand. The sliced backhand a new weapon in her armoury could be attributed to John Farrington's efforts. The travelling coach also closely monitors her diet to help her perform at her optimum level.

If Sania can scale heights despite her predominantly weak serve, Tony Roche may well make the ultimate difference in the final analysis.

Now efforts are also on to engage a full support team for Sania, over the next two years. This will include a physical trainer, travelling coach, psychologist and anyone else deemed imperative to obtain better results.

Sania will take a break from the sport for one month after the next two majors — the AIG Open in Tokyo and the Bangkok WTA in the space of the next fortnight.