On-court coaching has limits
Nowhere else do the we hear as much coaching as we do in Laver Cup. Some of it is useful, some of it detrimental, and some of it surprising.
I wouldn’t have expected to hear Grigor Dimitrov and Casper Ruud, two guys who like to construct points patiently, urge their teammates, over and over, to blast the ball and let the chips fall where they may. On Friday, Ruud told Alcaraz and Zverev to “just rip your returns” straight at Fritz and “scare him.” On Sunday, Dimitrov told the German to “just hit and go, whatever happens, happens.” Zverev, probably for good reason, ignored him.
But it was something Dimitrov said to Ruud that reminded me that coaching doesn’t always mesh well with the fast-paced reality and split-second decisions required in tennis. He told Ruud, during the Norwegian’s Friday match against Francisco Cerundolo, that one of his slices down the middle had been effective. In the next game, Ruud twice looked as if he was thinking about Dimitrov’s observation. On one point, he hit a backhand straight down the middle…but he left it short and Cerundolo belted it for a winner. On the next point, Ruud tried a slice forehand return down the middle…and it floated long. Neither was a normal shot for Ruud, and neither worked.
The pros all have good and well-practiced instincts—ultimately, that’s what they live by. Outside advice is helpful only if it doesn’t get in the way of those instincts.
