I caught up with Katie this week at the Glasgow 25K to pose a few questions. Many thanks to her for taking the time out to reply, hope you all find it interesting:
Katie gunning for Aussie Open main draw
With Tim Henmans retirement from the mens game last month Britain now has just Andy Murray in the mens top 100 singles players and with just 3 others inside the top 300, it seems unlikely that will change in the near future. However, in contrast there is growing optimisn in the womens game where Britain has 7 players in the top 300 and both Anne Keothavong and Katie OBrien closing in on the top 100 plus Naomi Cavaday and Elena Baltacha have made huge ranking leaps to reach the top 200.
Katie in particular has made huge strides over the past 12 months, now regularly making the latter stages in challengers and winning WTA matches not just on the green grass of home but overseas, a rarity for female British players in recent years. A couple of weeks ago she made the quarters of Taskhent, the first time shed reached that stage in a WTA.
The grass court season results really catapulted her up the rankings after qualifying and winning a round at the elite tier 1 event at Eastbourne and then hitting the headlines with her round 1 win at Wimbledon. Since then shes been working a lot with the elite German coach Jens Gerlach (former coach of Anastasia Myskina).
Speaking after a rd1 win at the Glasgow 25K she said "It's great to have someone of his experience in my corner and I really believe he can help me to achieve my goals. Jens is also in charge of Amanda Elliott and has his responsibilities within the LTA, so although he tries to be around as much as possible, he cant be with me for every single tournament. I think its good for me to work things out for myself now and again. The LTA have clearly stated that theyll fund an individual coach once a player reaches the top 75 and I stand by that policy. Although, at present, I am very happy with my set up with Jens and with the LTA at the NTC."
"Jens is in charge of my tournament schedule, but Nigel (Sears) has some input too. I will always discuss my schedule with Jens before finalising anything, as it wouldnt make any sense to follow a schedule that Im not happy with !!"
One of the common reasons jounrnalists cite (usually after a series of first round exits at Wimbledon)for lack of elite British tennis players is a lack of fitness and desire compared to other countries particularly Russia where tennis is often seen as a route to a better life. These claims tend to be cheap shots, its hard to generalise like that but the recent reprimanded antics of the Bebo pair have sparked speculation that fitness may be an issue further down the rankings ladder in British tennis.
Katie said: "I think these issues about fitness and desire have been blown out of proportion. Perhaps, there is a slight lack of understanding in this country about what it takes to be a professional athlete, but I think most of the players are receiving better guidance now. At the end of the day, I just look to take care of myself. I would hope that nobody would ever question my desire. Im not going to pretend I didnt have any fitness issues before, but Id like to think that Ive addressed most of them now. Physically, I feel better than Ive ever done right now !."
After Wimbledon Katie opted to take a month-long training block to work on areas of her game. It was a decision which drew some criticism from fans who felt she would have been better heading for the July US hard court swing given her good form and the weakness of some of the draws, especially when she went through a lean spell once returning to the tour in August.
However Katie firmly believes that the decision was a correct one and the benefits were always going to be more evident in the long-term.
"I don't for one minute regret taking this time out for a training block, as I think it has turned out to be hugely beneficial. It was important not to get carried away after Wimbledon, and there were definitely areas in my game which needed to be addressed. They might not have been apparent in my results right away, but I think I made some big improvements in my game, and I feel like a much more complete player now. This time allowed me to build up a good physical base as well, which has set me up for the rest of the year. It was also my first time working with Jens, so it was good to get to know each other a little bit too."
"I wouldnt deny that my results at the end of the summer were a little disappointing, but you have to consider that I was still a little inexperienced competing with the better players on a regular basis outside of a grass court. Despite this early lack of success, I always felt that I was improving on a daily basis and Jens helped me to believe that the results would eventually take care of themselves if I continued to put the work in."
Currently ranked 144, shes aiming to make the cut for Januarys Australian Open. It would be the first time shes gained direct entrant to a grand slam and to have a chance shell have to get to 110 or higher by the end of the season.
"I'll be playing challengers for the rest of the year. After Glasgow, Im playing a 25K in Istanbul and then another three 25Ks in Australia, followed by a 75K in China and a 75K in Dubai. Its quite an intense schedule, but I want to push as close to the 100 mark as possible to set me up for 2008. In the new year, I'll be looking to play as many WTAs as possible."
With many players starting to feel jaded after a long gruelling season, October and November can be a good time to take advantage and rack up the points. Katie certainly feels her goal is within reach, "Even though I'm playing only challengers until the end of the year, if I can do consistently well in these tournaments, there is no reason why I cant aim to push for a place in the AO main draw."
The last British player to reach the top 100 was Sam Smith back in 1999. Since then several players have come close; Louise Latimer, Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha but none of them have been able to make that final push from challenger level to competing regularly on the main tour (though Keothavong and Baltacha have both been severely hampered in this by injury). Its a transition many players never make. Along with other British players like Sarah Borwell, Katie feels that the big difference between those in the top 100 and those ranked 100-150 is more psychological than technical
"I think mental toughness is a key factor. Every point counts on the WTA - you cannot afford to have any mental lapses. On the whole, most players hit the ball well at Challenger level, but you can get away with making some loose errors and still come through. I also think that the top players have a much more disciplined approach to all aspects of their tennis career on a daily basis. Its this attention to detail that makes the difference. Obviously, there are some players who have been blessed with so much talent, that they were always going to succeed, no matter what, but there are many ordinary players out there who have just worked extremely hard to be where they are."
Thanks to Katie and Sheddie for this illuminating article. Personally I thought the decision to take a break after Wimbledon to prepare for the tougher matches ahead against higher-standard players than she played prior to the grass season was a sensible one.
I am worried though about one aspect of her schedule. Katie says she aims to finish with the 75K tournament in Dubai. This tournament is in mid-December. Mel played it last year, then started the 2007 season in Australia 2-3 weeks later, and suffered a loss in form for the first half of the year (a similar story to Josh for that matter). I have looked at the records of all the players who played in Dubai. There were 6 (Laine, Nagy, Fedak, Hisamatsu, Schruff and South) who had all played a full season of 27+ tournaments, and were ranked high enough to start 2007 in the Australian tournaments. All 6 suffered a drop in ranking during the next six months, and I don't think that is a coincidence. Good off-season preparation is essential, so I hope that Katie looks at the bigger picture and reconsiders this part of her schedule.
Good point. But hopefully the break she had mid-season would neutralise that a little bit!
Its just possible if she plays well she could achieve her goals in the 4 25K's then the one in China, and withdraw form the last one.
Interesting that the cut off for a personal coach is top 75. Its probably a good thing but begs the question, "What are all the coaches doing unitl someone makes top 75!?"
I agree there's a worry that such an intense end of year schedule could affect things for 2008...as johnnylad says, I think Katie feels that having taken a month out in the summer will counterbalance this.
It's a bit of a gamble but to make AO main draw cut she'd need to play as many tourneys as possible....points gaining this week isn't likely to happen as she's defending from making Istanbul semis last year. After that, just a 25K quarters to defend in November.
This week now puts her up to 136. To make top 110 (which would give her a chance given all the AO withdrawals) she needs approx 53 pts, the equivalent of winning two 25Ks.....she needs to make two finals down under to have a chance and then a big week in China/Dubai...going to be a tough ask
Anne needs about 22 pts to ensure a place...unfortunately she's defending pts from winning a 25K at end of Nov....so two 25K finals in the remaining 4 tourneys down under is what she needs.
So, if DavidC is right, I make that four $25k tourneys and a $75k to get into the top 110.
To reach 110 she needs to reach approx. the 320 point mark and she's currently on about 250. She's also defending around 25 points from November last year from what I can tell so she needs to get 90-95 points before 3rd Dec. (I haven't taken into account "Best 18" or whatever the equivalent is in the women's game if there is such a thing)
If she wins all five tourneys that's 155 points but, lets face it, that ain't gonna happen.
She'll be one of the top ranks in the $25ks so four semis is not unrealistic - that's 48 points, but if she manages that then she'll have to win the $75k to reach the top 110, so she really needs to get to some $25k finals to allow her a bit of leeway among the higher quality $75k draw. That will mean she'll have to play an awful lot of tennis!
Hopefully I'll be looking back in a few weeks after a couple of $25k crowns thinking that there's a decent chance of a AO DE, but, as things stand, I think it's asking a bit much.
And surely 110 won't get her in the MD? There is 16 qualifiers and 8 wild cards for every Grand Slam tournament so that leaves only 104 places DE's, and that is not including people with protected rankings. So she would have to crack the top 100 to make sure, or rely on drop-outs.
I've had a look and can't find out who the lowest ranked DE was without clicking on 128 profiles on the AO 2007 website. There's always going to be injuries and the occasional top-100 ranked retiree, but you're right, Katie would need another 10 or so ranking points to be certain (and would probably be a leading candidate for withdrawal due to injury after that schedule!).
And surely 110 won't get her in the MD? There is 16 qualifiers and 8 wild cards for every Grand Slam tournament so that leaves only 104 places DE's, and that is not including people with protected rankings. So she would have to crack the top 100 to make sure, or rely on drop-outs.
There are 108 DA in AO, RG and W. Cutoff is normally between 112 and 118 after withdrawals.
