tennishead mag: Issue 6 OUT NOW!
Originally published on: 15/12/10 15:11
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not the season of goodwill and all that – it’s time to pick up the latest issue of tennishead as it hits the shelves across the UK and beyond on December 16. Go on, give yourself an early Christmas present – once you find out what’s in store, you’ll be glad you did…
Gael Monfils has grown up: his words, not ours. The Sunday Times’ Barry Flatman sat down with the one they call Sliderman shortly before the Davis Cup final and found a player finally ready to harness his burgeoning potential and flourish away from his native France – thanks to the efforts of his stoic mentor Roger Rasheed. Always one to watch, perhaps 2011 is the year La Monf features at the sharp end of a Slam.
Of course there’s the obligatory nostalgic look back at the season that was in our sixth and last issue of the year, as well as a bit of forward thinking on what promises to be an exciting 2011. We’ve managed to round our upcoming highlights down to a top 11 – see what we did there? – and while Nadal’s bid for a Rafa Slam in Oz and Roger Federer’s return to winning ways both feature, hopefully we’ve picked out a few that will raise the odd eyebrow…in a good way!
Someone who certainly managed to do just that in 2010 was Sam Stosur. The Roland Garros final might not have ended quite the way she may have wanted, but the quiet Queenslander used her newfound confidence as a springboard to a top-five ranking and a career-best quarter-final showing at the US Open. We’re expecting big things from Australia’s new golden girl, and having spoken with her, she’s expecting it too.
Stosur has emerged as Australia’s shining light at a time when the once-great tennis nation finds itself being drawn back into the pack – but they’re not taking it lying down. Chief tennis writer for The Australian Courtney Walsh gives us an Aussie’s-eye-view of state of play half a world away, just in time for the year’s first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park. The times, they are certainly a-changing.
And if you’re lucky enough to be heading Down Under in January, check out our snapper’s inside track on the Medibank International in Sydney. You never know, you might just bump into him out there. Just don’t stand in front of him while he’s shooting more exclusive action shots for team tennishead!
With winter well and truly taking hold in Blighty, we’ve packed out our academy pages with ideas to get you thinking outside the box. Take a fresh look at the importance of talent, read what happened after coaching gurus Barry Scollo and David Sammel met in a service station, and kick-start your footwork with some silky soccer drills.
There’s also an insight into Tennis 10s, the ITF’s worldwide junior tennis initiative set to shake up the way kids get into the sport, as well as the usual suspects – our top-drawer stroke sequentials and a new improved Ask tennishead section, where you can now win a £50 voucher to use with racket specialists PWP if you throw us a real curveball!
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s all your regular features: the latest tour and gear news, rankings, and a comprehensive round-up of all the action on the WTA and ATP Tours in our unrivalled results section.
So get down to your local WH Smith, Fitco, PWP and one of the many newsagents with discerning taste to buy your copy today – or click here to subscribe and claim a FREE poster! Do it! Do it now!
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