Wickmayer moves on from Mouratoglou

 

Originally published on: 26/04/12 00:00

A resident of Monte Carlo, Wickmayer has been based at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris since January 2010 but, given that the Frenchman has also had Aravane Rezai, Jeremy Chardy and Grigor Dimitrov under his tutelage, she has never been the sole focus of Mouratoglou’s attention.

“He [has] never really been coach of Yanina,” said Wickmayer’s father Marc. “First he was working with Rezai, he was coach of Chardy and now he follows mainly Dimitrov.”

Wickmayer could now turn to Devries, whose young Fed Cup team – lacking both Wickmayer and four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters – were dealt a 4-1 thumping by Japan in last weekend’s play-offs at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.

The 42-year-old Belgian has maintained a strong relationship with Wickmayer. “I want to give her stability as soon as possible,” said the former world No.77. “Even when Yanina trained with other coaches, we spoke to each other almost daily. Our relationship goes beyond that of a player-coach.”

Currently ranked at No.31 in the women’s ladder, Wickmayer underlined her potential in 2009 when she reached the semi-finals of the US Open. The 6ft right-hander has reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the time since but, though touted as a future Grand Slam champion, she hasn’t kicked on as expected.

The former world No.12 has three WTA titles to her name and reached her seventh WTA final in Hobart this January, losing to Mona Barthel. She also reached the last four in Paris in February and the quarter-finals in Doha, although a straight sets win over Kim Clijsters in Miami was the highlight between early losses in Indian Wells and Charleston.

 

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