Tennis coach Harry Haines, a member of Tennis Australia and USTA was excited about his visit to Mumbai and all praise of the tennis courts of the Willingdon Sports Club in Worli. “It’s wonderful to be in this city (Mumbai) which is so vibrant and full of energy. These courts are as beautiful and like paradise in the middle of this metropolis,” said the Australian, who is here to conduct a clinic for youngsters at the Willingdon Sports Club on Saturday morning.
Australian tennis coach Harry Haines interacts with kids during a tennis clinic at the Willingdon Sports Club, Worli on Saturday morning.
The affable Aussie before interacting and sharing his experience with the youngsters shared his view on the tennis scenario around the world and was in complete awe of Swiss maestro Roger Federer.
“Federer is exceptional, and I love him. He is a very consonant profession and what 38 years of age and still fighting, oh my goodness,” exclaimed the Australian.
“Even Rafa (Rafael Nadal) is another example of a great tennis player. Unfortunately he has been hampered by injuries, but still with a good brain he manages to fight and stay at the top. We seeing a generation of tennis now and from those top professionals he is very special,” Haines further stated.
Besides Federer and Rafa, Novak Djokovic and a couple of other players have been competing fiercely at the top and these guys have been dominating the major tournaments and Grand Slams over the past so many years.
“Back home in Australia we have a problem with the tennis players and not many have been coming up on ranks. Of late we have not been able to groom youngsters in the country and build them to reach the top in world tennis,” he pointed out.
“We got a problem with the men in Australia. There is Nick Kyrgios, who is intelligent, but the man is stupid. A crazy one, so when he finishes then I think Australian tennis will come good.” Haines said.
Kyrgios behavior is not just bad for Australian tennis but global tennis in general. It’s terrible for tennis and is very embarrassing because it’s does not show the right kind of etiquettes required for the sport. This is a professional circuit and it requires good etiquettes and he has completely lost it all and lacks professionalism.
Haines mentioned that ‘Passion’ is the key to success and to become a top tennis player. “If you don’t have the passion for sport, you can get nowhere. To become a big in tennis, you should have the passion to train hard, work on your fitness and keep improving your skills and I wish all the youngsters in Mumbai and India to be passionate about this sport and I believe that you can go all the way,” stressed Haines before joining the kids on the tennis courts.