Players need their entourage

By Banzay on 00:34

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MARAT Safin enjoyed having four scantily dressed blondes in the stands for support.

Venus Williams has been known to sneak her dog, Harold, into a tennis arena for comfort.

Lleyton Hewitt likes having old school friends in his player's box, while Roger Federer's corner has featured pop stars.

At this Australian Open Caroline Wozniacki has her parents, two coaches, a trainer and her agent.

Not to be outdone, Rafael Nadal has a trainer, public relations expert, his agent, uncle/coach, dad as well as his doctor - as he does at all of the slams.

The theory goes the higher the ranking, the bigger the entourage.

Holding a lower ranking? Your boyfriend, as in Jelena Dokic's case, maybe the only soul to tour the world with you.

While tennis great Rod Laver and Tennis Australia coaching officials showed their support for the former world No.4, Dokic is no longer earning the top dollars that see competitors, such as Kim Clijsters, tour with their osteopath, coach and more.


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World No.1 Wozniacki has one of the bigger entourages - it makes her feel "safe", she says. And those close to her say it has led to her recent success.

Her dad, Piotr, is her coach. Her mum, Anna, is now also on tour and bakes cakes for her as well as cooking her favourite meals.

"It's nice to have some home-cooked food sometimes," Wozniacki said.

"It's always nice to have her around."

In Melbourne she's also supported by two advisers provided by adidas, there's "roving coach" Sven Groeneveld and trainer Mats Merkel. The 20-year-old Dane said this big team was essential to success.

"It's very important," she said.

"No matter how I do, how I play, how I feel, I always have people around me - so I feel safe. I can talk to them about anything. My dad is my coach, but also a great friend. My mum is my biggest support. It's great to have them there.

"Then I have the adidas team and coach Sven and hitting partner Mats, who help me out, so we have a good laugh, as well."

With her dad and Groeneveld coaching her here, combined with expertise from Merkel, is that too much support? Maybe, thinks seven-time grand slam champion Mats Wilander.

"I don't know how they get it together to be honest," Wilander said. "I think she's strong enough to handle pretty much anything here.

"I could never handled two opinions, and certainly there are two opinions when you have two coaches ... "

Big entourages have been a mainstay for many years and younger players have picked up on the trend of having a big support team.

Since his mid-teens, Bernard Tomic has had a fitness trainer, his dad/coach John and, at the major tournaments, sometimes a Nike representative in his box.

Wilander, in town doing commentary for Eurosport, sees the value in entourages for players such as Federer and Nadal, but said big support teams could be hazardous for young players.

Hazardous in the way these teen players develop the bad habit of looking to the box for support at the cost of their initiative.

"What I don't like is that I think they start too soon," Wilander said.

"I don't think at 17 you need someone telling you to get out of bed and go for a run ...

"There is way too much pressure on a 19-year-old girl or a guy who thinks that he's got a clothing contract - he's there sitting in the box.

"There's too much pressure for that person to play tennis for somebody else. Tennis is not a team sport. They can't do anything for you out there. Yes, they can pull you through once in a while, but over the long run, you can't rely on having the same people in your player's box.

"I mean, how much time do you really spend with your physical trainer during a major? I am worried when they are hanging together all the time.

"It's not heading in the right direction, it is heading in the wrong direction."

Some are under fire for getting too big. Several years ago Andy Murray's posse was questioned by the British press and described "as a bigger entourage than most American rappers".

His support team at last year's US Open included two agents, physiotherapist, trainer, girlfriend, his mum, a consultant and a friend.

However, former Australian player Scott Draper can see a multitude of reasons why entourages are important.

Draper, who spent many years touring the world as well as briefly coaching Hewitt, said being a player was usually a difficult business.

"It's very hard to be successful on your own," said Draper, now a Fox Sports commentator.

"If you look at anyone successful, whether it's a business, they have a strong team around them. It's important that you have a strong entourage hanging around you and they have your back and you know that.

"You have a team that believe in your philosophies, your talent, your vision. Egos need to get out the way. It needs to be a team environment. They take pressure off.

"As a player, you have a huge responsibility on the court to compete to the best of your abilities and to do that you need a lot of pressure taken off - and that can be done through the team."

Draper said entourages took away stresses, such as media relations, organising travel, transport, scouting matches and practice times.

"And sometimes it's nice to have a familiar face in the crowd," he said.

"If you are in a place where you are going through adversity, you are in a tough sport, you've got familiar people there to support you through tough times. To me, there is just a multitude of reasons why an entourage is important."

Hewitt's entourage in Melbourne featured two coaches, a fitness trainer, wife Bec, manager David Drysdale as well as two old school friends.

Drysdale said Hewitt relied on his team and fed off them.

"Lleyton has a pretty close circle of friends and he's very loyal to those people and those people are very loyal to him," he said.

And, of course, the Hewitt kids are always nearby when he is touring the world.

In recent years grand slam champions have also been toting their kids and nannies along in their entourage.

Clijsters's nanny makes a cameo courtside if toddler Jada wants to watch mum.

During the week around the Rod Laver Arena hallways Charlene and Myla Federer could be seen being wheeled around by their nanny.

While Wilander questioned young players fielding large support teams, he said Federer and Clijsters' requirements were understandable; Federer especially.

"I can understand Roger Federer having an entourage, that he has his wife and kids with them, for 30-40 weeks with him," Wilander said.

"Of course he needs his trainer, he's got a lot of commitments, he needs a massage between 1.30 and 3pm. You can't get that in a locker-room. He needs seven, eight racquets a day, that's four hours of work. I can understand it, but there are other people out there who are beginning who haven't earned the right."

In recent years, celebrities are also featuring more often than not in a player's box. Federer's good friends and singers Gwen Stefani and husband Gavin Rossdale often appear in his corner at the US Open.

Last year, NFL star Terrell Owen's was a fixture in Andy Roddick's box, while boxer Ricky Hatton took a corner in Murray's box.

Whatever their purpose, an entourage can provide a great source of entertainment. They can get wild. Especially if you like nightclubs as much as you like tennis.

The 2002 Australian Open is remembered not for the fact Thomas Johansson won it, but as the slam that "the Safinettes" took over.

Safin brought not only a big game, but also a bevy of "blondes" who had a substantial proportion of their breasts on show.

"They are friends, friends of my friends," Safin said. "Definitely I think you have to admit that I have unbelievably beautiful bench."

He even attributed his victory over Pete Sampras on the way to the 2002 Australian Open final was due to his "friends".

"I need some support," he said. "I need to find the motivation, you know, against Sampras. That's why I brought so many blondes. That's why I have ... all my friends."

However, a year on, the only Russian female in the Safin camp was his mum. Sometimes less is more.

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