Abu Dhabi: His CV makes for impressive reading and it is no wonder World No 5 Robin Soderling chose him as new coach after parting ways with former World No 2 Magnus Norman in December. Having been hitting partner for Monica Seles and having coached former wife and World No. 15 Anna Smashnova, Ai Sugiyama, Davide Sanguinetti, Simone Bolelli, Michael Berrer and Takao Suzuki, Italian Claudio Pistolesi has now been entrusted with the task of taking Soderling's game to a higher level to break the hold of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
But, speaking to XPRESS after his ward Soderling beat Tomas Berdych to take third place at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, the 43-year-old revealed coaching Soderling would be an altogether different ball game. "I have everything to lose here. All the players I have coached before, I have managed to take them to their career-best rankings. But, in Robin's case, he is already playing his best tennis and ranked as high as No 5. So, it's a challenge for me to improve on that," he said.
The Italian, who was ranked No. 71 at the peak of his playing career, then explained how he landed the coveted job. "Magnus couldn't continue due to family commitments and Robin's agent was looking for a new coach. He met me in London and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. You just can't say no to the chance of coaching one of the world's best players," he said.
So, what does he hope to improve?
"My test period runs till March. My aim is to add a more attacking streak to his game. I am not going to ask him to change his game, but maybe venture into the net a bit more and when he does that, make a winning volley. Just for the record, he made seven forays to the net here, five against [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga and one each against [Roger] Federer and [Tomas] Berdych and he won all those points," he said, adding: "I will also try to ensure he has the best physical level and stays mentally motivated."
Incidentally, Pistolesi played in the inaugural Dubai Tennis Championship in 1993 and like everyone else is amazed by the changes. "This is my first visit to Abu Dhabi but I have been to Dubai in 2009 as coach of Bolelli. The changes I have seen are amazing but one thing that remains unchanged is the passion for sports," he said.
And he hopes he can make good use of his coaching experience here some day. "I want to give my experience to coaches here. I want to hold clinics for coaches, but only after fulfilling my commitments with Robin," he said.
Claudio's CV
- Worked with Monica Seles as hitting partner in 1996-97 during which she won the Australian Open
- Won title in Bari in 1987, his lone ATP Tour success
- Beat then World No. 2 Mats Wilander for his biggest win in 1988
