Wimbledon 2015: Nick Bollettieri - Coaching from the side is not cheating – it’s just daft you are not allowed to do it

THE WIMBLEDON FILES

(Getty Images)

Years ago I had a player at the academy called Lisa Bonder. She was pretty good, reaching the top 10. One day we went to a tournament, a big one.

I gave her a card to memorise on which it said if I touched my nose, she should do one thing, if I took off my Oakley sunglasses, do something else, if I rubbed my eyes, and so on. The advice would be something like “play to her forehand” or “come to the net more”.

So I was stood at court two, where the coaches have to stand, and I realised I had left my card, with my copy of the instructions, at the hotel. The match began. Not long into it she looked at me. I just stared straight ahead. The whole match I never moved. I was afraid I would give her the wrong signal. She won anyway.

That story, which must be 30 years old, came back to me when I read the fuss that had been created over Boris Becker saying he gives Novak Djokovic signals from the players’ box. Technically this is cheating if he does it at Wimbledon. As I wrote yesterday, I abhor cheating but, do you really think this is cheating? If it is, we’ve all done it. A coach might brush his nose, scratch his ear, put his finger on his lips – there are all manner of ways of conveying advice. You put a camera on the coaches here at Wimbledon and tell me what you think they are doing.

I cannot think of another sport where coaching is not allowed during a game. The golfer has his caddy, the boxer his corner man. Football coaches are hollering from the sidelines. Your cricket guys, I’m told, send on messages with drinks and things.

But not in tennis. Hell, according to the rules you can’t even shout “Holy mackerel, get the damned first serve in”, because “communication of any kind may be construed as coaching”.

Unless, of course, it is the Davis Cup, or US college tennis, or the WTA women’s circuit (except for slams). They all permit coaching. This inconsistency of application shows how daft the rule is.

I think allowing coaches more involvement would be good for the sport, not least because it would make good television.

What is cheating? When a person calls a ball that is in, out. That is cheating. Coaching is part of the game, part of sport. Besides, ultimately the player still has to do it themselves. You can give all the information you want to somebody, but are they capable of doing it, can they execute it?

Kukushkin must come in to ruffle imperious Murray

I’ve had a relaxing weekend at Thorpe Bay tennis club in Southend, then I turn up at Wimbledon and it is beach weather, just perfect for sitting back and watching the cream of the world’s tennis players.

The heat this week is another thing they have to deal with. It will not bother the top players though, they are strong and they are focused. That certainly applies to your guy, Andy Murray. He looks to be mentally and physically in tip-top condition. Working with Amélie Mauresmo clearly agrees with him and I am not surprised. All this fuss about Andy working with a woman – who taught Andy from the beginning? His mum, Judy.

Murray with coach Amelie Mauresmo (Shaun Botterill | Getty Images)

Under Mauresmo he seems to have found a nice balance temperamentally. Murray will always carry on a bit. If you take that away from him you change the man. He has got to release, but he is doing it now in a positive way, he does not let the opponent know he is getting down on himself and waste two or three points.

Technically he is looking good, too. He is standing closer to the baseline, he has improved his serve, especially his second serve. His backhand still has the slice, but he also has a wicked two-handed backhand. I’d go as far as to say he is the best returner on the tour today, even better than Novak Djokovic, and one of the best returners in the history of tennis. Remember, every point begins with a serve and a return. Every point.

Today he’s up against a guy ranked 59th but there are no freebies in the early rounds, not like it was some years ago. Murray will have to work for his win. With the grass new, like it is at the start of the week, I’d expect Mikhail Kukushkin to come in against Murray. Not many people are going to beat Murray from the baseline, so to beat him you are going to have to do some things Murray does not expect, like attack the net, serve and volley.

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Coaching report

Don’t be fooled by her defeat – Gasparyan has got real potential

If they said to me: “Nick, walk around the courts, watch the games, then pick a young player to work with,” I’d pick Margarita Gasparyan.

Don’t be fooled by the 6-4, 6-1 scoreline when she lost yesterday to Serena Williams. It was so much closer than the numbers say. Serena had to work in both sets – hell, she could have gone 4-1 down in the first. But Serena has the ability to come up with a big serve when it is was really needed, and if you give her a lollipop she’ll hit it for a cricket six.

Not that Gasparyan, who’s a 20-year-old Russian, offered up many lollipops. I liked her. She’s tall, moves extremely well, has a magnificent one-handed backhand, a big forehand, excellent ground strokes and a good first serve. That is a formidable platform to work with. She needs to improve her second serve just a little, but she has a good attitude on court and I think she has a very bright future. She was 217th at the start of the year and is now ranked 113.

Of the youngsters coming up she is as good as anybody.

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This year I have done some coaching videos, providing quick tips exclusively for readers of The Independent. They can be found by clicking here