Esclusiva Oktennis, intervista a Laura Robson verso il Roland Garros: "Sinner un eroe per l'Italia"

we are recording so to you okay thank you so much uh so Laura uh thanks I'm very happy to talk to you once again and first of all I really want to congratulate you because I heard your new role for the WTA event in Nottingham and the first question was about this uh being tournament director in a WT event like how the the whole process was or if anyone asked you or how this started um so this is my second year in Nottingham um but before that I had done basically some training work almost um so shadowing the tournament director at Queens at the ATP there um the previous year and also in Miami as well and then I started a couple of years ago now um doing the tournament director role for some challenges so I did a 25k and then a 50k um and just kind of got some experience through that I feel like you wouldn't want to go straight into into a WTA because it's quite a big jump so yeah the fact that I had that background um and had a bit of confidence in my ability to to do the role by the time I got to Nottingham was really helpful um and last year went really really well we had obviously an amazing week for the Brits so Andy won the men's Katie won the women's but you had four women in in the semi-finals so yeah from from a tournament Direct dor perspective it was fantastic because we had sellout crowds all week um and everyone was was really excited um but this year yeah this year as well I I think looking at the ticket sales were're up about 77% on on sales going into the tournament last year and I think a lot of it is because people came to watch Andy but they didn't necessarily know that the tournament was on um and then they see that it's a really nice event and it's yeah very easy as aect data there's lots to do you get so much access uh to the players and and to different match courts with just a ground pass as well so um yeah I'm really excited so I leave rolling G early actually because I need to get out to Nottingham in the second week um but yeah fingers cross it all goes well I number one thing that people always ask me is that I hope I get good weather that's like the one thing I have no control over but in England it makes a big big difference if we can just get no rain for the whole week that would be great yeah I was I was also going to ask you like this uh this feel this double role I mean working at in Paris and then working to nothing like how are you going to uh schedule everything that is happening so you said you told me already that you're going to leave by by the time that second week is starting so uh but right now how are you like are you able to do all these steps or is that thing or is different um I think it's different parts of my brain as well so it keeps me on my toes um but for Nottingham you know we start working on it in January it's more of a year round thing every now and then um I'm at the national Center at the moment we had our final debrief almost because every the rest of the team are going up at the end of the week for the stand setup and and I'll be in Paris but the fact that I have a really really good event manager um Lucy she's actually the same age as me so we we started together last year um running the event and um yeah the fact that I can be in Paris and know that everything's taken care of and everything's going to be organized makes it a lot easier um so yeah I'll come home on the middle Saturday and then go up to Nottingham two days later on on the Monday H so it's quite a quick turnaround um but I yeah I like to be there before any players arrive and they're allowed to practice on the grass cours from like Thursday so just a feel like I've got everything under control before anyone's on site is the main thing um but no the the tournament's really great they've they've had the same contractors for years and years and a lot of it is you know very relaxed very social it's not a super stressful event compared to let's say like a Wimbledon or something so yeah it's it's a really enjoyable week obviously for rangos you would be there for working for Eurosport and Discovery plus uh you told me last year that was the first experience in in Paris with them and I do Wonder like one year later what is something that you're really looking forward to leave with the team with the team of Eurosport uh I like listening to matx Wanda's stories in The Green Room when we're not working that's my favorite thing him and Alex Keta are like non-stop chatting in there and then sometimes John MCA comes in and then he you know he has his own history of of tennis stories um and it's just fascinating to me but no I feel like it's part of the family now because I've done a couple of Aussie opens for euros sport Paris last year um and yeah everyone knows each other everyone really gets on and um we work as as a as a good unit um but no I'm excited I'm excited for the tennis basically I feel like when you get to a slam you just can't wait for it to start so the first day is like Christmas basically for a tennis fan where you've got so many matches to try and cover so many players to try and catch up with um and the day the day fly flies B by the end of it yeah I read the interview that we did last year exactly right before Paris and I felt that many topics that we talked about last year on the women's side are basically the same that we have this year so I do Wonder for example if you feel that this sort of switch in the narrative probably before you were thinking about who could be the one like among many players but now that you have a sort of small small circle of players that can be like can get to the end of the tournament and can be expected to to take the trophy I do wonder how do you see that the the tournament at this point obviously we have a big favorite but she's not the only one I I mean I don't want to say she's not the well I she's not the only one yes but the same time I feel like there's a pretty strong chance that she win the tournament um which is yeah it's nice to say because it's so good to have a front runner who has so much confidence in their game especially on clay that even you know let's say the Madrid final which for me is one of the best WT matches of the year um you still feel like Shon Tech has another level that she can go even further on the clay that she can use her movement more that she can improve certain things um so it's it's it's hard for me to not see her winning Roland gas again um but the fact that she's got someone pushing her and sabalenka every week and that they've played Final after final um I think makes it more interesting because she knows that she's got someone knocking on the door and so it forces you to to continue to work on things to never really get complacent with how you're feeling um but yeah it's nice for me to say on the women's side that we have a very strong favorite and then on the side not so much so it's a change of the narrative basically but uh yeah I think it's it's great as a WT far yeah I was talking exactly about the the sort of uh role that he got has probably with the with all the other colleagues on the WTA tour because um for example in stutgart maras talking about the cay season starting that so it's going to be scary so I do wonder if you if you see that she has a sort of uh she's not just the number one in the world at the moment but she's someone who really uh got them the mo the most of the respect out of the out of the other players like she's the one that everyone is looking at in a very not going to say intimidating and probably I don't really know the the exact word but they are looking at her in a different way like with more respect than others yeah I agree I don't think they're intimidated but at the same time there's like an appreciation for how good she is on on Clay um and Marquette is not the only one yes few weeks it's been like keys but alsoa you know name up player after player saying she's just a joke basically on Clay um because it seems like she has all the answers so you might think you're playing well but you still lose the match three and three and you come off court and you're like almost thinking what just happened what what did I do wrong and and the answer for a lot of the players is is not much but she's just kind of that much better on on especially a slower surface I think more people have a chance when it's like a Madrid like a a faster you know the balls are flying through the court more so if Paris is very hot then maybe things change but um no I think it's I think it's a testament to eager as well that she handles the pressure of being the one to beat every week so every you know every tournament that she's going into to it's like she's the favorite she's the number one in the world everyone's trying to beat her and yet it it doesn't seem to be an issue at all you know she just handles it so well so yeah I love that um you know even a few years ago the number one role was thrust up upon her when bti retired but that she's still number one is is yeah a real show of of how good she is U talking about probably the biggest Challenger for her uh ranking wise I mean talking about Arena or Elena or also KOCO for example like where do you think there could be the the key to do something because if they are going to force to play at 80 90% 100% of their level they probably there is there is probably going to be a little bit of moment where the level drops Anda takes the advantage but generally speaking do you see what what they could do to Challen to really challenge ha um I think for Sanka with every match it seems like she's learning more and more you know I really don't see her as just a hard hitter I think she has a lot of variety that maybe people don't appreciate that much and and for her height as well she moves really well um so I I think she'll figure it out and she has figured it out on other surfaces but on Clay it's just going to take a few more times maybe where um you learn to slow things down more to be able to play more aggressive if that makes sense like I'm watching some of the matches in Rome and it seems like she still wants to hit a winner straight away where when someone's moving so well across the other end of the the net you just need to maybe play two more shots and um yeah once you learn that patience then then it's going to feel a lot easier but um yeah I I still think you know if e has a bad day then sabalenka could beat her Coco could beat her it's not like it's un achievable so um yeah you just have to get yourself into the position to play her in in the semis and the finals to even have a chance because she's just so consistent that you know that she's going to get there uh watching these players from the court side I do wonder if you also feel like there is a different sort of hype that is building up like before these matches these rivalries this against sabinka or sabinka against rakina all these players top players against against each other if you feel also from the court side that for example the fans around you are engaged in the match in a different way than other times I would I would definitely say so um and I think it kind of started with the Aussie open Final last year with Sabal Leno and we back in and playing the amazing three three hours 15 match I think it was and and just people taking note of that and thinking like oh this is the quality is amazing H and then for them to always be quite consistent in making semis and finals then you start to follow the names more and I I think that's kind of what the WT has missed a little bit in in previous years um that there's there's always been some big names but the fact they haven't played every week um whereas at the moment they're you know physically so consistent as well where they're playing the 500s they're playing the the Masters and they're playing the slams so you really get a sense of how consistent they are through the year um and I think yeah I think that really helps when you do get to a final you can go back to all the matches that they've played this year and and previous years and you know see how much they've come on as well um yeah I don't know I do think there's there's a lot more hype for for the finals on on the WTA side at the moment than it has been but um yeah I was ons for Indian Wales and in Miami so unfortunately I wasn't in Madrid for the final uh just uh talking switching a little bit to the men's side I as I'm Italian I want to ask you a question about Yanik which is not about uh dangeros in particular but your opinion on this big um growth she he had since last fall since October November everything he accomplished and the fact that she could be sorry he could be number one by the end of Paris we are expecting any news in terms of if he's going to be there how is the injury going and everything but I just wonder your opinion on how Yanik uh grew up from yeah from October from last year basically yeah there's that joke on um on social media where after the match where he threw up mid match it's like that was the turning point for him um yeah I just think even before then though he knew exactly what he was trying to work on and I think always from when he employed Darren there's been a long-term Vision um and you never quite know how long it's going to take for it to click but when it does it's like the floodgates are open um and then you play you know the first four months of the year basically without losing a match so um yeah I think I think the difference is that he he was willing to take on different challenges you know different technical changes different physical changes throughout the year um and the technical ones are so difficult to put into place in the middle of the season but he's like yep if it helps me in six months time then that's an easy decision to make and so often players don't want to do that because you might have to go through a a phase of not winning many matches and not feeling great on the court and um yeah just to kind of accept that I think is is a great skill and his personality um but no I I just think you know he's God God he hits the ball so nice like I think from the side the court he has to be my favorite to watch because it sounds so clean it sounds so great and um yeah now that he's finally got Aslam I say finally he's like so young still um but yeah it just seems like you know the number one was inevitable at some point for him did you see any sort of um I don't know how the Italians were so excited already during the ATP finals in t like did you did you expect that to to see all these play all these people like so involved by one single player like how the crowd was going crazy or already at at the ATP finals like even before what happened in Melbourne for example and how the country basically stopped for three days right after that that s success yeah I think I mean Italy for me is like a great tennis country anyway because there's so much history there's so much passion from the fans not just at the top of the game but you know you go to any club and the courts are always full um so they've been dying for someone to to support and now they have someone who's so consistent and um it must feel great but um yeah I think he's someone that can get you into the sport not because he's like super showy on the court but because of just how well he gos and if that can't inspire you if you're watching you know as a young person or even as a fan from Bes side the court you you can't help but be blown away by how good he is um and so I mean he must actually be a hero after David's come anyway let alone after Aussie open um so he's gonna get yeah huge support wherever he goes and um it won't just be a myy because I mean even my friends in London are like I want to come to one to watch him play so yeah I'm trying to get everyone tickets at the moment my last one is about Jasmine Pini just because we like we found out a grand slam champion and we also found out a WTA 1,000 winner both singles and doubles actually so I just wonder if there is something that you really appreciate from Jasmine but also not also tennis wise but also like um as a character because she really had to work a lot to get where she is at the moment I love her and um she's always got a smile on her face she always just looks so happy to be at the at the big tournaments um no I so I remember years and years ago I was playing I think it was 100K on the grass and she was playing in qualifying and she'd lost in qualifying but she was just hoping to stick around to get a lucky loser spot and from from there to where she is now it's like night and day and it seems like she's trying to play a bit more aggressively but just the confidence because she's been week in week out on the Challenger circuit for so long that all of a sudden you really start to believe that you can beat the top players um you know and to do well in Australia but then to back up in Dubai um yeah she just I I just love the way that she plays it because there's so much variety The Slice she's quite comfortable coming forward she's got great hands um and it still feels like she can improve because she's able to get more Pace on herself um and the on High Ground Stakes especially I think the poor hand could still improve so yeah for me it's it's really exciting um to see someone you know come from from being down in down in the 25s down in the 50s and and knowing how hard that is to make Transition um to to winning the the big events thank you a lot I really really appreciate it so and have an ACV need you too thank you here Diego I'll get this I'll get this recording sent over to you yeah okay