KUCHING: Japanese Tennis Association (JTA) Boys Junior National Coach Hayato Sakurai said that early preparation was the key to their win in the final of ITF World Tennis Junior Team Competition U14 (Boys) Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying tournament.
The tournament was recently held at Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) Centre from March 27 to April 1.
“We came here early in March to prepare because we know it is not easy to adapt to the weather here as it is different from what we have in Japan, which I believe it was the key to us winning the tournament here.
“After we have been here for like five days, our players are somewhat adapted to the weather and the food here and it has turned into some sort of a simulation to the boys,” Sakurai told the reporters after securing the crown here.
Sakurai added that there is no harm in having early preparation as it may be the key difference to success.
“Early preparation has to be done no matter what as the results are slightly out of our control as it also depends on your opponents’ performances on the day itself so sometimes you just have to accept it but one thing that can be controlled is early preparation, to get used to the weather, the bounce of the court, the local food, and the effort will not betray you.
“We will be doing the same for the world finals as well by travelling there three to four weeks before the world finals and in the meantime we will be playing some tournaments in Europe as part of the early preparation.
“Thus, including the world finals in Czech Republic, we will be in Europe for around four to five weeks by the end of the tournament and I believe this will serve as a good experience for the boys,” Sakurai said.
When asked by reporters whether the long break will affect the boys’ studies, Sakurai pointed out that it would not affect them as July is usually the students’ summer break in Japan.
“At most, they will probably miss the first two weeks when the classes restart again but this chance is hard to come by for the boys and it may be their only chance to experience this, so they have to make a choice for themselves,” Sakurai added.
Touching on his targets in the world finals, Sakurai, being the most experienced coach in the tournament with 12 years of coaching experience, one silver and three bronze medals from the world finals under his belt, kept his expectation low by setting sights to only get into the quarter final.
“I do not set lofty goals every year. I just tell my players to finish top two in the group stages, secure the top eight spot and we take it game by game from there.
“It is never an easy game because anything can happen as there is not much difference in terms of abilities among the young boys, it is just a matter of how they can perform under pressure but we will always try to keep our beliefs and fight until the final point,” Sakurai said.
Sakurai also expressed his delight for being able to capture the crown here in Kuching, his second Asian win after 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, as their initial target has always been the top four to secure the tickets into the world final.
“Grabbing the spot to the world finals have always been the initial target because I want the players to be able to experience the tournament in Europe.
“I have never told them that they must win here but instead we just take one game at a time after securing the tickets to world finals and I am elated that we won at the end and I cannot ask anything more than that,” Sakurai said.
Regarding what he hopes to see in the future, Sakurai added that he would like to see one of his boys making it into the top 100 of ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) rankings.
“I also want to see more Asian making it to the top 100 of the world rankings. I also hope that all the Asian countries can help each other and push each other to greater heights in tennis,” Sakurai added.
