THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, No. 7

Eliot Teltscher: Andy, James or Taylor will win a Slam
Hewitt may have peaked
Men's tennis needs to lighten up

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

There were a number of creative players in the 1980s, but the abilities of SoCal’s Eliot Teltscher should never be dismissed lightly. While he never won a Slam, LA's most popular coach ended the year three times in the top 10 and instead of drifting away into the brilliant Santa Barbara sunset a la Jimmy Connors. Teltscher has been an unsung force in U.S. coaching, aiding many of the nation’s top juniors.

Teltscher has been a mainstay in US High Performance (formerly Player Development) over the past few years, overlooking the stable in America’s most productive region of the country – Southern California.

The former tour player has personally coached Taylor Dent and has worked with one of the nations top collegiate players, Duke's Phillip King, as well as King's phenom sister, 13-year old Vania, among others.

As one of the USTA’s main men, Teltscher keeps a close eye on the pro game, and is adamant in stating that one of the fearsome young American threesome – Andy Roddick, James Blake and Dent – will win a Slam in the near future.

"I’d be very surprised if one of them didn’t," said Teltscher. "They have the ability to win Slams and are improving every year. Andy is at the head of the pack, James is a late bloomer who has really improved and Taylor definitely picked up this year."

Teltscher says that this contingent won’t touch the Fab Four– Sampras, Agassi, Courier and Chang – but is better than advertised.

"I don’t think any generation can get there," he said. "But it’s a really nice group and I like what I see. All these guys have played Lleyton tough and the way I see it, they can all improve a lot while I don’t see what else Hewitt can improve. That’s no disrespect to Hewitt, but what else can he do better – improve his forehand a little? All those guys have big weapons and if they get mentally tougher and a little technically sounder, I see them being able to beat him next year or the year after. It’s not like Lleyton is killing them."

RODDICK HAS THE MOST POTENTAL
Even though Roddick had an admittedly poor year at the Grand Slams, Teltscher still like his potential.

"He’s still only 20 years old," said Teltscher. "Maybe he put too much pressure on himself."

Teltscher also believes that Roddick can improve his weaker backhand side and fix his shaky return game. He doesn’t think that Roddick’s depressing losses to Wayne Arthurs (Roland Garros), Greg Rusedski (Wimbledon) and Pete Sampras (US Open) necessarily indicate that he doesn’t have it as a truly elite player.

"Finishing in the top 10 at age 20 is great," Teltscher said. "I think it’s obvious that grass will always be Andy’s worst surface, but if you look at where he’s weakest, he can improve. He was a little overwhelmed by Sampras’ serving, but who wasn’t at the Open? He needs to focus more on holding his own serve and not looking too far ahead in a match. But I really like his attitude."

Teltscher also propped Roddick's coach, Tarik Benhabiles, who some believe isn’t cut out to coach America’s greatest hope."I really think a lot of Tarik’s coaching," Teltscher said."I saw Andy when he was 16 and he was good, but not nearly this good."

DENT IS STILL GROWING

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

Teltscher is much more invested in the serve-and-volleying Dent, who he coached on tour with before he decided that he wanted to spend more time with his wife and kids. Dent has been on a coaching merry-go-round since deciding that he needed to be tutored by someone other than his sometimes intense father, former top-10er Phil.

"Taylor's still learning and he’s still trying to find himself," Teltscher said. "If you can bottle what he does when he’s playing great over a two-week period, he could win a Slam. Not a lot of guys have the weapons he does, especially on grass. But he still is looking for what he wants and who he wants to coach him. It’s trial and error. But if he gets that straightened out, I really believe in his chances."

Teltscher added that while he believes that the very available Brad Gilbert (Agassi's former coach) would be a great coach for Dent, he won’t push Taylor in any particular direction.

Of Blake, Teltscher says that the N.Y./Connecticut native is a true late-bloomer and is on the cusp of a major breakthrough. "If he improves his backhand, mental toughness and net game some, he could be really dangerous," he said. "The good thing for the young Americans is that a lot of guys at the top will be retiring soon.

Hewitt may have peaked
Teltscher – who lives in Orange County – added that Marat Safin ("You never know here his head is."), Roger Federer and South Americans Fernando Gonzalez and Guillermo Canas are at the top of the pack of young players the Americans will have to contend with other than Hewitt.

"But there's more parity now then there has ever been," he said. "I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but who would have put Thomas Johansson, Albert Costa or Pete Sampras in their top five to win the Slams they did this year?"

Teltscher played in the age of some of the sport’s most fabulous showmen – Connors, John McEnroe, et al. He believes that the ATP needs to loosen its stranglehold on its players.

"They need to lighten the rules a little," he said. "We could use a Terrell Owens or Dennis Rodman. There’s no reason not to let the players argue with the umpires a little more or show their emotions more. They need to have more guys showing their emotions on their sleeves – like Hewitt used to more, and Safin and Roddick do. The rules seems to be creating the type of player out there more than the players being able to be express themselves as they truly are."