By Federico Bertelli
At the ATP tournament in Vienna, we just watched the match between Jakub Mensik and Miomir Kecmanovic. Ubitennis had the opportunity to see up close the new teenage sensation of Czech tennis, and one word is enough to describe our thoughts: impressed. So we took the opportunity after the match to have a talk with Jakub’s coach, Mr. Tomas Josefus, who was kind enough to give us some of his time.
UBITENNIS QUESTION: Well, first of all, thank you for your time, Mr. Josefus. We really appreciate it. The first question that comes to my mind is: “Is Jakub really 19 years old? Because he seems much older, both in terms of physical structure and mental toughness.”
Josefus: First of all, it’s my pleasure to speak with you, and thanks for having me. And yes, Jakub was actually born on the first of September, 2005. So yes, he’s still a 19-year-old teenager. And yeah, in terms of his development, he looks older because he is relatively taller than the other guys of a similar age. But of course, it’s not only, you know, a matter of physical strength but especially of mental strength in my eyes. Of course, tennis is such a very complex game. It’s not only about physical conditioning but also about the mental side of the game that is super important. And we are also developing his mental game as well.
UBITENNIS QUESTION: Talking about Jakub’s technique, I was really impressed by his return, by his serve, by his magical backhand down the line. Maybe only the forehand is not at the same level as the other shots. Do you agree with this?
Josefus: Yeah, I agree with you. We are working with data, with numbers a lot. For example, in today’s (Thursday’s) match against Kecmanovic, Jakub served, I don’t know, 23 maybe 25 aces. So yes, the serve, for example, today worked great. In today’s match, for example, Miomir Kecmanovic played unbelievably, especially from the baseline and I really liked the way Jakub played. He was better in short rallies, while in longer rallies Miomir was the player who had the better edge. So yeah, still big room for improvement, especially on the forehand side. We know about that; we are working on it. And for example, when Jakub played his first-round match here in Vienna against (Alexi) Popyrin, he played much better from the baseline, even better than his opponent. And Popyrin, of course, is a great player; he won the 1000 event in Montreal this year.
My point is to analyze closely every aspect of Jakub’s game. For example, in this case, we are talking about baseline points; we are trying to focus on what is needed to get the marginal improvements needed to raise Jakub’s game. Tennis is about the use of each player’s weapons. Each player has his own game style, and of course, different weapons. And at the end of the day, what’s important is trying to put everything together, in every aspect of the game, in order to win matches.
UBITENNIS QUESTION: That’s really interesting; you talked about marginal gains and the use of statistics. Can you tell us a little more about it? Do you have a statistical team that helps you in that respect?
Josefus: We have been cooperating for a long time with a company named GOTTA TENNIS. We have received unbelievable support from their side. Almost on a daily basis, I get in touch with them. We have been using their services for a minimum of two, maybe three years. Actually, I received the recommendation for this company directly from Novak Djokovic. He used the same company, the same app, same software, and the same support team. We are proud to cooperate with them these days. And also Jakub’s father helped us a lot in the past, and he is helping us with a lot of things regarding numbers and data. So yeah, it’s, you know, tennis is about marginal gains; it’s about small details. So definitely data analysis is a big part of Jakub’s development and his success.
UBITENNIS QUESTION: I’m curious to know a little more about it. Do they provide you some direct actionable insights? Or is it more of a two-way process of cooperation and collaboration? Maybe they bring you a lot of data, and then you go through the data and discuss it with them in order to better understand what is needed? How does it work?
Josefus: Yeah, there are basically two options regarding their services. First is player development. I receive on a continuous basis major reports from Jakub’s matches on my iPad. So, whole matches are charted, and I receive a very detailed major report. It’s very advanced data with a human touch because it’s manually charted by people from their team. I also receive insights on the most critical parts of Jakub’s game. The team of people who are responsible for providing this insight, as I mentioned earlier, is the same that cooperated with Novak Djokovic for 6-8 years. So they’re really experienced! Again, this is so important because it’s all about the small, small details. So this is the first part of the services they provide: player development.
The second part, very important, is opponent scouting and match preparation. So, once we know the name of Jakub’s next opponent, I receive very soon information regarding many matches of our next opponent. Not only do they provide us matches from the past, but they also chart the most recent match, because it’s important to have fresh data. So at the end of the day, I try to understand whether data regarding our opponent shows some tendencies in the past and whether these tendencies actually stand also in his last matches, and then, of course, it’s my job to put everything together and create a game plan for Jakub. In this process of match preparation, I usually spend around 35-45 minutes distilling the most important stuff into a game plan for my player. It’s a process that is a little bit behind the scenes, involves a lot of things, a lot of people, for which in the end I’m responsible for Jakub. This works both when I’m on site and when I’m at home, not traveling with him, because I’m his main coach. I travel with him a lot, but it’s almost impossible to travel with him all the time, because it’s 11 months spinning around, you know. So what I want to say is that, for example, when Jakub actually played in Shanghai or in Asia, Jakub was with our traveling coach Robert while I was still responsible for designing his game plans.
UBITENNIS QUESTION: I love to know this kind of behind-the-scenes processes. But let’s move on from data; I have another question regarding Jakub’s attitude. In Shanghai, Jakub played against Djokovic, on a big stage of a Masters 1000. Sometimes when a young player is up against his lifetime idol, he’s just not able to cope with the pressure. But that was not the case with Jakub: he took Novak the distance and he really stretched him. What were your impressions after that match? And Jakub’s feelings?
Josefus: Well, on that occasion a lot of pieces were coming together. It was Jakub’s first quarterfinal in a Masters 1000 event, and he was playing Novak, who is really accustomed to playing on such big stages, in such big stadiums. For them it’s like their living room; they’ve played there so many times. While for Jakub, it was the first time playing on Shanghai’s center court. He played previous matches on secondary courts, and the atmosphere on a center court of such big events is not comparable to the atmosphere of a secondary court. Then, as you said, there is the fact that Novak is Jakub’s idol. I remember very well when Jakub was 16 years old and he received an invitation from Novak to practice together with him in Belgrade. We visited him, and Jakub was, you know, super, super happy. He had the opportunity to practice with Novak and receive some insights, some inspiration from him, which is invaluable. And third, there is the pressure issue: unknown territory, and when you get to these stages the pressure is always there. But you have to treat it as a precious privilege.
Pressure is part of the game, but if you are able to use, you know, this type of energy when you’re under pressure in the correct way, you can play better. You can be stronger. Jakub, of course, he’s 19 years old, and there is big room for improvement in this area as well, but we are working on it, and I believe that we are on a good track.
