Coach's Corner: Jan-Michael Gambill Talks Lobsters

Mylan World TeamTennis celebrates its 40th birthday this year. For more on WTT, including this season's schedule, click here.

At the turn of the millennium, Jan-Michael Gambill was a player on the rise. The tall American played an unorthodox game -- hitting with two hands on both sides -- and made his ATP breakthrough in 1998 when he reached the semifinals of Indian Wells. In the next three years, Gambill made runs to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and the final of Miami.

Peaking just inside the Top 15 in 2001, he made his Mylan World TeamTennis debut that summer for the New York Hamptons. It wasn’t long, however, before injuries slowly took their toll, ultimately taking Gambill out of the game.

Sidelined from a sport he loved, Mylan World TeamTennis and its flexible format provided the American with a necessary refuge.

“I got hurt on Tour, and so I didn’t really choose to stop playing,” Gambill told wtt.com. “So anytime I can get back on the court and play some tennis, I love doing it.”

Gambill enjoyed back-to-back seasons with the Houston Wranglers before finding a home in Boston, playing four years with the Lobsters and making many memories along the way.

“I’ve created some lasting friendships here with Coco Vandeweghe, who I met in Team Tennis and later coached her for two years. We’re still the best of friends, and Irina Falconi, who is playing for me this year, has become one of my really good friends.”

The Lobsters were looking for new blood after a disastrous 2014 season saw them finish with just one win in fourteen matches. It turned out new blood had a familiar face, and Gambill became a Mylan WTT coach for the first time in his career. Looking to revamp the line-up ahead of the professional team tennis league’s 40th season, the three-time ATP World Tour titlist preferred to see last year’s results as a blessing rather than a curse.

“Last year’s season gave us the opportunity to have the first draft pick and we pretty much got everyone we wanted.”

First on his list was Falconi, who played for with Gambill for two seasons in Boston and was in the midst of a career revival. The two-time All-American at Georgia Tech began 2014 outside the Top 100, but has been on a tear since winning the Australian Open Wildcard Play-off last fall, reaching the third round of the French Open and achieving a new career-high ranking. The prospect of spending the summer with a good friend all but sealed her decision to return to the league in 2015.

“I go way back with him and we both see the game the same way,” Falconi admitted. “We agree on a lot of things when it comes to playing on the court, and the fact that he was a former player and also a former World TeamTennis player is also huge because he will understand what I'm going through -- since he's been through it as well!”

Backed by Falconi, Arantxa Parra Santonja, and Scott Lipsky, the Lobsters enjoyed a successful start to their season, outperforming the Washington Kastles to briefly claw their way to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The team even developed a unique cheer that quickly caught on with fans at the Lobsters’ home court in Manchester-by-the-Sea.

“We started doing little lobster claw hand gesture this year. [Lobsters substitute] Alex Kuznetsov came up with it. We’re trying to get the people in the stands to do the lobster claw, as well. It’s kind of silent but it’s a silent protest,” Gambill said with a laugh.

Yet for every win, adversity never appeared far behind; the grueling schedule and injuries to roster players like Chase Buchanan and 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard have forced the Lobsters to scramble on more than one occasion. Welcoming additions like Kuznetsov, Tim Smyczek, Maria Sanchez, and Jason Jung for brief stints has allowed Gambill to work with a plethora of players and, as a coach, to think outside the box.

“I think that the travel is just tough. You’re getting up early and traveling some days, and others you’re traveling and playing the same day. Those kinds of situations are difficult but it’s also fun. That’s how you bond as a team. You wake up on those sleepy mornings and get coffee and that’s how you get to know somebody off that court.”

Unable to find a substitute for two matches, Gambill himself has had to step in to partner Lipsky in men’s doubles and headline the Lobsters in men’s singles. For a Mylan WTT veteran, getting back out on the court has been an added benefit for the rookie coach.

“I was really happy to do that. I competed well and enjoyed myself; it was fun! Sometimes, Team Tennis works that way. You’ll get an injured player, and you’ve got to be able to adapt and figure out a way to win with what you’re dealt.”

Through the highs and lows, there was a sense that the leader of the Lobsters wouldn’t have wanted things any other way. For Gambill, the experience has transcended competition and gotten to the heart of what Mylan WTT is all about.

“We all like each other, and after the team we’re all friends on and off the court, which is fantastic and super important in team tennis. I think it’s what Billie Jean King was striving for, and I think we do that here.”