Five questions with Gaston Etlis, who’s coaching former No. 1 Dinara Safina on a trial basis.
Dinara Safina, No. 1 at this time last year but now just clinging to the Top 20, is 1-4 since returning from a three-month break with a back injury that has plagued her since mid-2009. She lost to injured 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm in three sets in the first round of the French Open, where the Russian had been a finalist the previous two years.
Safina split abruptly with coach Zeljko Krajan after the Madrid Open in May and began working with Gaston Etlis, a former pro from Argentina, on a trial basis at the French Open, where we caught up with him.
- It's only been a little while, but how has it been coaching Safina?
We've done very nice work. I just started with her a few days ago. She's an amazing tennis player, and she will be back, I'm pretty sure of that.
- Do you think she came back from her back injury too soon?
I don't know exactly how bad her injury was, I just started with her. But physically, she's perfect. She's got no pain, and she's really ready to go to the top again.
- What went wrong in the match against Date Krumm?
Well, I think she started playing well, the first set and then... It was her first Grand Slam after injury and changing coach—everything new, so she was a little bit nervous. But [it was] nothing special. It's normal. Every player pass the same situation. No big deal.
She was injured; she didn't practice a lot. When you don't practice much, you're nervous because you're not confident. But from the time that she can practice from the time that she gains [confidence], she will be back.
- In the last few years, Safina's focus has constantly been on playing as aggressively as possible. Are you going to maintain this or try to get her to do something else?
Of course. I talked to her and the key is to make her play her game again, to find her game again. So we are working on that.
- What do you know about her split with her last coach?
I don't know him. Of course they were working together for a few years, so it's a new change. But it happens. Almost no one has the same coach all their career.
[But] she is very good. She really wants to fight, she's happy.