The GreatBase Tennis Podcast Episode 181 – THE NEW KID – ALEX MICHELSEN

The GreatBase Tennis Podcast Episode 181 – THE NEW KID – ALEX MICHELSEN

On the 181st episode of the GreatBase Tennis podcast, Steve Smith and Ivan Ozerets talk tennis. Their topic centers around Alex Michelsen, the young player from southern California. They discuss and speculate as to why and how Alex reached a top 100 ATP ranking as a teenager.

Perhaps Steve and Ivan should just go sit in section F and eat some popcorn. On the other hand, those who listen to their conversation may find a few pearls of wisdom. One thing is for sure, Alex’s story is nothing short of refreshing and uplifting.

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Welcome to Great Bas tennis podcast episode 181 I’m Steve Smith along with Ivon oset hello hello Von how do you really say your name I say my name Ivon as idat I love that say that one more time Ivon as idiots he’s been on previous podcast and saying that Ivonne is an

Idiot with uh let’s go through a few announcements one I say thank you thank you for everybody who’s listened to our podcast any other comments thank you for the listening to the podcast it’s growing in the numbers um more support a lot of comments on YouTube and um on

Instagram the post that we post about the about the podcast where everyone’s appreciate appreciative and the information’s good we’re going to keep doing them hopefully the quality and quantity of the podcast will increase uh we also want to thank you all for the fundraising aspect of it I know we

Pushed that hard in December last year and we got quite the support so we want to thank everybody that did end up donating uh how about our uh Theo the Von Theo Von he he does this uh we have a workshop March 9th University of North Carolina at

Charlotte correct that’s correct yes uh we’ll be posting announcements for all of that on our social medias Facebook Instagram we’ll send out a mass email um also if you would like to be if you’re are not on our Mass email list and you would like to be you can send an email

To us at info@ greatb tennis.com and uh we will put you on our mass email list um so with that we’ll send out soon a um a thing about Charlotte and the and the clinic when it’s going to happen the sign up dates um the dates are 9 and

10th but the sign up list I think also too is anyone interested in having a workshop just contact us contact us yes of course education work workshop educating the enthus Enthusiast from the Enthusiast to the expert with I think another comment we make before we get

Started is uh I say long time ago former students longtime Associates uh you could go to two-minute tennis Ryan REI and then Jeff Lewis I think it’s just Jeff Lewis Tennis and I think that you wouldd find their I know you would find their content uh their instruction that you

Can find on the internet to be very valuable also I think like just a website in general why you make a couple of comments on that website’s improving uh there’s a resource tab on the website type in wwwg grbas tennis.com there’s a resource tab on it um we’ve been add

Adding recommended reading we have um generously Paul WLA has added has given us a copy of his book pressure tennis so that’s on there for anybody that would like to read it um we have a Joel trucker article on there collaborated with Vic bradden’s great information about brain typing so we recommend

Reading into that and um soon to come is the the wellby book secrets of a true tennis master um by Ed Weiss so that’ll that’ll be on very shortly yeah I know we’re just one step away um from having that posted and then also uh Facebook Instagram any make a comment on that

Facebook still daily Facebook post um uh yeah we recommend reading every day there’s some great great stuff on there I mean I wish I knew about the Facebook way back when I mean it’s just daily doses of of motivation inspiration um so for anyone connected that would like to

Be or has been connected keep going to the Facebook keep listening keep reading the Instagram we’re going to keep improving with the Instagram more posts uh on court offc court related to the podcast and um just what we’re all about in general that’s great let’s get started with uh californ dreaming you’re from

California I’ve become a fan I know that you have firsthand experience observing Alex mikkelson so I pronounce his name correct yeah Alex mikkelson with uh where to begin but let’s let’s go uh um brain typing you have him down as an estp I do yeah do you know almost every

Quarterback in the NFL is an estp remember Vic bra been saying to me at one time I was flatter he said Steve we should have been training istps and estps but when you hear something like that don’t be discouraged um we tell people once you find out where your

Personality type brain type is is you want to try to be the opposite you know the introvert needs to be try to be extroverted the extrovert tries to be introverted but uh you’ve been around and you watched them grow up uh I maybe we could come back to the estp but

Um is just skyrocketed skyrocketed i’ I’ve you know done some homework here he’s to be a student of the game um one thing is you know football I told the English coach uh Luis Perez who was here visiting for a week and I always have to stop and think okay does

That make sense he’s a pocket player like a quarterback in football stays in the pocket American football they’re not scrambling and many times when I see see junior tennis players um they’re in the Red Zone of the Baseline and they run around their backand from the neutral or defensive

Area it’s a okay if they do it from the offensive part of the red zone They inside the Baseline inside the sideline as well you know Jim Courier years ago and I think he’s named his company inside out but he um and again I’ve just read and and done some homework here that

Alex Nicholson he stays in the pocket yep yep but I have down I’ll go through this and circle back on that estp Mother’s a teacher and I think of uh one clip where his mother basically says he just loved it balls sou California you know you’re from there that it never rains in

Southern California but he was quite Young from the story his mother said that he wanted to go hit balls and she goes it’s raining outside couldn’t hit so he starts to cry with that’s a good that’s a Telltale sign that someone loves to hit balls but when you think of

Uh like Taylor Fritz Kathy May his mother was number one in the world late 70s you just got to figure that uh a young Taylor fritz or young Alex mikkelson I have down that the mother played at San Diego State so she’s a tennis player U but yeah you got to love to

Rally I think that’s something that’s gone away where used to be when people would take a it would just take a 1 hour private per week they didn’t go to a program a daily program they didn’t go to an academy um I say this all the time about

Jim Lair said Jim Lair says the number one thing is if someone’s gonna be great they just have to have that ball coming off the racket they just love the feel love the sound they just got to hit balls it’s their drug they got to hit

Um I have down the father went to Redlands I wonder if there was any connection I’m I’m going to guess um his father would be too young to have played for Jim verdict uh he’s one of our pillars and if you go back to previous podcasts um for Jim just so many things

Character building team coaching and then his son uh Doug is on a podcast got down my notes that the older brother is a swimmer um you you know him though so why don’t we why don’t you just give us some input um how do you know him and

Such oh well we grew up um same area I grew up in Mission Vio he grew up in Alisa vijo that’s a stone throws away uh I graduated as a senior and he came in as a freshman to the same to same High School Lisa Niguel High School I believe

He played there High School tennis there three years and then um I think committed didn’t play High School tennis maybe even went online um for his final year because he wanted to really pursue tennis and then as everyone knows committed to Georgia and then uh decided to go pro

After um after seeing his results Skyrocket he decided to go pro and that’s done very well um he when he was younger my sister uh younger sister she’s 19 now she plays at cipali slow um she played Cal Poly Cal Poly slow California Poly Technical in

Institute of of San Louis of biso Cal slow they have two campuses they’re they have a second campus another Poly Technical Institute but it’s more south and it’s of Pomona I’ve heard calp but I’ve never heard calp Cal slow SL yeah San Louis abiso and there’s one for Pomona as well

Um I’m sure some people take some shots at that oh yeah yeah yeah slow is the more usually the more desirable one it’s um it’s a slightly nicer place um but uh yeah so played mixed with um Alex my sister did so my sister Sasha um played

Mixed with Alex in a couple tournaments when we were younger I mean we’d see him in the finals of many tournaments when we were growing up because my sister would be there and you know local tournaments we’ go oh let’s check out the finals and Alex we be playing in

Some of them I remember um growing up I just remember hitting with him in some hitting clinics I mean I uh I’d say we were buddies we weren’t close close friends like we’ BM pinch each other every every day but we’d play tennis here and there um some

Hitting clinics and I just remember he was so consistent I mean didn’t miss a ball let me go back to high school tennis um to me that strikes a cord because so few kids now play High School tennis when I was in Tyler Texas back in the

80s I helped out a lot of girls boys as well but I remember at one time um six girls that all went on to play Division One tennis all on the same team and uh I use a a line U here in the US in tennis um the individual is bigger

Than the program it should be the program’s bigger than the individual but I think that’s admirable that he played high school I have down here in my notes he played three years though correct y yep yep and um yeah that’s so I also have down this is not my put that he was

Not an academy kid what would you comment on that no not an academy kid I um I don’t want to say he jumped around but he just tried to find competition everywhere it wasn’t like he was um okay I’m G stick with this one coach one set

Of players and he he was everywhere he’d play this tournament that tournament he’d hit with anybody I mean anybody I mean I remember at the time that I was hitting with him I was older like four or five years older than him and I was much lower level and yeah let’s play

Let’s Play and he just wanted to be out Court um and you said his mom hit with you his mom did hit with me and uh yes I I remember one distinct time there was a couple other times but she’s just after one of the hitting sessions Alex had to

Go she stayed back with me and we just rallied back hands for like an hour and she barely missed and she put it like right on the spot I remember I remember that leave I remember leaving those course that day I’m like well man my

Back hand’s solid and it it was all a credit to her she just put it right right where it needed to pee and I mean that’s great from the position of Alex where he just can hit the same ball over and over and over get the Reps so that’s

A well I been telling kids uh this for some time we’re fortunate to have Harold Solomon visit his uh grandson was filmed and Harold Solomon is smaller than I am and he was top five he was five in the world and three times a week he had hit a thous

Balls in a row with his father who was a club player and if you missed it 999 start again at zero um yeah that that loving to Rally like let’s just go rally and I do think there’s a lot of snobbery where you know you know I know

Earlier uh in the week had you and player visiting from Canada rallying with uh a player of much much lower skill level and make it a competition mhm who can keep the most balls in play play with his player hit hit with everybody um with how big a kid is he

Tall tall he’s a he’s a good height 6’4 I believe and I think he’s still growing 19 with uh I know you and I were a Challenger in Charlottesville and he had lost I saw him hit but I didn’t see him play he had lost but just the way he was in

The the lounge area um my guess would be didn’t affect his self-esteem not that he was Cocky by any means but he still had a smile on his face and he he’s played so much tennis that obviously he knows losing is part of the process yeah

I uh I came up to him I talked to him I said hey Alex uh I haven’t seen him in like three years he’s like oh what’s up and uh we I asked how he how he did in the tournament he said oh I lost first round I played horrible and then two

Seconds later he says you want to see we just caught up real fast and he said I got a dog you want to see my new dog just started showing pictures on his phone so he’s a very very uh very chill chill guy when it comes to winning and

Losing I feel like he can let it go quite easily California chilled with um I have to uh be careful when I say laidback laidback means almost dead but actually uh I would say for so many reasons you know people being obsessed by the utr is that kids more and more I

They think they’re so much anxiety but he’s a natural Lefty and talking to coaches um and then reading and then watching some some clips on YouTube you believe that’s one of the reasons that he just loved to hit his backand yeah I feel like with a backand

It’s a it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy where I just remember his backhand always being great um his forehand has a has some has some movements to it but his back was very always very solid like he can always reli reliably get to it will

And reliably hit it and uh and so when people tell him that man your backend so good your backend so good how do you hit your back in that well I mean when you’re in a rally I I guess you’d want to hit your backand because you’ve like

You you’ve always heard your backend’s good and so if it comes to your back end you’re going to hit a backend and I think that’s where that’s where we’re talking about the pocket he can have a easier time staying in the pocket he’s more comfortable there well John

Isner again I would recommend people to go to YouTube and just put in Alex mikkelson and John nner and there’s also a film of him playing McKenzie McDonald and then Adrian Adrian how you say manino the the uh French player but John is was on the tennis channel

Said his backhand is a great word his his backhand is repeatable you I think Junior hearing these podcasts are parents repeatable the formula for success is Basics basic Basics Basics repeat repeat repeat and um that was and that’s where I love to listen to a player you know

Like a John Isner um you just the player’s perspective and I know sometimes may come across that we beat up uh not the commentators but the commentary from from podcast or from uh television broadcast and another thing he said um his mind he’s un flappable or do you

Comment on that that’s a great word I haven’t heard that word since elementary school El flappable it’s a great word uh no I mean I mean I say both those words I certainly have a limited vocabulary but I don’t use the word repeatable and I use the word

Unflappable but it’s it’s so I mean it’s true it’s so true he he’s on a court and he can be down he can be up uh he’s just chill like his heart rate doesn’t I feel like stays at one one one beat per minute he with with competition I feel

Like he almost loved the competition more than the winning part of it because I believe he’s won a lot he’s lost a lot he wasn’t he wasn’t at the top of every ranking I think throughout the Juniors but I do believe he did obviously improve so he’s I felt I think he’s felt

Both sides so when he I just remember we’re playing mini tennis or we’re playing that um that jokovic game where you hit it down we play that all the time especially after the the hitting lessons and he’d just be in it and it doesn’t like he’d go for 20 40 an hour

After just just just competing competing competing and he he he’s in it I mean he he’ll hit with anybody but I feel like I I remember he’ll always almost almost make it more interesting for himself as the match is getting let’s say he’s winning too easily um it’s not as competitive

He’ll start to throw in a little okay maybe I’ll I’ll bad example I was G I was going to say underhand serf I don’t believe he does that but he’ll make it more competitive he’ll start going to the net more he’ll try something else so just make it more

Competitive because I I believe he that’s where he thrives from what I remember he’s very yeah no it’s more notes here um um being competitive I think of myself being competitive but I’ve met many people who reached the top 10 in the world but I think of uh wellby Van

Horn Wayne Savin and carlen Basset those are top 10 players you know or do you go out to lunch uh you know they might remember what you ordered the last time uh ultra competitive Robbie siguo said about his wife Carlin yeah she hits the golf ball and she runs

After it with um the first time I ever played Wayne Sabin I was up at the net let the ball bounce I’m in my 20s he’s in his 60s and he could swear like a sailor he just gave you the hard time for letting the ball b wellby is so

Competitive I could say so many things about wellby he he goes to a new city he visiting the late WBY Van Horn same with Wayne Sav that um he’s going to go to a putt putt course and ask what the record is and he’s gonna stay there till he

Beats the record which generally I think with WBY was not not too long um with I believe Dave Seer who an Englishman who lived in Southern Cal for a long time told me that Mark walpo who been a guest in our podcast that he worked with uh along with his partner Nash

Um you know as Nash’s first name neon I think that toraman um and he goes well nobody can pronounce my first name but they’re partners and they they coached juniors in Southern Cal and um then he worked with they they I should say the two of them worked from

From age of 9 to 12 and I I talked to Mark about I called up and and then I talked to Nash his partner Nash I mean he was a um top NCA player played at the University of Tulsa and my not NCA finalist at ATP rankings and his son Lee

Is a year younger who plays at Boise State now and I know that uh I was privileged to meet Nash and um Le they came out to work with us um but so the two boys practice together quite a bit coming up so got some things in my notes

Um but he made major changes major changes in his Strokes um you know they have it on film as well Mark told me he would send me film I’m very interested in that grips and swings um you know typical he has the Mark says you can still see some signs of um the

Forehand um you know as far as you know someone with Mark’s eye someone’s a technician you can see traces of the old um and there’s no Perfection there’s no Perfection um you know that’s where people need to understand you te systematically the strength of the individ individual comes out there’s

Always individuality you know no no t no two tennis players end up hitting them all the same um but with uh um with comments um on the competition side having gone to college in Oklahoma he found him Nash found himself had a Futures with his son Lee and um Alex was

There and Alex asked him hey he said hey the kid’s always been likable he goes everybody just he’s a likable kid easygoing but highly highly competitive is what he said he said he’s always handled himself well um he said he’s always he only remembers one time

Where you know that you know he was visibly upset that he lost but it’s like let’s you know okay move on who do I play next I lost that one but who do I play next I like the term gamer um with um one thing he did say to uh this is

Kind of interesting with he was at this Futures in Oklahoma and he asked Nash to look at watch him hit balls he goes when he watched me hit some and then he said uh hey how does Ben Shelton serve and I think Alex mlon has a big

Serve but it’s uh Ben Shelton’s uh serve is wow yeah it’s huge and the players know that uh they’re here at winter Green Resort Ethan Matthews who’s on a a podcast he’s 65 and you know when someone 65 it’s like okay that’s that’s getting up there I said if they serve

Well and I think of the late Dave Snider who recently passed away the coach from the University of Texas um can he just poke a volley can he just get a survey and go up there and just poke one volley talking about years ago people used to always uh serve and

Play doubles it was a player I was fortunate to be around Scott Stewart and Scott um you know he’d L to play one up one back he was athlete could rip ground strokes but Dave Sneider goes yeah we got to get him to just go up there and

Poke one volley and somebody who’s really big if you can just make one volley and do the math you know just not that agile you know serve up the middle so the return comes up the middle um this scene you know Southern California um Joey Johnson who was a

Guest on our podcast along with his son Spencer who’s now playing UCLA um I get so many reports I felt like I was almost there during covid um I guess I should say even be my notes before covid uh when he was younger you know he’d be playing anybody

And everybody Alex Mickelson and then you know play Club level men and doubles just play play play and I think that’s really missing you know and that I think it has a lot to do with being programmed out in other words if a kid you know I’ve said it

Over and over again these podcasts backboards aren’t being built anymore because they don’t make money people aren’t running laders anymore because they don’t make money um but you know I feel like I have a visual on during covid all those utr events that you just you know just money

Tournaments and you’re or just utr tournaments not not necessarily money tournaments um in the backyard um with uh I think one comment on the money tournaments of the utr I think that’s something that’s going to really help American tennis because you know someone comes out of

College and if they don’t play pro I find a lot of the guys especially they start just banging golf balls you know there there’s just uh it’s very difficult for the a player who’s a really good college player but who’s not going to pursue a pro career um you where you know what’s

What’s in it for them like in the European Club system you know there’s certainly competitive and social aspects and even there’s money for people to play Club Tennis what else you got I got more notes here yeah a couple comments off your comments the utr pro events uh with

Alex uh there’s a club in Newport Beach called Newport Beach Tennis Club and they host um a good service the utr provin and uh they’re great what you just mentioned they’re a great way for up and cominging tennis players to actually make a make some sort of a

Living any any living to just stay in tennis stay competitive and their prize money is is is substantially better um compared to let’s say um an average ITF tournament um men’s men’s men’s tournament where you go there I think the prize money for losing um first

Round UT pro events are done in a slightly different format I believe and I believe it also varies from Club to Club wherever they are again you have to double check on that but um you have a almost like a round robin then you get seated into into your brackets and at

The bracket where you do get money um you get paid out again double check like $600 which is more than usually you get for winning some um some ITF tournaments and so of course there’s a utr um um a minimum utr that you have to be

To be qualified and enter into utr pro events so I I I think it’s a great way for tennis to keep on keep on thriving and keep on having the uh young young players that want to make it to so they don’t just stop um playing like you just

Mentioned another comment is um I remember just something I remember from when I was younger where I’d attend early morning early morning clinics in the on the weekends um also sometimes middle of the week uh where you go like 7 a.m. um and we just hit hit do this one specific

Drill live ball if you if you know it and Alex and sandre his mom would be there um in the morning early in nigil ranch Tennis Club I’ve heard you say yeah been there great place bunch of horses doesn’t smell too good though um because of the horses but the courts are

Nice um you’re there a lot of Courts feels like you’re in like a forest trees everywhere it’s a great place mimo and well that particular Club is in Nell Gale so um they’d be there Mom and and Sandra and and and Alex should be there hitting hitting balls and I

Remember their practice sessions in the in the morning before school or even before his normal practice would just be side to side very basic especially just in the morning side to side forehand he’d warm up side to side forehands um side to side volleys serves and then they’d be they’d be out of

There but they get it in oh like I I can’t say every day because I wasn’t there every day but I would assume most days and so they just get there they just put the work in and one thing um just in listening to some interviews

There mother was a teacher father was a lawyer so if the mother is a teacher you know you’re not supposed to assume making out of you and me an assumption that they get out when the kids get out you know so you have the weekends off and then you have a summers

Off so there’s a lot of positives being a school teacher I’m sure that really helped out to get them from point A to point B and go where he had to go um older brother I maybe I mentioned that that he was not a tennis player he’s a um swimmer but

Um Rob kek who’s been a guest podcast son Austin’s been on as well Austin you know I mean his bio is pretty impressive uh NCA doubles Champion All-American top 100 in the world and um singles number one in doubles Davis Cup that’s going on now um Olympian like

Wow it’s pretty impressive Ohio uh but his his his mother Sherry was a school Nur nurse and um told Rob I said this is something that proba maybe never thought of but I used to just ask Sher all right what was the excuse of the week this is

Go going off on a tangent but um Austin Ki grew up where you know it was kind of a is okay let’s laugh you know because she’s a school nurse and and uh what was the worst excuse this week and you know kids come in and you know

You know I didn’t I didn’t get to pet my dog before before I left the house and I don’t feel well and she just smile and say why don’t you just they rest on one of those cops for 15 minutes and go back to go back to

School uh Steve Roberts you know those uh he’s been a guest on our podcast he he was um I was asking him you know during the Australian Open and I mean did a little bit of a a dive here on Alex mikkelson um he said yeah I was at

One of the utrs and Southern Cal and had Juniors watch he practice he watch this guy practice and the Juniors uh he said the few Juniors that were with him which is probably was Zack fuches who’s playing a BYU Alex fuches who’s a red shirt Ohio

State and a couple others um and he said uh he go yeah he doesn’t look that good and Steve Roberts his point was he goes I’ve been watching for 20 minutes and as you said earlier he hasn’t missed he goes just watch the guy keep the ball in

Play I mean there’s very little tennis played in tennis you know what’s the goal in the rally wait for the person to miss hit short or change the direction of the ball and you know do people rally with rhythm tennis teachers will um H you got to listen to every anybody and

Everybody years ago Ron Holberg who was I believe 10 times top 10 in the United States um he came and did a workshop at this program remember to get a college degree and I remember him saying thatw if you’re going to hit a passing shot just like being on the highway you

Got to go a little faster yeah you you got to have gears and I think that most young Juniors boys and girls just hitting Mack 10 you know I I go up to girls and go are you playing Serena today who’s on the other side just trying to tea off in the

Ball uh there’s famous story with uh Vic Braden is at Jack Kramer and at that time at the Jack Kramer Tennis Club every kid is using a jack Kramer racket and Jack Kramer comes to watch him play he watches about five minutes he cbody and he goes you guys can’t even keep the

Ball play you guys and GS you can’t even keep the ball and play I’ll come back in a month and your brain used to tell that story because it was so motivated is that um you know you know guys can’t even keep the ball in play with

Um with um one you comment on is inner belief system we always say the number one for a play players inner belief system number two is work ethic and number three is knowledge yeah um he believes he can hit with anybody and he said that in many

Interviews and I mean I believe he believes it um he’s uh yeah he just has that mindset he he’s very there’s actually a couple interviews online you can you can listen to him where he talks about he’s asked about his mindset and like what how his belief in himself and when he’s down

When he’s up how he can um compete at the level he does and he just says um one he loves to compete two that he believes he can hit with anybody and that he can he can beat anybody and um three is that he has he

Has the ability to lock in as he says in an specific interview I’ve watched where he can just turn it on and regarding that last thing I said uh when he played Azie openen just recently and beat WKA in the second round to get to the third round uh He um there was a moment final game of of the match it was leka serving and Alex they they panned over to Alex and Alex looked at his box and he kind of motioned with his finger down like this like right here right here um and you

Can just see as soon as the game started he he was just locked in and he just hit his returns I mean the HED is tall big serve and he just big returns and that’s one facet of his game that someone like John nner commented on and um that he’s

Really good at is he has a high level return so big big serves and he just gets it back and deep as well one thing uh listen to an interview and I don’t know if he was top he mentioned top 30 in the nation or top

30 in the in the uh in the state of California in a lot of ways if you’re top 30 in California I mean that’s a solid ranking as well uh but what he did he goes yeah I was I wasp I was like you know 30 or 40 that’s pretty good uh

Where I think a lot of kids you know it’s I got to be number one you know they’re just just two into rankings we say the five s’s there’s math for self-management math for strokes math for um strategy math for stats and math math for score and I think people forget one

Two three four and go for five it’s kind of like vand used to say you know okay first you got to get the ball in then you got to be able to hit it side to side know then you got to be able to hit

It deep then you got to apply Spin and then you have to side to side corner to corner then finally power and Dennis would say yeah they forget one two three four and go for five but here’s a thought on Southern California Vince Van Patton a child actor from a family of

Actors with the TV show is called Apple’s way it was on every Sunday night it was on for five years and that was before people had cell phones and it was like okay Sunday night here’s a family show Apple’s way it was very popular that’s a pretty good

Run for a TV show five years um I mean obviously there’s the famous ones perhaps sitcoms that go a little bit longer than that but he was top 10 in Southern Cal in the 16s and he didn’t play competitive tennis after that um so the show cancelled so he’s 21

Years old and he starts to play tennis and he becomes top 50 in the world he has a win over mackenro and he beat mackenro the year I think it was 84 mackenro had I don’t know a crazy record like 83 and four or whatever um so when

We talk about Vince Van Patton we say fake it to make it act as if it’s a powerful tool it’s like the duck on water the duck just floats across the pond but they could inside be under underneath the duck is paddling I think that’s what’s going on

With a lot of tennis players but you know you have to fake it you know um Roger feder’s mother Lynette don’t show a [ __ ] in your armor with uh but what we would say along those lines I would guess that Alex melson has the IT thing

In other words you know how many people have the thing I think 2% you know where in other words um they they naturally and I don’t think that’s probably I know Braden didn’t like that word people don’t do anything naturally but it seems that he’s more of

A natural competitor it just came to him easy you know he he was it wasn’t like he you know heed Psychotherapy psycho analysis he didn’t eat the couch but I think also parents um U perspective you know he said in the interview the goal was to play college tennis and as you

Said he was on his way to University of Georgia Georgia lost yesterday round of 32 to A&M and you know winter moves on to the indoors and 16 teams or fact Checker maybe they’ve changed it to we’re now only eight Cod indoor I don’t know but I

Think it’s 16 and it was 42 A&M so you got to figure well Alex Michelson was there yeah he probably would have won a singles match probably was a weak word but he would have been big big G was on winning another match playing doubles um he’s not playing doubles now

Correct the most part or is he you check you follow his records I do follow it from time to time I check up on him of course I’m interested uh doubles he he’s very good at doubles um his hands at the net uh were amazing from what I remember I

Mean they stood out I mean from a generation of players at least where I grew up where voling wasn’t um taught well it wasn’t practiced enough doubles wasn’t played enough uh his volle stood out I mean you could blast the ball at him boom and he drop it and he just have

The hands and forget about grips and swings he just can make the ball wherever he wanted just come at him okay boom he can put it where he wants to and um I remember seeing him play some tournaments he played doubles he’d win them I don’t think I ever saw him lost a

Doubles match lose a doubles match great hands uh and um I just remember with with his hands and and the uh and his skills at the net we we’d play this game live ball again comes up against very Southern California type of game played often where the baseliner you know it’s it’s

Like a doubles format the coach feeds the balls in ball in and you can blast it at the net person if you get an easy ball and uh kids that aren’t comfortable at the net will miss it and he just kind of he just make he just hit it for a

Winner like it doesn’t matter what speed he’d come at he’ just kind of drop it put off to the side open court and I mean I remember I was impressed back then with his skills at the net but your question with um does he play doubles I remember most recently since that

Charlottesville Challenger where he didn’t play and he lost the first he didn’t play doubles but he lost in the first round um I think he hasn’t played double since then and I don’t want to throw anything anything his way any negative ity but I did ask him uh you

Know why don’t you play doubles anymore and and he said well it’s not it’s not really worth my time and the explanation he gave was I get so caught up in doubles I try so hard I’m just tired from my singles and as we all know with

The singles you do get more money you do get more points and you get a higher status in in the game and it’s unfortunate because he’s really good doubles player and he should play more well comment on doubles uh Steve Denton Rob check uh I was sent U Craig Ty who

Was with us for a long time who was the CEO of tennis Australia you know and again um I’m a fan you’re an observer uh a practice former practice partner um what there’s some things here I want to turn this podcast into a lesson I mean right now again just being

A fan but the Australian Open and they got concerts going on they got all sorts of entertainment there’s a food court um and there’s just no one watching doubles um yeah and then you know the mixed is I think they split $112,000 and you know years ago you know

If I was a commissioner for tennis for for a day is that uh it’d be great to have one ranking you know that was doubles and singles all combined and you know the I think when Nadal first won uh I know when Nadal first won the um

Australian Open on hardc court he said I would never say this but now that I’ve won a a major on a hardcore he goes they need to have more tennis plate on Clay he goes I’m not saying that because I prefer clay but he

Said when I’m an old man I want to be able to play football you know our version our our word is soccer um but with uh doubles um yeah it’s just it’s so good for your game I mean at the Futures level though there’s you know the I obviously he’s progressed you know

Futures to to Challenger now he’s 73 in the world you know that ranking would still put him in qualies at uh some of the ATP indoor events where there’s draws only 32 um but yeah to play doubles um you know like Patrick Gibson um in another podcast we’re going

To just go through some odds and ends the next podcast go through some odds and ends on the Australian Open with uh yeah I was just it’s good for returns I mean it’s good for your serve um you know a lot of people say i’ rather play doubles than practice um with

Um just in my uh research in one interview I heard him say Well my old coach Jason so you know one of these things you never want to leave someone out um but how’s it go uh it takes a village to raise a child but no one

Tells you where the village is or how to get there I mean and certainly Southern California tennis is more than a village with Eric Diaz and his partner uh if I’m pronouncing right Jay levit um I listened to a podcast with Eric Diaz he current you know he was a person in the

Booth uh in the Box he was with Alex Mickelson his father you know Eric was born into tennis his father was a guest on our podcast uh we’re trying to uh carry the torch and um you know why would we want to interview Manny Diaz well he has years and years of college

Coaching experience he’s won national championships he himself was a player but going way back that you he’s from Puerto Rico and he was taught by Welby van horen he was taught to play by WBY I was taught to coach by WBY so Eric obviously born into tennis and you know

To play I played for his father um I guess I should go back and say I sent Manny at text and all the text was cuz I you know I was watching mikkelson play and I sent Manny a text and said hey your kid’s way better looking than you I

Mean I think they look just like exactly alike um so with being born in tennis he was a player too Eric I mean I think I read where he won 95 matches 95 doubles matches um so to to to grow up in Athens Georgia a small town obviously there

An influence um you know being in that culture what like like Brian Shelton and his wife um growing up uh on a college campus being around BigTime Sports U that’s certainly a perk with um it seems like you’ve had so many connections where Greg Patton whose sister Colleen works here at winter

Green he was here we had as as a guest I would encourage people to go back and listen to Greg Patton just um it’s just it’s great to listen to Greg Paton he has just so much enthusiasm for tennis he’s retired now but he was a Boise State for a long long

Time and Eric worked as his assistant coach Eric also um with uh the USA another wellby van horin Prodigy Andy Brandy you know who’s done so many different things in tennis was a national coach when Eric did his uh internship and Jose Garis um so he has amazing background

And he went to Kota deazi I believe and I I think if that’s right I mean I know right where the courts are it’s uh right behind the Old Vic Bren tennis college and he said he went down and um set up a program with lower fees because he had you know

You don’t you don’t roll into Southern California um Ed craft who’s been on our podcast Mr ghost doubles one-on-one doubles he once said about Tampa and certainly Southern California is just like Florida had said if you can make it in this town in tennis you can make it in this town you

Make it anywhere that’s an old line from from New York City but um yeah so he went in and started his program you know initially he had to secure courts initially started with lower fees um sounds like he hit the gold gold mine with uh Alex mikkelson but you just got to figure

That he if he you know grew up under his father’s watch and all the different experiences with another working under another college coach what he did with the USTA playing the game himself um that that was I’m sure a very good uh transition from if he was working with

Mark and Nash and and say this other coach he mentioned Jason um that um you know to I’m sure that I’m just going to guess that uh the language was that of a college tennis environment you know it wasn’t you know they’re not talking to them

Like club kids I did uh uh read where Alex nichelson said that uh it was between Eric and J were Partners it was a good cop bad cop and um with um Eric Diaz being more the intense bad cop and Jay lit being the easy going cop so I I think that’s good

To have that that transition or that excuse me that uh balance or that difference with um we’ll come back to estp we mentioned that in the beginning but um to make this a lesson um people be be wise coaches parents players to just go watch some of the

Match that he played on played at Newport where he got to the finals and there’s a funny line where his father said uh where he was saying he wanted to go pro and he goes yeah you’re going to go pro in real estate you know to make money in tennis is like

You know my son played tennis he got to be 200 in the world but you know 200 in the world you know he didn’t make money he made money but he didn’t make money I mean the expenses exceeded um revenue generated um but that he did so well that he was

Like he didn’t end up going to University of Georgia but Newport excuse me the grass is more like the old grass um at Wimbledon and you know that’s where Raven Clawson another person we had on our podcast who you know he said if it wasn’t for that

Tournament he would have become a pro double specialist early but I think he got to the a fact Checker he got to the semis reie ROM fact Checker he won it twice and I really wish that Wimbledon still was the old grass because the contrast that go from the red clay the

French to the fast grass you know now people are playing very much the same on every surface but why Juniors and coaches and parents could benefit by watching Alex mikkelson play and that’s where I go watch this I you I was watching it in the summer and this guy

Stays in the pocket he’s close to the Baseline you know I don’t consider myself a a fan of tennis more of a student of tennis I think his back his backhanded for him return could be a little bit more Jimbo like Jimmy Conor but they’re close you know we say

Tabletop turn like a volley you know it’s wall to the ball and steal the ace Bud cins steal the ace that serves coming in mach 10 and um you line it up and Conor speed with speed but he can do that I’d say he just a little

More wobbly than Conor but he’s he he has that option and most kids they they can’t do that they they’re so far back returning serve and they don’t have the options and then you know he he he served and voled you know was wasn’t like he’s a one-dimensional stain back

But again he he gets the short ball and he comes in he he you know I know you’ve said it because you’ve helped out with so many different tactical videos geometry point A to point B and I mean we’re talking about utr tournaments a chapter of my

Life you know I would say the Battle of bokeh which is a nice Service South Florida similar to Southern cow lots of tennis that I saw some good players but I didn’t see one great player better better word be it was there two years I didn’t see one solid player Alex melson

Is a solid player and it’s because of So Many Factors you know we’re talking about his it thing and you know his ability to compete unfl flab and but he doesn’t put himself out of position he doesn’t put himself out of position I read where um it’s it’s

Online I mean you can see Eric is helping him with his one-handed backhand volley and that he hit two-handed and you know you actually can hit a two-handed back in volley coming back to Connor’s um I think way you know F McMillan hit two hands on both sides and

He was number one doubles player in the world people say wow that was old school you know that’s where old school new school there is no school um I think the Way Conor has played tennis in the 70s with his T2000 um I’ve been at quite a few NCA

Tournaments here in recent years and going way back I think the Way Conor played in the 70s would would hold up today um but yeah to just go and watch there’s clips of him playing um where you could watch him play just put it is you know it’s also playing um

He’s plays McKenzie McDonald and there’s a guy who you know great base we need to change the name are you a great baser that has solid fundamentals and Ian he’s so fast but um he I would say that Alex Mickelson plays principal based tennis where he play he knows the zones of the

Court you know that doesn’t mean he’s you know in our school thought he’s going to call it Red Zone yellow zone green zone how was it go with Paul wlaw it’s um working backwards at the green zone he calls that the point ending situation we use that all the time try it if

You’re gonna lose the point losing a point ending situation kill or be killed you want a force um with um your building in the back you’re transitioning the midc court B Terry um his was uh control her finish you know so but you know I just see people

Just that’s kind going battle bokeh there’s another one there’s another one I mean it’s just amazing almost everyone is just looking to hit forehand and for our listeners if people you know just Char you know juniors are rallying balls hit 10 down the middle safe bet they hit

Seven or eight even in the warm-up they don’t hit a back in and we’re always telling Juniors you know they go well that’s a negative the late Peter breu I used to say the best place to teach tennis is where people have not seen the pros play initially it’s not good in my

Opinion for juniors to see pros play because they can’t interpret it and you know they see it and it’s like well that’s what the pros do and it’s like come on um I know growing up in hockey I mean if I were to say well I watched uh so and

So in the NHL do it they you just would be told shut up you know learn fundamentals learn Basics and you know people can’t figure it out well people think we never want anyone to run around the backand well that’s not true we take bash’s Concept in the

Red zone go defensive neutral offensive you can run around a back end but don’t do it where you’re running the wrong way you know the court less than 20 degrees you move further back um heard Pam Shriver say this one time uh I’m not sure it probably comes from her first

Coach a long time ago Don candy I remember being at a workshop listening to him is that kid makes a tennis court look like an aircraft carrier because they’re just going further back and further back and he goes you need to make it look like a postage stamp now we take kids up

To the net say stop you know you could reach that’s 180 degrees could hit East and West rules don’t allow that take take go three feet back and you’re you go from 180 to 130 and just say stop and look this is a beautiful

View um now you know so I I don’t think there’s hesitation for uh Alex mikkelson to go forward but it seems you know from what I’ve read he’s in transition he’s playing pro tennis he’s cracked the top 100 in the world he’s 19 years old

Skyrocket at the top and it’s a it’s a work in process in progress where he is still working on a backhand volley transitioning to one-handed backhand volley but I don’t I don’t think can stop him from going in but um no there’s so many lessons uh you know I think Max

Cressy he has a win over Cressy Cressy spent some time with us and it was you know he was at my place for three weeks and that was through M clor and Andy fitzel and you know things go up and down but I would say with cresy right

Now people have a book on him they know he’s coming first and second and um but you know so that that that’s been a win he beat Nisha Corey who’s faster than fast um those those those wins were pretty convincing you know but if with

Eric Diaz I think he from what I read and heard is he kept the guy very grounded I want you know like I want to turn pro I want to turn pro I want to go pro I want to go pro and he goes you

Know and Eric’s say no you uh you have a lot more to prove before um I do think that uh there was a connection between Eric Diaz and and certainly Alex going to he’s headed to go to the University of Georgia um but I do think when you have those type of

Wins you I went to the Davis Cup um in 2007 in Portland when uh uspat Russia had some good seats because I was I’ve been doing I’d gone out to ride Tennis Academy a few times and Andy’s agent um you know hooked me up with some really good tickets

And with um you know Andy rodic turned Pro where James Blake and the two Brian Brothers had gone to college and you know the Brian brothers and uh James Blake would say well Andy rodic was ready to be a pro at that young age and James Blake would be the first one to

Say that he wasn’t ready at that time Steve with uh Eric Diaz I heard you talking with him over the phone about Alex something about his um forehand voling how he’d have a grip on three initially no that was not with Eric I um with uh no I talked to Mark Walo and

Nash who who worked with him so go ahead but I was going to say that that was was was that accurate what I over heard the grip on three for the forand B and they just said leave if it goes in I mean yeah you know it

Was uh you know I think coming back to Ryan REI um through Jim Klein and Ryan spent so many years with Jim Klein 20 some and he’s an outlier he started teaching tennis as a teenager and so um you know I was just asked to critique

Something that Ryan did by Jim and I said Braden would talk about the racket face you know he’d say yeah this is a you can volley with any grip you want but you got to get the racket face vertical to hit it’s like Johnny Mack you know he’d raise that elbow and he’d

Jump on his forand volley because he couldn’t go that he couldn’t go way out in front because because of the grip and you know whether the pro will articulate that point and I and I I don’t think most touring Pros do I I have to listen to commentators most of them are foring

Touring Pros um but it’s dealing with a racket face that no you don’t have to get a strong Continental the racket face doesn’t have to be open at a 45 degree angle um you know I had a coach that I worked I worked closely with tell me the other

Day that he showed some film I you know a girl’s gone up high enough to uh be with the Federation girl that we’ve worked with and well that’s a doubles volley you know volley is a volley there there is some truth if I mean you could flip and go actually um

There there’s times where for sure Juniors when they play doubles they trying to hit the volley so big you got to make your first serve make your first volley form a wall up at the net and just like singles do the doubles you get

You form a wall the Nick and you win two out of three two out of three is phenomenal um but no you’re playing against someone if you make your first serve and make your first volley if you can Center the volley and hit it three4 Court especially with people that have

Extreme grips um that that’s a great play I mean that’s where in our world if you if you really know the basic of tennis you know you know tennis Tech 101 technology 101 then the information grows um but no I think the racket face that no he

Doesn’t you know Mark Mark was Mark or Nash I think it was Nash was telling telling me the conversation no he doesn’t need to change that um no and watching him play that’s another thing too is that um like Pete SAS you know he added a segment to to

His forehand you know Vic uh people were asking you disagree with anything with that Vic said I said no because he he he backed it with scientif scientific rationale but at one point Vic uh I used to do traveling clinics with Vic and

Early on um I would do the uh I would do the video inside and he’d be outside as he got older it it flip-flopped where he’d be inside doing the classroom side of it and he talked about how you know Agy with his elbow raised and a pre-stretch an extra

Segment and I can remember so many Juniors going I want to hit like Agy I want to raise my elbow and again coming back to the comment I made earlier it’s very dangerous I would say it’s even counterproductive when um kids are copying Pros so I’m I’m certainly repeating

Myself from these podcasts but I think for the tennis teachers especially those that are you know working their way into becoming a competent tennis teacher kid goes to a jazz concert you know that’s you’re going to be inspired say play the saxophone you g to learn

Play saxophone you got to go to an instructor uh you know someone you know show me how to how me show me how to hang on to the instrument show me where where I need to put my fingers and you know that’s come over and over again

Richard is you know how how can you proove tennis and Canada grips not a sentence just a word grips um but no I think when you um you know a Canadian kid who been visiting here uh he watched uh Spencer Johnson play a match um UCLA was playing A&M and we’re

Doing some work off of that tape and so the junior asked you watch it yeah sure watch it and and he goes oh he’s definitely a great base and then Dennis shaval spent 10 years at the club he trains at 10 years mother worked there and you know Dennis I think when Jimmy

Aries said I love how he comes to the net but when he gets there he doesn’t know what to do um I can remember um you know training sessions with the staff on the phone said no the mother’s name is Tessa and obviously hats off to anybody’s kid who’s playing tennis at

These majors and traveling around the world and so shop of olive you know it’s like with Coco goof yeah we can talk about her grip just like everybody else on the forehand side but she’s teaching us you know Fitness mental toughness she’s teaching us you know you know we

We’re we I think we’re all students of Coco we should all be students of Coco gol and you can hit the ball with any grip you want um but that’s where with shop of olive it shouldn’t have been about the grips it should have been about the

Racket face and that’s where it comes back to uh Vic Braden the man and Vic Braden the resource now Craig Tyler went to the University of Illinois you know that’s kind of ancient history now I think it was 2003 and he’s known as the best tournament Director people love Ty

And he’s it’s amazing what he’s done with the entertainment side of the Australian Open with um but when Tyle went to Illinois if he walked in a room Braden wouldn’t have known who he was but he knew Vic Braden backwards and forwards you know Ryan REI I would say

Backwards and forwards now Jeff Lewis he worked with Braden but Braden the man you know on TV you would say grip on one grip on two grip on three and I think it’s great that people are going back and looking at old clips but um there’s

There’s a lot to be said about reading a book versus living the book so yeah that that was part of the conversation uh definitely with grips and swings um with uh you know Mark Walpole and and uh Nash and Norman we mispronouncing that I’m sure but again I think going to those

Uh um Clips the grasscourt tournament grass is a teacher and it’s old grass you know it’s not new grass like you know Wimbledon in 2002 I think it was the back Checker 2002 they changed the grass and now bandan played huitt there wasn’t one Ser Valley point and now the

Grass is not um you know the runup where you serve one two three split step the grass doesn’t wear out there anymore because that’s that’s not what people doing are doing um with uh but yeah skyrocketed from the the Juniors to the pros I think another key

Word um in watching those tapes is just watch how deep he hits just the length of shot um you know one Juniors don’t rally enough but they don’t rally deep you know for a junior take a private private lesson um and then go out I mean I would

Get myself in trouble but I think a lot of Juniors would be better off to just go hit a backboard and take lessons because you know you want the ball to go straight come back straight and they have a they have a better chance of having better technique than

The kid who’s taking lessons say because know how can you let a kid play for five years where there as Robert lansor would say he said it one time I just had the manuscript was that the tennis Teachers Conference in New York you know a few

Days before the main draw of the US Open started and I wasn’t there I was at Tyler Junior College I used to go every year but that was uh I mean I couldn’t go to the open during that time because that’s when registration was that’s where all these new students came in and

They had burwash they had the bees they had burwash Braden b Terry you could there’s a lot of other bees I mean you go Ted bartson or Glenn Basset but it was those three they were Headliners and then it was uh vmir and lorp and it was Lor’s turn to speak you

Know Vic went to you know talking about electric myography his intellectual curiosity whatever he was this is what we need to do brain typing and this and that I used to tell Vic I said you go to teachers conferences you should just teach people ask anybody they want any

Help with their strokes and have them just come out and I was flattered at one point where he was doing that you know he use my name in third person Steve Smith said you know and he’s been to more of these and anybody I should just

Have uh people come out and work on their strokes and that’s another whole podcast because Vic would always he us say no no so such a positive guy but use the word no um not quite not quite and it wasn’t Showmanship I you’d get everybody laughing but you know get

The person hitting the ball a little better a little better and a little better then it was like Wow and just and it was just really in a matter of minutes but Lor you know he he basically said for you know out loud for fake sake

He was holding back the curse words he goes you know he’s talking Toda he goes you’re bringing these kids in at 15 can’t you figure it out um that they’re hanging on the racket like they’re G to be carrying a frying pan um but yeah the watch those

Clips of Alex mikkelson playing on grass get your Juniors to quit running around backends wait for a short ball and go forward you know don’t hesitate to go forward play principal based tennis um you know his toss you know his serve service motions you know very simple um

I do think if you were comparing the best player in America right now is uh Taylor Fritz you know um I know the Davis Cup uh TFO and uh Tommy Paul are not there they they didn’t do so well the last time so it’s good that the US

Has the depth you know Drive uh Sebastian Corda and Taylor Fritz and see how that goes but um yeah I mean I I think that Alex mikkelson is a lesson for people to watch I mean he’s obviously he’s really good for the game but I I think that people will go well

He lives in Southern California and he all there’s so many positives from that and you know his father played college tennis his mother played college tennis that’s all true that’s all true that that he has this uh um leg up where we’ll go will end I guess we could end with that

Estp but the way he plays is he’s not playing dumb you know you can’t fix stupid and then the thing about myin good M my people think they come to see us they think mil’s all about stroke production mil is human behavior mil mil is another word for

Habit and people just have a habit of running around the ball um you know a kid goes to uh their first instinct you just see it when you do video analysis balls coming their first instinct is to turn for a forehand so now they have to turn

They’re late for backhand so many kids they actually look like they’re tackling they’re being tackled when they hit a backhand and actually the backhand there is a side of it that the backhand um more players have a more efficient swing on the backhand side but they don’t hit it so people

Could say well you said this about back hands no most kids you know hopefully they have a loop the racket’s up high and because they have both hands on the racket it’s more in sync with the body um the best thing for really really little kids is do some training where

They hit a two-handed forehand two-handed forehand um but yeah we could talk about a couple other things with this but California Dream and uh you know it was not a dream for him to get where he is it’s obviously night nightmare work but what about the

Estp why do you think that you you you know the boy the young man estp he’s definitely an extrovert he loved to be around people on his free time he wouldn’t go alone by himself talking about on the court I wasn’t much involved um you know I’m five years

Older maybe my sister can answer that better but off the court I don’t know on the court he lesson’s over he’d want to talk with the coach the players the other anybody really so definitely an e um s he’s in the moment I mean he’s he

Does not think about the future he’s not thinking about the outcome he’s he wants to be right in the competition right in the point he’s thinking about okay this ball this ball right here so he’s definitely Sensei um he’s a thinker he’s he’s like like we mentioned a couple times

He uh he doesn’t he’s not he doesn’t uh break down after matches it’s winning and losing isn’t everything to him he um thinks through problems he’s willing to try try new things out um if he’s losing he’ll he’ll try he’ll just try new things he’ll drop shot more he’ll come

To the net more he’ll Ste volley more he’ll um Target one area one one just the forehand just the back and so he’s willing to try and think through his problems where I see a lot of players you know viic bra line if they the worse

Worse from the back back of the Court then you can just mail in the scores they don’t have a backup plan um and then um P he’s a perceiver I don’t know him if he’s organized or not very organized I I’m not sure but he um definitely doesn’t judge other people

He’ll play with anybody like we talked about and he’s um great guy to be around um yeah just good memories from what I remember um one other comment about that I that I wrote down here from what I remember talking to him and just asking about his goal and

You know with the coach we’d be okay what’s every own goals what what do you like to do you know month goal year goal foure goal and I remember I believe um might get the years wrong but I think this was 2021 that he uh it was summertime

2021 and we were in this hitting group and the coach asked us okay what are your goals for this year and I remember Alex saying well I want I want to try and make the main draw of a junior junior major he hadn’t had played one

Yet and he’s 19 now that was three years ago so you know 16 around 16 years old I’d say and you know he had a high utr remember I was around 11 I’d say I just to guess 112 So he was a great player but hadn’t played him hadn’t played a

Junior major yet and you know within within a year he jumped two utr spots started winning pro events within another year he started winning Challenger events and he cracked the top 200 100 and now he he’s in the main draw of a of a men’s major and it’s just it’s

Amazing how how quickly his belief in himself just springboarded him to the top it’s it’s just it’s a great story it’s great with uh on the estp so many things if someone’s a p they’re a perceiver versus flexer uh a judger judger yeah uh estp a perceiver

Versus a judger you know I remember one time tennis parents saying to me about their kid is you’re not in a position of judgment now so people end up coming to visit us and it’s like okay how’d you get here you know someone told him to

Come here and we have a whole different approach than someone who has to deal with the local yals I mean they uh we have I always tease we have prisoners you know they they got off an airplane they’re here they got nowhere to go they

Can’t go five miles down the road and go to another place where someone can tell them what they want to hear um a p a p Smiles I tease people I’m a Jay I smile like twice a year a p they laugh more a p is going to go to a

Restaurant and they’re going to try something different on the menu I mean I go to a restaurant I mean I’ve been here before I just gonna get the same thing just uh spice of life but you know I love the backstory and the P’s are so

Fortunate if they have a J in their life they then they have a J in their life who knows Sports you know so obviously it sounds like Alex mikkelson was brought up by two athletes so that’s another leg up I mean yeah he was born in sunny Southern

California born into tennis just like Eric D was born into tennis but um that expression Blossom where you planted tennis players come from everywhere I mean that’s help you don’t don’t have a a chip on your shoulder because you’re from the snowbanks of you know where I

Grew up in Upstate New York or a Canadian kid or whatever tennis players come from everywhere the but the P’s um the istp the best brain type versus the estp the I can focus better you know the Ease on the front side is estp the the

Ease can deal with more stress it’s not where you get your energy from that’s where to read the article um put together by Vic braen Joel trucker that’s on our p on our website or better yet you know start studying John Nagle you know and then even study Myers

Briggs is a mother daughter from the 50s we have an entire podcast on it with you know Jimmy Connor is an i and Pete SAS is an e that throws people way off it’s where you get your energy from um so hear that he’s a people

Person that of the if you could pick one of the preferences out you’d want to be an S like Michael Jordan I know a fact Checker that at one time maybe it still exists where he’d miss more game-winning shots than anybody in history of the NBA

You know like I grew up up where you know my father and one of my brothers they idolized Mickey Manel and you know was I guess certain years Roger Mar’s a home run home run Champion but the people hit the home runs they also strike out and you know that’s where you

Know the like say a um a Chris ever going way back date myself for Stan Smith Stan Smith he became a net rusher but the Jays the allc court he played allc court tennis but they learn out of routine where the peas and it sounds like this

Is Al mixes in I guess I’ll try that I’ll try that yeah and you know mix it up where most kids are are so stressed about winning they don’t even play patterns um remember were Dave Seer another guest on our podcast he asked Sophia Patel who we worked with for a

Long time um Matt clor first started working with her I met her when she was 11 but I spent a lot of time coaching her and she has nice volleys and nice overheads and uh we were at the national clay courts Memphis and secer said don’t you think volleys and overheads are fun

You know go up there and hit a volley H an overhead um you know I have a son Connor the reason that he did well at the net many many reasons I mean oh yeah we tght you know pretty solid technique but his older brother year and a half

Older he didn’t miss like well if I could have a chance you know I’ve got to go to the net it’s like Braden used to say about Borg versus vas he goes I just don’t get it if you’ve lost to him 20 times in a row are you just mix it up

You know that’s Vic’s line if one baseliner is playing another baseliner and the one baseliner is better is just mailing the score but yeah I think even where like say Alex mson where he stands how he turns for the forehanded back and know he keeps a racket up high that

Gives him options on the return and um you know it’s just fun to watch him play on the T he have to realize that you’re both you’re a thinker and a feeler thinkers can feel and feelers can think um um and this you know it’s broken down 6040 it’s not scientifically validated

Doesn’t put anybody in a box but it’s just a great tool and um you know like both William sisters are feelers you know for the longest time the only person who could beat Serena was Serena you know she she lost it she lost it she got unraveled she was flappable at times but

She’s hitting second serves bigger than the men I mean take a second look what’s going on and you know talking about you know a little not as much of a circular swing on the backhand side you know think look at Venus how she hit a backhand I think that’s something too

With um you know you don’t want to get teched out you don’t want to get teched out um where you overthink you know so you can overthink paralysis by analysis I don’t think that uh and I think that’s a very good thing that um Alex mikkelson doesn’t he’s not overthinking it he’s

Not teched out um coming back there so many things um I was told today this Canadian visitor told me that Dennis shaval won today I I I would never understand why you know he he’s in Toronto you know Miron man was a sparring partner for him he’s a young

Kid is that why he wouldn’t go back and go okay you know help help me help me with my volleys um but I think what happens that people think well that’s was then and this is now you work on Basics you always work on Basics so if

You look at other sports but tennis players they don’t get it other sports you’re forced you’re standing at a foul line of basketball okay you got to make the shot you’re standing still it’s equivalent to drop hitting a ball and you know I can just go on and

On and that’s been brought up that’s what we’re trying to do in these podcasts is just trying to re reinforce common sense for ball striking for fundamentals but yeah estp um they you know they take charge you know the the entj that’s the CEO it’s amazing estps

Are quarterbacks ENT GS or entjs or CEO leaders or politicians uh this is a famous thing uh issue uh topic with John Nagle is that I believe it was a San Diego Chargers but they took Ryan Leaf and then Payton Manning and um um Ryan Leaf a great college quarterback he was an

ESTJ and paid man who was an estp um you but people need to know this that you in tennis you need to know there’s options and you need to be able to adjust you need to make adjustments I talk at Juniors all the time they said okay let’s just watch these players hit

You know it could be Steve Campbell’s staff was running a clinic was some ladies from Chapel Hill North Carolina I said don’t let the ladies know that you’re watching them but you know just watch so the brain typing but also uh watching how they hit the tennis ball

You know you really if you you know study technique study tennis come a student of the game you can watch somebody hit one ball you can hit somebody watch somebody just hit one ball um I get to tell this story about playing a major um I was married for uh

As Lou Holtz would say I was married 40 years 20 for her and 20 for me strange and wonderful relationship and people would know that she was wonderful and I was strange with um my son Connor my son M was a scheduled no he was a C-section my son Connor was a schedule

C-section so that me he could be born between December 19th and January 7th and you know life’s not fair you know man do going become pregnant and I don’t talk about Bill Cosby too much anymore but Bill Cosby had a joke if man wants to experience giving birth they just

Take their top lip and they pull it up over their head that might that might throw people a off but there’s some humor in that for some and I beg to have my son born on December 19th or excuse me no no I beg to have him be born in

January if you’re born in December helps you with your taxes a little bit but born in January so then had better chance to play the the majors or even like say in ice hockey the sport I grew up in is if you’re your January birthday Malcolm Malcolm gladwell’s book

Outliers which I think everyone should read story of success story of circumstance second I think it’s the second chapter that um the Canadian kid who was born in the first quarter of the year at age five they get all these perks because they’re selected to be talented they end

Up getting more ice time and they’re in they’re put in more of accelerated process um so yeah the story of circumstance but it’s a great story you go yeah I hope to be playing Majors then the blink of an eye instead of playing Juniors when Roger feder played Junior

Wimbl and he won it his Junior wimbl won it he went to the wimon ball and this is perspective for you and feder was ushered off to uh uh a Futures where he got a wild card and he’s in the main draw he actually lost to Rodrigo and Nar

Who’s 10 years older Carla new she’s been our she’s been a guest I mean I’ve known her forever great great person great family um but feder didn’t want to leave Wimbledon um because he he thought I’ll never it may never be back here just because a kid does really well in the

Juniors you know you’re playing the junior Majors it doesn’t mean that you’re going to play the majors um yeah we’re going to talk about some odds and ends in the next uh podcast I mean I spent quite a bit of time watching the Juniors play this what a celebration of

Tennis a fortnite it’s a little bit more than a fortnite um and we’re so fortunate in tennis to have four Super Bowls that’s what we really have but I want to ask you uh Eric Diaz and his partner Jay livit leave it I I I apologize to the man but um wellby Van

Horn was asked you know what are some of the reasons you had so much success and he said he was lucky to coach Charlie pasarel early in his career I talk about somebody hit the ball really well and um the uh yeah Charlie pasarel I think

People know him now most of her starting Indian Wells then he then he sold it um with along with his partner Ray Moore but great great player I mean people could go to the internet and just plug in Poncho Gonzalez Charlie pasarel and watch the late Gonzalez play Charlie

Pasarel it’s a famous match but weby said he was lucky to teach someone early in his career who went on and became such a really good player but tell me about the other player um learner tion tition learner tion yeah so what about him I mean that that that’s go a I mean

That’s so it’s it’s got to help to have two two golden apples I mean yeah yeah for sure he uh um nigil Ranch Tennis Club um I remember learner being this um I I can call him chubby now because he’s not chubby anymore but he was this kid

Like four three four years old chubby kid small and um just starting to play tennis and he was on the court next to me and oh what’s this kid’s name learner what what an interesting name learner and um it is a great name great name and

And uh I just remember him hitting balls and he could hit with like 12-year olds and we’re like whoa like this guy this kid’s going to be something and then he ended up getting to a level where Alex and himself were playing for you know national titles and I feel like they

Pushed each other to get better and um they were battling for spots like one and two or three in the um in their uh in their section or their 18s I think nationally and so when um larner I think also committed actually I might be wrong

I think larner is going to college but there are quite a few of those Juniors that um hit the 18s just before turning and committing to college that did end up going pro for example um another kid not Southern not from not locally we were’re talking about Lear TI and Alex

Melson from that Southern California area ali sjo um another kid Ethan Ethan Quinn who circling back was also at that Challenger got to talk to congratulate him I don’t know him but um he uh was also um played a year of college and decided to go pro so I I feel like that

Group of um that group of players obviously know each other very well and they push each other and so creates a good culture for just just getting better but learner yeah he’s a he won C maazou twice uh for our listeners C Mazo is uh couple thoughts on that uh cazu

Michigan my brother-in-law is from cazu Michigan I like that place they do a great job with the tournament uh thing a couple things one it’s um you know the boys 16s and 18s national championship and it’s done really well it’s a big deal I mean for a junior to win

Kazoo used to be they didn’t let so many players in I mean the draws have been as large as 192 I know a coach years ago ago ran a a a camp I wish I was at cazo I knew another coach used to ran a camp

I wish I was at sectionals and that was a t-shirt he gave out because you know the kids were there were so many people playing tennis it was so difficult to get the sectionals um you know say the they used to call it the The Westerns the Midwest

Was The Westerns and you know those back before kids went toies and it’s a fact that better players came out of the Midwest before the Advent the cies and you know for someone to go and win The Westerns to win your section but just to

Be able to go so they have a a t-shirt I wish I was at sectionals I wish I was at the zoo um but um so those guys are a year part same year uh they practice they had to see each other see each other quite a bit in

The local tournaments oh all the time yeah there you can go online just type in Alex Mickelson versus learnard yen in their um National Finals that they play in um but even Southern gal stuff even Souther Cal stuff yeah yeah with uh yeah this this is very powerful

If a name is escaping me right now but I tell this uh quite often rainy days trying to motivate better word trying to discipline junior tennis players if he can do it I can do it there’s so many stories you know Tim glixon um he met Hank jungle the late

Tim gon and I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with Tim and uh this was at the ketering Racket Club and Dayton Ohio fact Checker and um Hank jungle was a very good player but you know he start playing this young guy who came out of

Northern Illinois and and this guy is this guy is the real deal and he tells Tim I’ll help you to play pro tennis so so how old are you when you come out of college you know 22 23 he’s teaching so he he gives it a crack and he starts

Climbing the ladder I mean I I think he got as highest 15 in the world 17 I had to bet but uh maybe 15 but year end 17 great tennis player with great wins but his twin brother Tom who everybody loves says uh hey if he can do it I can do it

And he actually wasn’t ranked as high but he was ranked in the top 50 longer and you know the guys are from a small town Wisconsin they’re The Wimbledon finals playing doubles so if he can do it I can do it um Bud Schulz went to uh

Bates another guest on our podcast and got to be 39 in the world and I’m just soon as we sign off I’ll think of the name but the story goes is that you know he he was climbing the pro ranks and then guy that he had played in

Juniors said hey um if he can do it I can do it and at that time the player was just playing New England open tournaments amateur tournaments and he climbed where he uh was a top hunter in the world you know so you got to believe you can do it

With um you know it’s like Roger banister when he broke the four-minute mile I’m not sure 195 it was 54 but I mean four five six people broke it within the same year if he can do it I can do it one of the best stories for that is uh Michael

Ste you know he’s basically like say learner and and Alex same age Becker wi wimbl it’s 17 and that’s an amazing story um you know people are talking so much about um alcarez he’s awesome but so is but so is Becker at 17 and you know people short memories and they’re just talking

About the here and now and you know you just think about it what you know um Becker did on the return of serve and people say that you could never win on grass with a grip that was past three in Easter and he turned on three had like

Like Alex Alex michon staying close and and and and use a tabletop return linear volley you know people who throw the $14 wor well the game used to be linear and now it’s angular it’s a Croc your movement initially is angular to coil your body but the racket has to track out towards

The target you know if you have any success but so anyway Boris Becker he wins Wimbledon Michael Ste goes off to University comes back end of the semester tells his parents if he can do it I can do it if Becker can win Wimbledon I can make a living play in

Pro tennis and five years later he beat Becker and wiland final I was coaching in Germany Kristoff Mueller I think it was 11 states I was watching uh you know the 16s was one cour overs state championship and I saw Michael S playing uh going who is that guy that guy is

Good but a lot of times uh I tell kids that you know most tennis kids that we work with that work with coaches that we train they come in they’re a much better tennis player than they think they are but they don’t allow themselves to be a

Better player you know I do say oh you’re not living your life to win but do you know Jimmy Conor’s line are people playing um are are people playing the way they’re taught but I would think that uh you know I I I thought that Learners assigned to go to Stamford but

It’s I could be wrong I don’t know where he signed to but I a kid like that go anywhere he wants right oh yeah you know if he has the academics um but and I’m sure he does you know typically that uh people that are achieving in tennis uh

They’re not getting D’s and Fs on the report card but um I would think that would be in his mind like if he could do it I could do it oh yeah for sure with uh how about his game does he have a big serve he I don’t I’ve never watched him

Play I watched him play a few times um I watched him in the first he played when K Maus so he’s an American he got to play first round of the Yos open twice he took a set off miir K manovich uh who had a decent run in the

Aussie open this this year and then lost the next three uh and la and then the US Open last year I believe I think he lost in three I don’t remember who but his game big forehand circular uh good serve back in I think it not going to comment

Too much more I just don’t I don’t remember but I do believe he doesn’t Force as well as as well as Alex does a short ball I don’t I don’t believe he has that he wants to come in as much I don’t believe with

Um I think a number of podcasts and I I you know like to go for walks and uh make a lot of phone calls like to call people back within 24 hours but to listen to podcasts I think so many podcasts are about or or with famous people or people associated with famous

People and um yeah I think people that are are playing tennis um and they’re doing podcasts so people interviewing them shouldn’t really ask about hey you know what are you doing on your serve what are you doing on your forehand um I I’ll I’ll end with this and we’re going

To come back to more odds and ends with uh the um Aussie open I know we didn’t um do any play byplay or commentating we could do that another time the Aussie open to me is jet lag it’s like okay we’re not going to sleep so well for the next two

Weeks but with um yeah just um draining thought help me out sen your moment uh let’s see um tracking backwards uh a open we didn’t we didn’t commentate on it we didn’t we’re going to go with Andre barbos on the next podcast to talk about the odds and ends

Yeah I was going to mention the odds and ends so I guess I uh old age is a tough thing but uh senior moment was going to say one other thing about um it just putting things in perspective um and the um but yeah Alex Michelson is like okay I want

I I remember just in the summer didn’t have much time but I you know read about what he was doing and you mentioned it and it’s like this guy where’s this guy coming from and he just beat this guy and that guy and and uh that I had

Watched him play on those those those grasscourt matches at Newport and it’s like wow this is refreshing this is different this guy is not playing you know I say I get myself in trouble clones taught by clowns what are you doing and what are you doing and

You know I think also too um I do have notes so I’ll come back to the odds and I was going to mention something that I know I’m GNA talk um Andre sposa in the next podcast about the Aussie open but um celebration of tennis study tennis for two weeks it

Just it’s amazing to just be able to watch so much tennis I mean it’s it’s it was very very good that you could see doubles mix doubles um but um yeah with uh nichel and uh you know I don’t think it’s a matter of uh you

Know asking him to be a guest on a podcast what are you working on in your forehand or your backand I think that you know that should be pretty private really this is what I’m trying to do not sharing that with with the public but at

The same time um there are no secrets out there raen used to say that a football player on a rainy day you know they lose and they put a big Cape over their helmet and no one can see their emotions but a players out there you

Know um you know Vic you say they’re wearing a little more than their underwear and you know there’s nowhere to hide it’s just you and um but yeah you know odds and ends uh being for myself being an outsider for yourself to be an observer a lot of things about

Alex mikkelson but watch those tapes and watch how he plays stay in the pocket don’t run around your backand from the wrong place stay in early be able to steal the ace on the return have patterns where you go forward um I think on the mental side again being repetitive John Isner

Unflappable you know that you know it’s not loving to win hating to lose can you compete I tell Juniors all the time um um you only like tennis when you win you know no one wants to lose you know the Jimmy Conor sing greatest thing in life

Is play tennis Win Second greatest thing in life is play tennis and lose um that young man is uh got a good hand from from from section F sitting up high from 30,000 feet above he’s he’s got a a really good handle on things and he’s I

Think he’s a ten a walking tennis lesson anything else no I agree with what you said yeah he’s great to watch great to learn from looking forward to see how he does this season obviously he’s in I believe I believe he’s like 73 in the world now

With his um aie open um third round appearance so he’s going to get us the main draws of the other three Majors so we’ll see how he does in those I tell Juniors you know you never want to go with a wish a hope and prayer if you’re

Going to pray more power to you but pray for World Peace but with your own game don’t be Wishful or hopeful for a second and and with that uh I just you know my wish for him my hope for him was he just stays healthy he stays healthy uh he’s you

Know uh he’s not going anywhere I mean he’s just he’s he has the game it’s not a fluke um that but the thing is is that um there’s only the four parts of tennis and it all comes back to one is mental emotional is first technical tactical

And then physical like Coach K used to say well you got five players you put your hand like this it’s weak you make a F it’s strong but you have to take those four components and be really good at all of them and uh but yeah anyway uh California Dreaming all right

Give me the high five Evon and also thanks yvon he’s the man behind the scenes and he does so much to help the great base so thank you Yvonne and uh thank you Alex and everybody associated with him it’s great to have a player like that to watch and then thank you

For listening to our great base podcast thank you all adios amigos