Offenbach stint for Christian
of facilities and expertise locally has led to Malaysia’s young and upcoming tennis sensation Christian Didier Chin deciding on a training stint in Germany to sharpen his clay court skills.
The Sabahan has arrived at the Schuttler-Waske Tennis University in Offenbach, run by former touring pros Alexander Waske and Rainer Schuttler, and will be based in Germany until the end of the month.
Having had a poor run of form on clay so far this year, his ITF junior ranking has slipped to No 122. He needs to be in the top 60 to have a chance of earning a spot at the Wimbledon qualifiers next month.
Christian will, however, have the chance to get the much needed points as he will be playing three ITF Grade 1 tournaments while in Germany this month, in Offenbach, Berlin and Gladbeck.
Christopher Chin, Christian’s father-cum-manager, said a lack of proper preparation led to his recent poor showing on clay.
“Roland Garros was his first experience in a junior Grand Slam on clay. He should have started preparing a month before heading to Europe, but this was not possible as there are no clay courts at the National Tennis Centre (Jalan Duta) or anywhere else in Malaysia,” said Christopher.
“The system in Malaysia is also not equipped with adequate coaching expertise to develop players on clay, which forms a substantial part of the season on the tour.
“This is why we have decided to send him to train in Offenbach at the Shuttler-Waske Academy to allow him to fine tune his game on the surface and gain more experience at such an early stage in his career.”
Christian suffered back-toback first round losses in Santa Croce (Grade 1) and Milan (Grade A) last month, as well as in the French Open qualifiers last week.
Christopher, however, said Christian’s experience at the French Open was an eye-opener as he got to meet two of his idols – Kei Nishikori of Japan and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.
“They are both small in stature, as Christian (173cm) is taller than Schwartzman (170cm), yet they are both very successful and are in the World’s top 25,” added Christopher.
“Christian was very motivated after meeting them as they proved that to make it in tennis today, it’s all about fitness, agility, speed and mental toughness, not just height.”
He will begin his grasscourt season at Roehampton (grade 1) in the UK from July 1-7 and then proceed to Wimbledon if he is able to improve on his ranking and makes the cut.