Sitak in new partnership
New Zealand’s No 2 doubles player Artem Sitak is hoping a change of partner can take him to the next level.
Sitak will play at the ASB Classic in Auckland with American Austin Krajicek, having decided to split with Divij Sharan at the end of the 2018 season.
This year was another step in the right direction for the career of the 32-year-old, who has taken his world ranking from 55 to 34.
But Sitak isn’t content with that and wants 2019 to be the year when he makes it into the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena in London for the first time.
Sitak said he and Sharan made the mutual decision to go their separate ways, with both players feeling they could improve their games with different partners.
‘‘We decided that we’ll play with other people, we weren’t getting the results against the top five teams and to get to the O2,’’ Sitak said.
‘‘We’ve got to beat those guys and both of us want to do that.
‘‘So we decided we’ll split and in the last week [of his season], in Paris, I asked Austin and he said yes, so that’s great.’’
Doubles players regularly split with their partners, seeking out a combination that suits them perfectly, who has a skill set that complements theirs.
Sitak and Krajicek will team up for the first time in Brisbane next week, before heading to Auckland for the Classic.
Krajicek, 28, is ranked 41 in the world in doubles, is a distant cousin of former Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek and two months ago won the Kremlin Cup in Russia with Rajeev Ram.
‘‘I’ve known him for a very long time,’’ Sitak said of Krajicek.
‘‘We played Futures together a long time ago [2011], I know him well and he’s a great player.
‘‘I’ve always wanted to play with him and now we have a similar ranking and it’s worked out that we’ll start the year together.’’
Reflecting on 2018, Sitak said he was pleased with the year. He started off playing with Wesley Koolhof, of the Netherlands, before they split after the French Open.
He then moved on to play with Sharan, but Sitak’s only title this year came when he teamed up with Jonathan Erlich from Israel to win in Newport, USA.
‘‘It was a really positive year. I had two [long-term] partners, I spent the first part of the year with Wesley and then Divij, with both of them I had good results. With Divij, we made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, which was the first time for me and we came back from being down two sets to love twice.
‘‘Over the year I played four Masters events, so I feel like I’ve taken my ranking up and my level and I hope that next season I can continue that.’’
Sitak believes he can keep playing at this level while in his
30s and he regularly plays around
30 tournaments a year.
He feels he’s still improving as a doubles player, he’s working with a new coach and believes you never stop learning.
‘‘There are always things to work on,’’ he said. ‘‘To be like the No 1 in the world, you have to play like the No 1 in the world and it’s exciting to think about the new season.’’