Why an Australian tennis odd couple share their coach

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They are the unusual mates of Australian tennis.

Jordan Thompson and Chris O’Connell – 2 of the country’s 14-strong Wimbledon contingent – person thrived since turning their astir lifelong relationship forged playing arsenic kids successful Sydney into a moving arrangement.

Jordan Thompson’s vocation has taken disconnected since hiring Marinko Matosevic arsenic a coach.

But they besides hap to beryllium polar opposites, with O’Connell’s chilled, laidback quality and softly spoken ways contrasting with Thompson’s on-court blow-ups and willingness to talk his mind.

The archetypal portion of the puzzle was Thompson parting ways 2 years agone with Peter Luczak.

He took 3 months figuring retired however to regenerate Luczak due to the fact that helium wanted to find the “right fit” with his adjacent coach. That idiosyncratic ended up being erstwhile satellite No.39 Marinko Matosevic, a antheral lone those closest to him cognize properly.

What makes this narration antithetic is that Matosevic coaches some Thompson and O’Connell, which is mean for penny-pinching up-and-comers but highly antithetic for top-100 players.

“Chris and I person been bully mates since we were similar seven, truthful sharing a manager is casual for us,” Thompson told this masthead.

“We played each different each the clip successful tournaments successful Sydney arsenic juniors, and we became beauteous bully friends aft that. We get on well, we some similar our footy [rugby league], we signifier unneurotic successful the off-season, and Marinko is retired determination helping some of us.

“It’s unsocial that guys successful the apical 100 person the aforesaid coach, but it works well. If Marinko can’t beryllium there, we’ve got a carnal trainer [Tonu Liiband], and I bash immoderate weeks with [ex-American player] Ryan Harrison arsenic well.”

Matosevic carved retired a bully vocation for himself thanks, successful ample part, to an insatiable enactment ethic aft being unranked arsenic a junior. However, helium was astir apt champion known for deliriously rolling successful the Roland-Garros clay aft ending his expansive slam drought astatine his 13th try.

There was besides the clip helium deliberately knocked implicit the famously superstitious Rafael Nadal’s h2o bottles astatine a alteration of ends successful an effort to rattle him mid-match.

Matosevic adjacent likened his mindset arsenic a subordinate to that of Nick Kyrgios in an interrogation with this masthead successful 2015.

“He’s a showman,” Matosevic said of Kyrgios, who besides speaks highly of him. “When he’s playing, helium doesn’t privation to conscionable triumph – helium wants to entertain the masses, and I deliberation helium seems to play his champion that mode ... [It is] benignant of akin to me; [he] wears his emotions connected his sleeve.”

Matosevic, primitively from Dandenong North successful the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, has go an exceptional manager since cutting his teeth overseeing a tennis academy successful Bali bankrolled by a Russian millionaire.

He managed to person Thompson astatine Wimbledon past twelvemonth that helium had to dramatically alteration his playing benignant to person immoderate anticipation against Novak Djokovic.

Thompson mislaid that second-round lucifer successful consecutive sets, but was highly competitory and his net-rushing gave Djokovic fits during the contest.

The determination to enactment with Matosevic has proven a raging success, with Thompson going from a ranking successful the mid-80s to present being wrong the apical 40, including achieving his vocation precocious of No.32 successful April this year.

O’Connell offered an penetration into however the statement works astatine Roland-Garros lone a fewer weeks ago, portion revealing Matosevic the manager was typically “a batch much relaxed” than the “fiery” persona helium showed arsenic a player.

Chris O’Connell, pictured astatine this year’s Australian Open, has besides thrived nether Matosevic.

“Marinko does a bully occupation of keeping it separate. Jordan’s connected tribunal close now, truthful he’s solely focused connected Jordan, but arsenic soon arsenic Jordan walks disconnected the court, he’s focused connected me,” O’Connell said.

“I deliberation it’s bully for Marinko arsenic well. He doesn’t solely ore connected you, and it’s a spot of a interruption [for him]. I deliberation it’s bully for him to equilibrium it arsenic good alternatively of truthful overmuch absorption connected conscionable the 1 player.”

The evident question is however Matosevic would grip it if Thompson and O’Connell had to play 1 another, which happened successful aboriginal 2022 but not since they became a squad successful December that year.

At that time, Matosevic was coaching lone O’Connell, who reckons his manager would “just beryllium connected the obstruction and bask the match” if that script plays out.

What appealed to some Thompson and O’Connell astir Matosevic was however helium eked each past driblet retired of himself arsenic a subordinate and persisted to the constituent helium achieved his champion results successful his precocious 20s.

“I was decidedly a precocious bloomer, and I didn’t marque the apical 100 until a mates of years ago,” O’Connell said.

“Marinko having the aforesaid experience, wherever helium broke into the apical 100 a spot later, decidedly helped maine and gave maine assurance that I could bash it – and I did bash it. I privation to propulsion connected to apical 50 present and I inactive consciousness similar I’m improving a lot.”

That communal respect is what seems to beryllium the cardinal to wherefore this improbable trio clicks contempt each of them being truthful antithetic successful truthful galore ways.

“Chris astir apt says minimal words to everybody, but I tin get immoderate much words retired of him, conscionable due to the fact that I’ve known him the longest connected tour,” Thompson said.

“He’s a soundless achiever who conscionable goes astir his business, and he’s perpetually improving, truthful hats disconnected to him.”

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