Laura Robson Fires Coach Zeljko Krajan

Written by: Staff on 9th May 2013

Laura Robson Fires Coach Zeljko Krajan

epa03692489 British tennis player Laura Robson returns the ball to Serbia's Ana Ivanovic during their third round match of the Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica tennis center in Madrid, central Spain, 08 May 2013. EPA/JUANJO MARTIN |

After being freed from his duties of coaching Laura Robson, the Croatian Zeljko Krajan insisted the 19 year-old Briton, tipped by such female icons as Billie Jean King and Chris Evert to be a potential Grand Slam winner, simply didn’t take her profession as a top class tennis player seriously enough.

Krajan, once coach to ex-world no.1 Dinara Safina, was told his services were no longer required at the beginning of this week’s Mutua Madrid Open and since Robson has beaten world no. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska and lost narrowly to former no.1 Ana Ivanovic.

“The mentality is different,” said a disappointed Krajan. “I did expect more from Laura but when it doesn’t go that way anymore it is not the time to stay.”

Krajan was appointed by Robson at the tail end of 2012 and the pair spent an intensive off season of preparation and training together in Britain and Florida. At the Australian Open, Robson added to her list of impressive scalps by beating former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova but since then her form turned disappointing and before arriving in Madrid she had lost all but two of her last nine matches.

The Croatian, renowned as a hard taskmaster, continued: “She was not mature enough to do this kind of work sometimes for me. She needed to be more serious and to commit herself more. When she had to really prove herself, she did it.”

Octagon, Robson’s management company, insisted the Robson’s split with Krajan was amicable and now the player will work with the adidas coaching team led by Sven Groeneveld as well as Lawn Tennis Association coaches while searching for a permanent successor.

Robson’s Australian mother Kathy was integral in the appointment of Krajan after vetting several potential coaches and she will again play an important role in the next appointment. However Laura will not be rushed into naming a replacement, make sure she is compatible with the new man and contemplate playing both the French Open and possibly Wimbledon with the backing she is currently using.

One area for any coach to concentrate upon is the Robson serve as she delivered 12 double faults in her late night loss at the Caja Magica to Ivanovic, the last on the concluding match point.

It marked Robson’s 137th double fault of the year and she said: “It is not the first time I’ve double faulted on match point and it probably won’t be the last. I knew if I had just tried to dolly it in, she would have gone for her return, so I said I might as well really go for it.”

“The mentality is different,” said a disappointed Krajan. “I did expect more from Laura but when it doesn’t go that way anymore it is not the time to stay.”

One area for any coach to concentrate upon is the Robson serve as she delivered 12 double faults in her late night loss at the Caja Magica to Ivanovic, the last on the concluding match point.

Topics: British tennis news, Laura Robson, Mutua Madrid Open, Wta, Zeljko Krajan