Saviano Gets Robson Back For Coaching Assignment

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 20th November 2013

Saviano Gets Robson Back For Coaching Assignment

epa03841081 Laura Robson of Great Britain hits a return to Caroline Garcia of France during their match on the third day of the 2013 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 28 August 2013. The US Open runs through Monday 09 September, a 15-day schedule for the first time. EPA/JASON SZENES |

The Max Eisenbud influence is hugely apparent in Laura Robson’s appointment of veteran American coach Nick Saviano and his Floridian assistant Jesse Witten in a bid to direct the British teenager back towards the WTA top 20.

Robson became an IMG client after Wimbledon and Eisenbud, also tasked with looking after the tennis and business affairs of Maria Sharapova and Li Na, had the 19 year-old Brit added to his roster.

Eisenbud is based in Miami and apart from a brief holiday, trekking the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina and visiting her parents in Greece, Robson has spent the first part of the closed-season working at Saviano’s well-established tennis academy just down the Florida coast in Fort Lauderdale.

Saviano is no stranger to Robson, the pair working together prior to her winning the Wimbledon girls title at the age of 14 back in 2008.

The 57-year-old former player is one of the best-known coaches in American tennis and he is a long time mentor of Robson’s best friend on the WTA circuit, Canadian youngster Eugenie Bouchard. Curiously he has also worked with Sloane Stephens who has just hooked up with Paul Annacone, Roger Federer’s recent coach but before that a highly paid employee of Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association of which Robson is one of the main shining lights.

Initial reports suggest Saviano is likely to act more in a training and consultancy role rather than constantly traveling around the WTA Tour with the 19-year-old world No 45. Witten, aged 31 from Naples, Florida and a former world no.163 ranked singles player who reached the third round of the US Open in 2009, will fill the traveling coach role.

Robson is expecting to continue training in Florida before heading to Australia for Christmas to play early-season tournaments there and in Auckland prior to January’s Australian Open in Melbourne.

The Saviano/Witten combination is the latest in a line of coaches for the 19 year-old. Miles Maclagan (now with Sam Stosur) filled the role for a four months stint through the summer and prior to that Robson worked for nine months with Croatia’s Davis Cup captain Zeljko Krajan who guided Dinara Safina to the world no.1 spot.

She previously was coached by Patrick Mouratoglou and Martijn Bok. At various points of her career Sven Groeneveld and Nigel Sears have also been an influence.

Topics: 10sballs, Australian Open, Laura Robson, Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Nick Saviano, Sports, sven groeneveld, Tennis, Tennis News, US Open, Wimbledon, Wta