Interview with Kevin Konfederak - Coach of Francisco Cerundolo
Shortly after launching A Thread of Order, I got a surprising email from an early subscriber:
Since Kevin started working with Francisco in January, many tennis fans have probably become familiar with Francisco Cerundolo. He made a semi-final run to the Miami Masters event in March, won the ATP 250 tournament in Bastad, and followed that up with a semi-final appearance at the ATP 500 in Hamburg, losing to eventual champion Lorenzo Musetti. His scalps this season also include two top-10 wins, against #5 Casper Ruud, and #8 Andrey Rublev. As a result of this success, the Argentine’s ranking has jumped from 127 at the start of the season, to 27.
I have stayed in touch with Kevin over the past months, discussing Francisco’s game and the progress on his serve, and we recently had the chance to meet at the Montreal Masters. It was great to pick his brain on tennis and to watch his charge close-up for a few days. Following the tournament, Kevin was kind enough to answer a few questions that I had for him, and I thought would be of interest to my readers to get a glimpse into coaching on tour.
Francisco has had a break-out year in 2022. Why do you think he’s had so much success this year?
First of all, I think Francisco had the level last year to break through the top 100. He showed that at the beginning of the year in Buenos Aires. He got through the qualies and made it to the finals of that 250 event. Then, because of covid and the decision to freeze rankings he couldn’t get directly into the bigger tournaments. That situation frustrated him a lot and he couldn’t compete at his level for almost the rest of the year. He had some other situations too. (He was in the second round of qualifying in Australia and couldn’t play because he tested positive for Covid; he lost in the last round of qualifying at the French Open and US Open; and he made his debut at the Olympic Games in Tokyo). So there were a lot of positive experiences for him but they did not help his ranking. But this year, he became more mature. Also, he was able to create his own team. Now he could focus only on playing and doing what he does best on the court. Specifically about his game, he is a solid player with a forehand that can break any player. He showed that against Nadal in Wimbledon. He can play on any surface. His movements are very good. Some would say his backhand is his weaker side, but my way of seeing it is that his forehand is just too good. We have been working on his serve a lot (with Hugh’s help of course!). He had some pain on his shoulder so it was important to improve some technique problems he carried for a couple years. And one big thing that is hard to coach—but Francisco has it naturally—is his bravery; he can go into the court against any player and he knows he can beat him. Thats what I definitely think makes him different.
What’s the difference between coaching a top ATP player versus juniors or amateurs?
Being a coach on the ATP Tour is like being the CEO of a company. The work on court is only a small part of all the little things and decisions you have to make every day. Flight tickets, accommodation, entry lists of tournaments, when to rest, when to keep competing. Those are just a few of the daily things that come up. Of course, you still work on technique, strategy, and mentality. But it’s like a company; you have to be on every detail.
What are you working on with Francisco right now? This newsletter focuses heavily on technical analysis. Everyone has seen how good Francisco’s forehand has been this year, but what are some areas you have been working on?
We are working especially on his serve. He had some problems with his shoulder that were caused, in my opinion, because he used to put his head and body in front first, then he had to hit the ball like it was late. I try to explain it as if you are trying to punch someone and you stand exactly next to the person. It’s impossible to generate power, and if you hit that way you will end up hurting your arm. That’s what I felt used to happen with this serve. We work with different elements for him to learn how to move his hand and he slowly started doing it. Then, with Hugh’s help, we realized his rhythm was off. He was tossing the ball very high and his motion was stopping when he had his racket on top. Again, slowly, we started changing that. Today it is much better! On the forehand side what we worked on was his footwork. I wanted him always to be comfortable when he gets to the ball to be able to generate as much power as he wants and with the possibility to aim. He trusts a lot on that shot, so he sometimes does not use his legs the best way possible. On the backhand side, we also worked a lot on his footwork. He now gets lower and he is able to hit harder and use his legs more. Another thing we worked on for his backhand is for him to turn his shoulder earlier. He used to wait a lot to start preparing and that made it harder to play, especially at the speed that they play at this level. His open stance backhand on the run is amazing. Overall, I think his technique is very solid. There is not much to play around with. He just needs time on this circuit and he will have chances to beat most players.
What are some of the challenges of the tour that people might not see or realize?
Some of the challenges on the tour that people maybe don’t know about are how to handle the different pressures and learn how to be extremely flexible in lots of everyday situations. There are lots of things that are out of the control of the player or the coach. If you don’t learn how to let go quickly and solve the situation you could go crazy. Imagine booking a practice court in a tournament where there are 128 men’s singles players, 128 women’s singles players, 64 men’s doubles players, and 64 women’s doubles players. It’s crazy! The same with hotels, transportation, and food. Of course, these big tournaments have a lot of people working and helping, but still, it’s very hard to organize the needs of all these professional players. Another big challenge is how to handle defeats. In this sport, you lose every week. In a great year you maybe win one or two tournaments. The rest of the year you are losing. When we are traveling for 4-5 weeks and you lose in a tournament, how you handle that moment is very important. How fast you can let go and start training to get ready for the next tournament is a key thing.
Lastly, can you share any racquet specifications of Francisco’s racquet?
His racket is the Head Prestige. The specifications are:
Length: 27.5 inches.
String tension: 51-53 lbs.
Weight: 350 grams
Swingweight: 380
If you’re read my post on forehands here you will notice that Francisco’s forehand has the same characteristics I was preaching about back then: an upright racquet head, extended wrist, and heavy stick. It’s been doing plenty of damage on tour this year, and along with a rock-solid backhand his 52-week return rating puts the Argentine in very elite company:
With time on his side, it will be interesting to watch Francisco’s developments—especially with the serve—as he looks to climb further up the ATP ladder. I’ll leave you with some highlights from one of Francisco’s best matches, where he outgunned Rublev in a masterclass of forehand power coupled with a deft touch.