'Sania Mirza is a top-10 product'

Van Harpen, who coaches Russian Maria Kirilenko at present, has played a crucial role in the careers of stalwarts such as Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez, as well as current players Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Patty Schnyder.

He is in Bangalore during the Bangalore Open, where his ward had an early exit, to hold discussions with concerned officials to enrole Indian junior stars for his academy in Switzerland.

Expressing his willingness to coach Sania, the Dutchman said “Sania is a top-10 product, but don’t expect her to break in the near future. It will take two more years for her.

But for sure she will make it. She needs lots of physical training and she has to beat some experienced and technically sound players.

“I had a discussion with Sania’s father when Sania was coached by Gabriel Urpi. There are five players in the top-100 I would like to coach, of course No 1 is Maria Kirilenko, Danish girl Vaznaki (40), Ivanovic and Sania Mirza. Sania has great potential, she moves well on the court. She is the kind of player I like and want to coach. She has to improve a bit physically,” Van Harpen said.

Van Harpen made the point that experience will prevail when young players like Mirza take the court in big matches.

“When Sania played (Jelena) Jankovic in Dubai, I had a bet with Svetlana Kuznetsova that Sania will come through in straight sets. Every top-30 player become too nervous when they come close to a big victory. That was the reason Sania lost after winning the first set. She played unbelievable tennis. But at the crucial time, she made mistakes and lost it.

“She is very young. Perhaps the experience will prevail during the difficult times. Same thing happened to Maria (Kirilenko) when she played Australian Open quarter-final against (Daniela) Hantuchova,” he said.

Stressing that Sania need to avoid injuries, Van Harpen said “For women, stress is the main reason for injuries. They should learn how to avoid it. Once they master the art, they will become successful players on the tour.” He is presently developing an academy with eight courts and 10 coaches.

“Now, I am developing a tennis centre in Switzerland with the help of Swiss Tennis Federation. It’s about to be completed and I would like to do something for the Indian players. The academy will have good facilities with more than 10 coaches, eight courts including three indoor courts, fitness centre and 32 rooms for players,” Van Harpen claimed.