Erin Routliffe Grateful for Kiwi Fed Cup captain Neil Carter's Guidance
Tennis - New Zealand's top three women players - Erin Routliffe, Paige Hourigan and Valentina Ivanov - have been staying at the residence of New Zealand's Fed Cup captain Neil Carter for the past month as they prepare to make an appearance at the ASB Classic in Auckland next month.
Speaking to Stuff, Routliffe commented, "Paige, Valentina and myself are all staying there right now, so it's a full house. It's really nice of him and we're so grateful for that. It's tough because none of us actually live in Auckland or have family here, but we obviously want to come to train here. As we're all staying in the same house, it definitely feels like we're in a team environment. It's better when you have girls around you the same age and level training with you."
Routliffe says having a coach to travel with her has been beneficial. "It was good being with Neil and having a travelling coach is nice, he came with me for three weeks. It was tough because the tournaments are really strong, but I definitely felt like I improved and made some good strides in my game. Maybe we didn't get some of the results we wanted, but you've got to keep going week after week and not be too hard on yourself. When you're all by yourself sometimes you play the matches and think about what you think you did wrong and right. But when a coach is there, he can tell you exactly what he thinks and it can give you a different perspective. Sometimes as a player, you have the wrong perspective because you're emotional and you can't really do it yourself. It was an amazing help, having someone there is really nice, it's something I don't get often."
Routliffe continues, saying that although her doubles ranking is much higher than her singles ranking, she wants to continue to play singles for now as she feels she has not fulfilled her potential just yet.
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from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2QdlDLw
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