ATP: "Nikoloz Basilashvili: Putting Together A Jigsaw"

Nikoloz Basilashvili, Georgia’s top tennis athlete, has sat down with the Association of Tennis Professionals for an interview going over his challenges, achievements and partnership with coach Jan de Witt.

The 27-year-old was in conversation with ATP’s James Buddell, sharing his experiences of struggling with emerging from the top 50 of the world singles rankings until he came in contact with De Witt in 2018.

His meteoric rise over the past 13 months from No. 89 to a career-high No. 18 in the ATP Rankings this month, has centred on Basilashvili’s hard-working alliance with Gilles Simon’s former coach De Witt,” the feature explains.

Buddell quotes the German coach on noting Basilashvili had convinced him with “how he reacted in training”, realising the Georgian had potential to “take his game to the next level”.

Results of the partnership came soon, with Basilashvili becoming the first Georgian player to claim an ATP World Tour title in Hamburg in July.

With a plan, being more professional and trusting my coach completely, I got direction. I needed to win an ATP Tour title as validation of my work,” Basilashvili says in the interview.

Following the win up with a victory at China Open in October, the hard-working athlete’s successes also meant he reached his career-high ATP ranking, another new achievement for a tennis player from Georgia.

The new favourite of tennis enthusiasts in Georgia receives praise from his coach in the article, with De Witt telling Buddell he has "never had a player that has learned as quickly as him".

Read the full story here.