Height is a funny thing in tennis because it definitely helps the serve, but it can hinder agility and movement. I think I have to spend a lot more time working on movement and flexibility than some of my shorter colleagues.
One of the biggest things I've worked on is how to play my best tennis every single time I walk on to the court.
There haven't been that many players, both men and women, from South Africa breaking through on the pro level. It's not easy because you have to really start playing tennis at a young age and be exposed to the right competitions and other players from around the world.
Beating Roger Federer is a match I will remember for years to come. All my respect to him. Federer is arguably the greatest player to have ever played our sport, so beating him at Wimbledon was really special.
Sometimes I use a bungee, one of those bungee cords that offer resistance training. I find that useful. Like, I'll go out and hit a backhand or a forehand with resistance. Because when you get rid of the resistance, you've recruited more muscle fibers, and it definitely helps with speed.
Some players are constantly changing racquets, fiddling with them. It's not that I'm not specific with my racquets, but I feel that I'm not as obsessed with some of that stuff as many of the other players are.
With all the lead tape, my racquet is heavier than the model you're going to find off the rack. It's got most of its weight in the throat of the racquet; it's not too head-heavy. I don't like the feeling of a racquet that's so head-heavy I can't maneuver it around so well.
It's funny because, growing up, I found inspiration from watching Steffi Graf and Amanda Coetzer, a South African who was in the top 10 for many years. Oh, and then there's someone I've gotten to know over the last few years: Martina Navratilova.
Most of the time, I'm playing right-handed players, so it's a little easier to adjust going back to a righty.
Coming from a country that loves tennis, actually, there are a lot of people who play. We definitely face a lot of challenges when it comes to producing tennis players.
Growing up, I did quite a bit of reading on the mental side. My dad, who coached me, had us doing a lot of different types of mental work, like visualization. I read a couple of tennis books that talked about calming your nerves, belief, visualization, relaxing, breathing.
