We chatted with #1 ATX Open seed, Nicole Melichar-Martinez, on day 1 of the tournament in Austin, Texas.
Learn what she and partner, Ellen Perez, focused on in practice on the first day of the tournament.
We discuss how they’ve handled some very tight losses recently, as well as what makes the Czechs, who have won 4 consecutive majors, so good.
This is Nicole’s 4th appearance on the podcast. Listen to my other conversations with her below.
- #1 (below) – A longer conversation with Nicole from July 2020. Learn more about her background, match routines, & more.
- #2 – Talking Strategy with World #11 Nicole Melichar-Martinez (January 2021)
- #3 – Nicole Melichar-Martinez & Ellen Perez Interview at the 2022 Canadian Open (August 2022)
Ebook: 25 Winning Doubles Tactics Guaranteed to Help You Play Smarter
25 expert serve (7), return (5), net-play (5), baseline (4), & approach (4) tactics you can use in your next doubles match.
Nicole Melichar-Martinez Interview: WTA #19 Doubles Player
Below is our first interview with Nicole Melichar-Martinez from July 2020.
Nicole won the Wimbledon 2018 mixed doubles title. She also was a finalist in women’s doubles that same year. Nicole has been ranked as high as #12 in the world and is currently the #19 ranked WTA doubles player. She has one title so far in 2020.
In this conversation, we talk about:
- 1:28 – Hear what Nicole has been up to since the shutdown.
- 2:44 – Nicole’s schedule for the rest of 2020.
- 3:47 – The vibe on tour about whether or not to have US Open after the Adria tour failure, including Nicole’s thoughts on the smaller doubles draw.
- 8:25 – Nicole walks us through her 2020 so far.
- 11:17 – How Nicole got into tennis and eventually focused on doubles.
- 16:54 – Nicole’s biggest strength as a doubles player and how she uses it.
- 18:22 – How she thinks about serve strategy for doubles.
- 21:46 – Using different serving formations.
- 25:27 – Nicole’s biggest weaknesses on the doubles court and how she’s dealt with them.
- 28:44 – What Nicole uses for meditation.
- 29:11 – How she chooses a doubles partner and what style is best for her.
- 32:10 – What she does to game plan against a specific opponent.
- 33:17 – What she does after matches and tournaments to improve.
- 34:11 – What a typical practice looks like.
- 37:26 – Her favorite doubles drills.
- 39:16 – Nicole’s prematch routine for an afternoon match.
- 42:44 – The difference between practices during vs between tournaments.
- 42:05 – Favorite tennis & non-tennis books, tournament, and pre-match meal.
- 47:43 – Her favorite (funny) tennis story.
- and a lot more…
Video of the Interview with Nicole Melichar-Martinez
Here is the 51 minute conversation with Nicole.
Interview Notes
*To help support The Tennis Tribe & provide more free content like this, we earn a percentage of any purchases through the links below. See our affiliate page for more info.
Below are links to things mentioned during our conversation.
- Nicole got a scholarship to John Newcombe’s Academy where she spent 3 years.
- Nick Blackwood’s academy in Arizona.
- Nicole also trained at ClubMed Academies
- Balance meditation app
- Favorite “Tennis” Books:
- Favorite non-tennis book: The Harry Potter Series*
- Favorite Tournament: Wimbledon
Loved this interview! Great questions and a very engaging conversation. You need to join our group at Newk’s in October (if it’s open). Great job Will!
Thanks Kalim! It was a fun conversation.
It’s great to learn doubles from the best players in the world 😉
I’ll be in touch about Newk’s.