Serena Williams forges on without longtime hitting partner
MELBOURNE, Aus. – If Serena Williams is going to win this year's Australian Open, she's going to do so without longtime hitting partner Sascha Bajin, a key figure in the team Williams has built around her in a drive to historical success.
"He's away on injury reserve right now," Williams told reporters on Saturday of Bajin. "He texts me almost every day. Like, 'I wish I were better. What are you doing? Who is there?' I'm like, 'Gosh, leave me alone already.' He's super bummed out."
The sibling-like relationship between Aleksandar "Big Sascha" and Williams has been well documented over his nearly eight years as Serena's sparring partner, including in a 2013 article in Paste BN Sports.
"Outside of my parents, I think he's probably the most important person on the team," Williams said then of Bajin. "He's much more than a hitting partner. He's my older brother. He's family."
The absence of the Serbian alters Williams' daily routine for the year's first major, which begins on Monday.
"It definitely changes it a lot," said Williams, the top seed and world No. 1 who opens her campaign against Belgian Alison van Uytvanck.
Williams entrusted her French coach Patrick Mouratoglou with finding a new hitting partner, a player she knows as Jonathan – though she couldn't quite place his last name.
"I knew you were going to ask that," Williams, 33, replied when queried. "You know, I do know his last name, but don't ask me it."
That would be Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy, a former world No. 146 who retired in 2013. The left-handed 28-year-old was a practice partner for Novak Djokovic at the French Open last year in preparation for his meeting with Rafael Nadal, a lefty.
Lauded for her improved French-speaking abilities over the last few years (she addressed the Parisian crowd in its language after winning at Roland Garros in 2013), Williams said the addition of another francophone helps her with her language skills.
"[Patrick] brought in 'Team French,'" Williams said, laughing again. "It helps because everyone is French now. I have to speak a lot of French."
Whether or not he'll help in Williams' quest for a record sixth Australian Open – well, that is yet to be seen.