Interview Taro Daniel (english)

Our team had a chance to speak with Taro Daniel (27yo), 112th player at the ATP ranking. Here is his interview :

"Can you introduce yourself ?

I’m Taro Daniel. I'm pro tennis player and i was born in New York. My dad is American and my mom Japanese. I lived half my life in japan and the other half in Spain and now I’m back in japan/US again.

How did you discover tennis ?

My dad played up to college and was a tennis coach for a little bit. So during weekends my parents would spend a lot of time at the tennis club and me and my sister got pulled into starting tennis so that we weren’t just running around while they were having their time.

What do you do to stay in good shape during this period ?

I’ve been doing quite a bit of physical training since this whole virus thing has come about. In japan you can still go out and run, bicycle so you can easily stay in shape. Other than that, I’ve been working on a lot of body weight strengths and mobility.

What results are you most proud of ?

I think the most proud one is my title in Istanbul. Beating Djokovic is a close 2nd but I feel like winning a 250 was a better representation of my tennis level and I am working towards getting another title when we get back on tour.

Which player impressed you the most in the match ? Why ?

I think when I played Andy Murray in Davis cup one time and he killed me. I could not find ways to win points and he would just cover the court so easily. I played other greats of the game but Djokovic was not playing well when I played him and I had a good chance against Nadal so it would be hard to say I was impressed the most in those matches.

What’s your favourite tournament ?

I don’t really have a favorite tournament because every place has its good things and bad things. When you win, hell and seem like a nice place. When you lose, even the Grand Slams can seem like a horrible place.

What is your main goal until the end of your carreer ?

My main goal is to just keep improving. I would like to hit top 50 at some point and if I can achieve that then why not top 30. I don’t have a specific number and don’t want a limitation.

What would you do after your career ? Coaching or anything else ?

For the moment I am not quite sure what I would want to do after tennis. Coaching is definitely an option but I would want to start thinking about it when I am 30 or so about my post career more seriously.

What’s your best memories on court ? 

I think one favorite memory is beating Djokovic because the stadium was full in Indian Wells. Everybody was cheering and that was a great feeling. Also it was very cool when I was leaving the court, Federer was coming in for the next match!"

Our team thanks Taro to answering our questions ! We wish him to enter into TOP50 !