The 19-year-old Alex Michelsen is rallying his way into the Australian Open! As he has reached the third round of the tournament, the world is witnessing his meteoric rise. Along with him, his tennis coach, Eric Diaz, has also grabbed a lot of attention. Being a tennis player himself, he learned under his legendary father, Manny Diaz, and now he’s guiding Michelsen to have a breakthrough season this year.

While the 19-year-old is just like any other young rising sensation, striving to give his best, his coach is someone who can play the bad cop and help him climb the success stairs.

Who is Alex Michelsen’s coach, Eric Diaz?

The American tennis player will play against Alexander Zverev in the third round of the AO today. But before that, throughout the tournament, there have been instances where his coach has grabbed a lot of attention with his bad cop kind of personality, which persisted till the time he earned success on the court.

However, a few months ago, when Michelsen played his first US Open as a professional, he showed a little bit of a stressful and frustrating side of him on the court. But rather than supporting the player, Coach Diaz went against him. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Diaz said, “There were a few hats thrown and maybe a ball that might have wandered out of the facility that might have been his fault.”

While he laughed at the memory, it was not funny at that time. Diaz walked away from the tennis court during a couple of matches and later told the 19-year-old to act like a grown-up. Following that, he also detailed how there are things that the 19-year-old should improve on.

Diaz said, “If you’re going to act like a kid, then I’m going to leave. I told him afterward, ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you are pretty good and it’s about time to let the tennis do the talking and to control the attitude. You are going to be on stages where you will have a lot of eyes on you.’ I think the realization set in and the maturity set in. He’s really carrying himself well, now.” 

Interestingly, this is not the first time he has talked about his relationship with the American tennis player. Last year, there was a time when he talked about how the young American never thought of playing as a professional tennis player, but with the help of Diaz, he realized his bigger dream.

When Eric Diaz had different ways of testing Alex Michelsen’s tennis skills

Last year, in September, when the American coach appeared in a podcast interview, he talked about how he had his own way of checking whether Michelson could be a professional tennis player or not. He said, “We really kind of wanted to see what he’s able to do sort of on his own. How well can he manage emotionally, how well can he create some game-plans and stick to his day-to-day routines. And I would say he passed.” 

In addition, after having a successful college career, Diaz embraced the profession of coaching with open arms, and rather than stepping on the court, he became the guiding light for someone else and discovered the talent Michelsen carried. But he’s quite different from other tennis coaches and has his own way of dealing with things.

Although Coach Diaz has praised the 19-year-old, he has also always questioned him about his act or tennis skills. Nevertheless, what are your thoughts about Eric Diaz as a coach? Do let us know in the comment section below.

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