KUALA LUMPUR: Christian Didier Chin’s decision to hire a personal coach appears to be paying dividends for the youngster.
Christian, 19, who has been working with Iranian coach Saeed Afzalirad since August, has now risen to the top of the national rankings in both the singles and doubles.
He did well to reach the final of the opening leg of the National Circuit which ended at National Tennis Centre on Sunday.
Christian drubbed Indonesian Davis Cup player Anthony Susanto 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and had led Tennis Malaysia 2019 Player of the Year Shamirul Shahril Adam Das 6-4, 4-2 in the semi-finals before the latter retired due to injury.
The Sabahan, however, went down 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) to Indonesian David Agung Susanto in the final.
Christopher Chin, who is Christian’s father-cum-manager, is happy with the progress the duo are making.
“Christian’s performance under Saeed has improved,” said Christopher.
“He has made changes to his strategy, from his defensive game to attack, and he has also switched back to a double-handed which he is more comfortable with.
“Christian’s confidence has also been different and he is much more positive now. The goal is to make him more prepared for touring at the international level.”
Christopher disclosed that they have already spent roughly RM30,000 over the past six months to strengthen Christian’s game.
Christian had made the switch to a single-handed backhand, which is traditionally better for aggressive serve-and-volley players, at the end of 2018 though it did not yield the desired results.
Christian hopes to break into the top 500 in the world for singles and top 300 for doubles this year, if he can raise the funds required to compete in more international tournaments.