Interview with Danielle Mills: 1 year later

My first player interview was with Danielle Mills, about a year ago. Since then, she has signed with Miami (FL) and reached her first professional final. This past week at $25k Waterloo, she reached the quarterfinals in singles and semi-finals in doubles. Here is my interview with her:

Q: Our last interview was a year ago and many things have changed. You are now going to be a sophomore at the University of Miami! What made you decide Miami over UNC and USC like you said you were looking at last year?
A:I picked Miami ultimately because of the location, and because of the accessibility from that airport. From Miami you can fly pretty much anywhere in the world, and for tenis tournaments this is ideal. I also didn’t want to be in a college town. I love being in a city where there is always something going on. The weather is also ideal, and we never have to play indoors. I like that its not such a big school and in the classes your able to have more interation with your teachers unlike some large Public Schools. I have nothing against those other two schools I just really liked everything about Miami. It is also only 4 hours away from my house in Bradenton FL, So it’s easy for my parents to visit and for me to come home for breaks.

Q: How has college tennis worked into your game on the professional tour?
A: Playing on the team was a different challenge because rather than playing for yourself you have the responsibilities of the team and you don’t want to let the team down. It taught me how to fight for every point and every game even more then before because it was also the interest of the team and not just me.

Q: What were some of your highlights and memories from your first year at Miami?
A: My highlights were good quality wins against blue chip players that had gone to college. After the match looking up a player I had beaten and seen that they were blue chip players and that they had good wins, and against some of them with ease. From a team perspective beating Georgia at National indoors when they were ranked 4 in the nation. Also beating some rivals of ours Florida State and Duke. Getting to the quarter finals of the NCAA tournament was also an accomplishment for us since we only had 6 players.
Q: Is it tough to balance out academics and tennis at a big school like Miami?
A: Yes it is very difficult but they do give you an unlimited amount of tutors and help to make the transition easier. Teenagers might have the misguided thought that you can go to school and party, but you have to be discipline because to do well at school and at tennis you have to really work hard to get good grades. In college you can do three things, play tennis well, do well in school, and party. To be successful in college you can only do two out of those three things well.

Q: This summer, you have had some of the best results of your career, including your first final at a $10k in Spain. What does that do to your game and confidence, not only on the pro tour, but college?
A: I’m walking on the court now believing I can beat anybody. I believe in my weapons now. I am physically much stronger from the workouts from college, and I am also much fit from the workouts. I never walk on the court now and think that my opponent is in better shape than me. Just overall confidence in all of my abilities has allowed me to be confident. Tennis is all about confidence and believing and now I feel like this is a huge part of my recent success.

Q: You said that Anastasia Pivovorava and Madison Brengle were your 2 best friends on tour. They are starting to do well on the tour, especially within the last year. Do they inspire you? Also, have you met any other players that you have become close to?
A: I am still pretty good friends with Anastasia and Madison. Somebody who inspires me is Heidi El Tabakah. I roomed with her in the WTA in Sweden and I was able to watch her matches and train with her and see how she did things. Shortly after that tournament she began having extreme success. Another person who inspires me is Allison Riske, because she is such a nice person and she has done so well in such a short period of time. Something else that has always inspired me was my original dream team group at IMG Bolliettieri which consisted of Michelle Larcher de Brito, Tammy Hendler, Tara Moore, Heather Watson, Mallory Cecil, Nicole Bartnik, Linda Abu Musref, and sometimes Sabine Lisciki. For us practice matches because extreme battles and growing up and playing around these tennis prodigies has always given me the belief that I am going to be successful.

Q: Who are your favorite players and your inspiration on and off the court?
A: Growing up at IMG Maria Sharapova was already on the court full time, but Nicole Vaidisova had her daily lesson with Ales Kodat on court two while I was on court one with Nick Bolliettieri. This went on for about a two and a half years. I was able to watch such a talented individual practice every day next to me. This inspired me to be a better player. Ales Kodat always noticed how I was playing and was always very kind to me. He was able to watch me playing during every water break and I was able to watch her train during all of my water breaks. He also would watch some of my matches at Eddie Herr. He was able to see my potential at an early age. When he became available it was natural for the two of us to become a natural fit. He knows how to bring out extreme talent in a player and that’s evident in Nicole. He was able to be with me for the last three weeks in Europe where I had some oh my best success. Prior to going back to school in late august I’ll be able to spend another solid few weeks training with him.

Q: What are your goals for you within the next year?
A: After coming to the conclusion that an additional year of experience playing college tennis would be beneficial both from a tennis experience standpoint and also an expense savings. I had a simple goal of a 20 win year season which I accomplished, and also to truly learn doubles, which I have I very good shot at being a high level doubles specialist, and the doubles experience I learned and continue to learn in college is invaluable. This has been proven in the results over the last five weeks with 4 professional level semi-final results in doubles. My next year would be to increase my wins I college to 30 wins a season, also getting extremely stronger and more agile. Professionally this summer I only had an 8 week window to re-establish my ranking so that I can be eligible for the WTA international series and to establish a doubles ranking which will be waiting for me for next summer. My goals for next year are to get back on the tour next summer and try to see what I have learned based on two solid years of college tennis, and see if I can ultimately play professional tennis full time. IN closing – I truly believe that I needed my tennis to develop into my body, and that there are many girls that would wish to have the physical skills that I have. That continues to drive me to believe that I have a future in this game.