Andrea parts with coach

Andrea Petkovic has decided to part company with coach Petar Popovic after three and a-half years. "I’ve had a very good time with Petar. I learned a lot from him and we will stay in close contact as friends“, says Petkovic. "But I have come to a stage in my career where I need new inspirations and challenges in order to improve my tennis.“ Under Popovic, Petkovic reached her all-time career-high ranking in October 2011, when she became world’s no. 9. In the same year she played three of the four Grand-Slam-Quarterfinals and won the WTA-Tournament of Strasbourg.

While Popovic returns to the ATP-Tour, working with croatian player Ivo Karlovic, Petkovic is testing cooperation with Dutch coach Eric van Harpen. "After such a short period of time it is too early to say how far this will go“, Petkovic explains. "But I am sure, Eric can offer his knowledge and experience to help me develop as a player. I want to work with my coach for the long term and know that switching coaches regularly can have a negative effect. I need some time to get used to the situation now.“ Van Harpen has previously coached Arantxa Sanchez, Conchita Martinez and Anna Kournikova.

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