Devastated last year at Roland Garros - the first time she lost at the start of a Grand Slam tournament in 47 appearances - she did not seek support from her longtime physical therapist, agent or parents. Leaving the place of failure, she asked her entourage to take separate cars, and then climbed into the back seat of the car Sasha Bazhina and gave way to tears.

Bazhin and Williams communicate with each other so closely that they have blurred the traditional barriers between employer and employee. “The line between friendship and work has long gone from our relationship,” says Sasha.

The Williams family is still an extremely close-knit clan, but Serena has another person in her life whom she considers her own. “If you do not take into account my parents, then he is perhaps the most important person in the team, ”says the tennis player about Alexander Bazhin, who took the short name Sasha for convenience. “For me, he is more than a sparring partner. He is my older brother. He's a member of the family."

In an interview with USA Today Sports Douglas Robson spoke about his six-year collaboration with Williams - a time in which he was the most stable and, perhaps, the most important element during the turbulent period of her career. In everything - from blood clots and bruises to the collapse of her reputation - Bazhin was always on her side. He was also present when she won seven of her 15 major titles (more than any other active tennis player), singles and doubles gold at Olympic Games in London, as well as her return to the first line of the ranking last month at 31 years old (thereby the American became the oldest world No. 1 in the history of the WTA).

Bazhin and Williams communicate with each other so closely that they have blurred the traditional barriers between employer and employee. “The line between friendship and work has long gone from our relationship,” says Sasha. “That is what makes them sometimes very, very difficult, because we take everything to heart.” However, after hearing Serena's words that she considers him her older brother, the 28-year-old young man is embarrassed. "It makes my cheeks blush," he excuses himself.

Like the vast majority of sparring partners, he once had great ambitions for his professional career. Born in Serbia, Bazhin grew up in Munich. He was a promising junior, and in 2007 became the 1149th racket of the world, but then his career stalled, and he began to struggle with his own motivation after the death of his father in a car accident. At that moment, his imminent start of cooperation with Serena Williams could not even be imagined.

"I'm just trying to make Serena's life as easy as possible in every aspect, of course," he explains. Bazhin tries to become an example for her both in the gym and on the court during training. "If I need to seem like a fool, then I'll be happy to do it to add motivation to her."

Bazhin worked in one of the tennis organizations in Munich, when Serena's former sparring partner Jovan Savic called him late at night and asked him to practice with her when she was in town. At that moment, Bazhin was at a party and initially refused the offer. Savic called him again an hour later and said he couldn't find anyone else. By that time, Bazhin had become more cheerful under the influence of alcohol and eventually agreed.

“It worked out pretty well,” he says of their collaboration with Serena, which began shortly before Roland Garros in 2007. As a sparring partner, it was a dream job. He performs several roles at once - sparring partner, coach, personal assistant, bodyguard, confidant and person whose advice Williams listens to. He trains her and helps her stretch. He brings food. He gets information about opponents. He beats practice courts and strings her racquets. It mimics the playing styles of opponents. “I can do almost anything she wants, except play with my left hand,” Bazhin laughs. Sasha is not joking when he says that he does everything for her.

Internally, Williams was very tense when she entered the court to fight with Sloane Stephens at a tournament in Brisbane, in January of this year. Bazhin decided to do moonwalk right in front of a camera aimed at two tennis players. Williams laughed. “Later she walked around the court with a smile,” recalls Sasha. “He's just crazy, but very funny. He's a really tough guy," Williams says. “We are very much alike.”

"I'm just trying to make Serena's life as easy as possible in every aspect, of course," he explains. Bazhin tries to become an example for her both in the gym and on the court during training. "If I need to seem like a fool, then I'll be happy to do it to add motivation to her."

It's no secret that Williams can easily flare up, as she did in 2009 and 2010 at the US Open. She has a similar personality to her father, Richard, who could easily start boasting publicly when his young daughters began to climb up the rankings. “There were moments when she acted really nasty. Then it became hard,” recalls Sasha.

Working with Serena, he has the ability to travel on wide leg, go to concerts and hang out with A-class celebrities, plus he earns a decent salary compared to most other sparring partners.

He realized that sometimes Williams just needs to let off steam, and, as he now says, in the end it completely pays off. Their relationship grows stronger, her success continues. “I always tell her: Hey! look, I'm the only one who is next to you all the time. Better come off on me, I'll survive. They are really loyal to each other. Once he collapsed drunk on her bed and slept all night next to her. Serena knows all the intimate details of his personal life. "She knows more about me than my own mother, he smiles.

When Serena was restricted from movement for 11 months between 2010 and 2011 due to a string of illnesses and accidents, including a pulmonary embolism and surgery to remove a hematoma the size of a grapefruit, Bazhin stayed by her side for most of the year. . He joked to cheer her up and her morale, shopped for the house, and sang karaoke songs with her.

All the while, Williams kept him on full pay. He could play, and at some point he received an offer from former player top 5 Elena Dokic. Serena was not particularly enthusiastic about this. “She told me: Only over my corpse!” Sasha recalls. Working with Serena is not for everyone, but he loves it. It can be understood. Working with Serena, he has the opportunity to travel big, go to concerts and associate with A-class celebrities, plus he receives a decent salary compared to most other sparring partners.

For three years, Sasha lived in Williams' apartment and in her house in Los Angeles, but eventually came to the conclusion that he needed to acquire a separate apartment. He currently owns an apartment in Florida, but rarely visits it. There are other victims, of course.

Bazhin devotes little time to himself. Over the past 10 years, his longest serious relationship lasted only six months. Sasha, the middle of three children, is slowly losing touch with his mother and two sisters who live in Munich. He visits Germany twice a year. This, of course, is not enough to watch how his niece grows, or how his little sister develops, or even to be in close contact with his own mother. “This is the most difficult part of my job, because I lost touch with everything that happens there,” says Sasha. “Every time I come home, my mom looks 50 years older.”

Bazhin says that he "feels like a tourist in his hometown" and this makes him "a little hurt." “However, I love him so much that I don't want to change anything,” he says of his nomadic lifestyle.

Sasha says that while working with Serena, he learned her body language and can communicate with her telepathically. “We really sometimes communicate even without words. When I see her on the court, I know exactly what I need to do - whether I should be more demanding with her, or just keep my back straight, or make her run a little.

Sometimes he "turns on" the gentleman, such as opening the car door for her. “A sense of the situation is much more important than just hitting the ball,” adds Sasha. “I figured it out pretty quickly, and that’s probably my biggest advantage. Even in some small things. Bazhin calls the years spent next to Williams "fun" and "crazy race".

Probably doesn't show anything. better place Bajina in personal and professional life Serena, as the moment after her defeat by Virginie Razzano in the first round of Roland Garros last year. While Williams was weeping over her failure, Sasha suddenly remembered that the anniversary of his father's death was approaching. Then he climbed into the back seat with her and began to cry too. "The driver of the car must have thought, 'What's going on here?'" he says.

Sasha says that if he loses his job or Williams retires from the sport, he will continue to work with someone else from the WTA tour. “I think I was not born to be a player. I'm much better at sparring, especially girls." In the end, everything depends on Serena, but Bazhin is proud of his work. “I'm sure she wouldn't have kept me around for six years if I was just a fun guy. I feel great because we are part of history. We are writing this story with her.

Sasha Bazhin, who is more than just a sparring partner for the world tennis star Victoria Azarenka, told the site about his transition from the team of the first racket of the world Serena Williams to the camp of the famous Belarusian, her playing progress and character. He also spoke about the training of their creative duet in Minsk, dinners from the mother of the athlete, dirty jokes and the belief that Azarenka is able to climb the tennis Olympus again.

After losing to American Serena Williams in the third round of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, Roland Garros, former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka flew to Minsk. Soon her sparring partner Sasha Bazhin joined her, under whose leadership the athlete trained on the courts of the National Tennis Academy for about a week.

All this time, Azarenka was preparing for the grass part of the season. Before taking part in another prestigious Wimbledon tournament, she will take part in the competition in Birmingham, which will be held from 15 to 21 June. In Minsk, the girl has already worked with balls that will be played in the foreseeable future.

Sasha Bazhin, a German of Serbian origin, helped the Belarusian approach the next test in optimal shape. Together with him, Vika perfected shots from the backhand and forehand from the back line, short shots of two types. She also pumped up shoulder girdle, spent a lot of time at the net, served, while working on accuracy and speed. For example, in one of the exercises, covers for tennis shells were installed at the extreme corners of the square where the serve is addressed, from where it is usually extremely problematic for the opponent to get the ball. Vika was supposed to knock them down with balls. The length of each exercise was about one hundred and fifty beats.

It is curious that the lack of grass courts in Minsk did not become an obstacle for Azarenka-team to hold a quality camp here. According to Sasha Bazhin, who has worked in the Serena Williams team for the past eight years, he never prepared the American for grass on natural turf, which, however, did not prevent her from winning Wimbledon seven times.

"We are quite like those courts that imitate grass, Bajin said. - It was on such that we worked with Vika for the last week. I think we will play well in Birmingham, which will allow us to approach Wimbledon fully armed."

For the first time, the fact that Sasha Bazhin (whom experts liked to call the "secret weapon" of Serena Williams) joined Victoria Azarenka became known in March of this year. but long time the history of the creative union of a respected sparring partner in tennis circles and the best Belarusian tennis player was shrouded in mystery..

"Vicki's arsenal turned out to be tricks that I didn't even know existed"

"We have known Victoria for a long time, began a thirty-year-old man. - We often met with her at tournaments, and also exchanged messages on social networks, so this was not the case when she suddenly called me and offered to work together. No, we knew each other well. I was in Florida when she first contacted me and expressed interest in working with me. It happened in January 2015 during the Australian Open. Vika asked why I was not at this tournament with Serena Williams. The fact is that Serena and I decided to stop working together, and Vika just needed a coach. We began to actively communicate with her.

At that time, very little time had passed since our breakup with Williams. I trained with Serena for eight years and left her team when she was number one in the world. All these years I have built my life around her person. By the way, that's why he lived in Florida, that is, not far from her residence.

For me, the transition to another player was a very serious step. But in the end I realized that I was ready for a new path. Of course, I wouldn't want to be with someone I don't like. Such cooperation would not lead to something good, because you would still have to see each other every day. As for Vika, she has always been nice to me: both as a person and as a player."

Contractual obligations to Serena Williams did not allow Sasha Bazhin to join Victoria Azarenka as quickly as the Belarusian would like. After breaking up with her previous mentor Sam Syumik at the end of January, she first went to the Fed Cup, where, and then, whom Kim Clijsters taught a lot, and he helped her win twice Open Championship USA.

Fisset, at the start of negotiations with Azarenka, admitted that he could not be with her all the time, since in January of this year he opened a tennis academy in his homeland. Vika still needed someone else. She continued to communicate with Sasha through personal correspondence even at the moment when she was already playing in Doha with Wim.

"I watched this tournament on the couch,- Sasha recalls the February nights at the TV. - It was around 3 am in Florida when the girls competed in Doha. Later, we exchanged messages with Vika, discussed her imminent meeting with Venus Williams."

— sascha Bajin (@BigSascha)

Prestigious Premier Series Tournament kicked off in American Indian Wells with prize fund$5.3 million. It is unique in that the great Serena Williams, who has not played here for 14 years due to a racist scandal, has decided to return.

In 2001, Serena advanced to the semi-finals without a fight - her elder sister Venus did not enter the court due to illness. The sisters were suspected of collusion. In those days, they still said that Father Richard supposedly determines the winner in their matches. The audience booed Serena, and Richard Williams claimed racist slurs from the audience. As a result, Serena won the final against Kim Clijsters, but in the locker room she was not happy, but sobbed. The Williams family made the decision not to play in Indian Wells again.

But 14 years later, Serena returns, convinced that the world has changed. In particular, she liked how sports world came to her defense after the words of the head Russian tennis Shamil Tarpischev. Remember that phrase about the "Williams brothers", said in the program " Evening Urgant"? Serena decided it was time to forgive.

I wonder if she will forgive Sasha Bazhin? Shortly before the tournament, it became known that Serena had parted ways with her seemingly indispensable sparring partner.

A Serb from Germany not only helped her to work out the blows on the court, but also was for her an administrator, a bodyguard, a psychologist, she could take out her anger on him and cry on her shoulder ...

Why they broke up is unknown.

Thank you Serena for the eight unforgettable years we have worked together. It was wonderful time. Don’t be sad, you know that we won’t have fun with Vika at all, ”Bazhin wrote on Twitter.

And now Sasha is already training with Victoria Azarenka. Let's see if he can become for Victoria what he became for Serena. So, through parting and meeting, two new people appeared next to the Belarusian at the beginning of the season - Sasha Bazhin and coach Wim Fissett.

In Indian Wells, Victoria will start from the second round, where she will meet the winner of the pair Rogers (USA) - Flipkens (Belgium). And in case of victory in the third round will go to Maria Sharapova. Russian woman is now in great shape, takes 2nd place in the ranking after Serena. Their match with Azarenka, who is gradually returning to her former condition, promises to be exciting.

Matt Wilansky, a columnist for the American online publication ESPN, gave a bold and surprising prediction:

They (Sharapova and Azarenka. - Ed.) Have not met for almost two years, but Victoria has recently found her rhythm. Prediction: Azarenka will beat Williams in the tournament final.

While Alexandra Sasnovich was giving an interview on the court after her success in the match with Russian Margarita Gasparyan, the entire Belarusian team rejoiced and congratulated each other,...

While Alexandra Sasnovich was giving an interview on the court after her success in the match with Russian Margarita Gasparyan, the entire Belarusian team was jubilant and congratulated each other, because it was an early victory over the Russian team. And Victoria is truly historic: the team of Belarus, our geographical neighbors, for the first time entered the World Group, the top eight of the strongest Federation Cup.

Children hunting for photographs and autographs have already hung on the side, which usually limits the space of the Luzhniki ISA, in order to catch one of the athletes, but they are facing an equally interesting character - Sasha Bazhin, or simply Big Sasha, who once worked with Serena Williams and now a sparring partner Victoria Azarenka. Tall, fashionable and pleased with the victory, he easily takes pictures, signs autographs and responds to the chants of the audience “Be-la-rus!”. I also tried to catch him: “Sasha, I would like to do an interview with you ...”. To which he: “What kind of interview is there, we will celebrate now!”. The curtain. So we wouldn’t have talked to him if it weren’t for the help of a very responsive and agile press attaché of the Belarusian tennis federation Catherine Lisitsa, for which many thanks to her from the entire tennis editorial staff of the "Championship". I don’t know what words she found to persuade Big Sasha, who then ran out with the Belarusian flag to watch the doubles match, but after a while we still managed to talk to the accompaniment of the doubles match, which did not decide anything from the tournament point of view. Sasha answered diligently, honestly and not without a share of humor.

- Sasha, with the victory of you. Satisfied with the result?

Thanks! Certainly. Vika won two matches, the team won. All perfectly.

- The dirt season for Vika is starting now. These games have become a good test and training?

Undoubtedly. Especially against Daria Kasatkina, she is a very difficult, young and promising player. Plus, they haven't played before. The Russian is having a great season and showing great results at such a young age. Therefore, it turned out to be a really good test before the clay series of tournaments.

Often, female coaches and sparring partners say that it is not easy to work with girls because of the peculiarities of psychology ...

It seems to me that in any professional sports there is not much difference in this regard in working with girls or boys: there are moments that are easier with guys, and there are those with girls. This is an individual sport, so what worked with Serena should not necessarily work for Vika. I had to learn a few things from working with her and I learned a lot from her, just as I hope she did from me. In general, there is a difference, but I won’t say that it’s more difficult or easier to work with girls, it’s just different. All are unique in their own way.

Serena said in an interview that you were like "a big brother to her, not just a guy who hits the ball from the opposite side of the court." What is your job, since you get such warm reviews?

Serena and I were very close, and we still are. I lived with her, Venus and two other girls in the same house for three years, so working with one is not a problem. ( Smiling.) By the way, this can be added to the answer to the previous question. A sparring partner or coach is a person who helps not only on the court, but also off it, in order to facilitate someone's work. Everything I can do to help Vika off the court so that she doesn’t worry about something once again, I do, even if it’s such small things as washing or going to the grocery store with her, so that she just knows that she doesn’t one. If there is a way to help her, I will definitely do it, this is also part of my job, because if she is happy off the court, she will endure good mood into the game and will perform even better.

There was such a book, and then the film “Love Lives for Three Years”. And if we talk about coaching cooperation, is there a limited period or not?

I worked with Serena for eight years and I understand very well that this is an incredibly long period, we were very close, even super close. And the hardest part of the job, like mine, is that you communicate every day, it's almost like a married life: if you see someone on a daily basis, you can quickly get tired of each other. I know what she likes and what she doesn't. This is an ordinary relationship in which you learn a lot about each other. And I used that knowledge to find new ways to motivate her, to make Serena laugh again, to try to make the workouts more interesting and not turn them into a routine, otherwise it would get boring for everyone too quickly. And after one or two years, it could happen like this: “Sasha, of course, you are a good guy, but I’m sorry, I’m just already tired that every day is the same.” Variety is important in order to keep the player’s positive attitude, and in order to push himself forward, to make the workflow more interesting.

What is the most difficult thing in your work, did you somehow pay attention to frequent trips and separation from your family, the inability to build your own?

Of course, constant traveling is hard, but you get used to it. Again, it’s not easy when the guys call you on vacation in the off-season, you can’t take your girlfriend, because we decided to relax in a male company. I also miss how my little sister is growing up, I don’t know what is happening with my grandmother and what can happen in my absence. I have a house in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where I spent four weeks at most last year, and it's my own house. But I wouldn't like to complain because it is good life I am happy that I chose this path and this work. All I know is how to play tennis, I don't think I could do anything else. Of course, I want to be with my family at certain moments, for example, last year Vika lost to Serena on the day my father died. But these are just a few days that are especially difficult for you, but you try to think about all the other moments that remind you that it's worth it. I can go out on the court and play against the former world number one every day. It's an incredible experience, plus I get paid for it. There is nothing to complain about, although not everything is so simple.

Both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka are top-level players, what do they have in common and how do they differ from each other?

The similarities are that they are both very determined and focused, they have a champion mindset, they go out on the court and want to win. Vika is one of the few girls who thinks and knows: "I'm here to win the tournament." It doesn't matter what kind of competition it is. I don't believe that if we come to the Grand Slam now, all of the 128 girls (although the boys are still the same) will say: "I'm going to win this title." If we take the women's tour, there are several such tennis players: Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, maybe Venus, then Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitov. Vika is among those few who really have this mindset of a winner, and no matter what she is in the ranking - even if she is 50th (she was on this line when we started working), she still came out to win and fight in every match, or number four or five, like now. In terms of differences, everyone is unique in their own way. Again, both of them are quite relaxed, although while Vika is not yet at the same level as Serena, who can safely go for a walk and feel free, pursued by the paparazzi and have more personal life, perhaps this is the only difference. But in terms of competition, they are very similar, no wonder Vika is the ex-first racket of the world. Greatness recognizes greatness.

- Do you think Vika is ready to become a leader in women's tennis again?

While she wins everyone this season, so I think I'm ready ( smiling). There are still things that we need to work on, improving them, and we are doing so. She is on the right track, she has a great team behind her, everyone does their job. I believe that she can. Vika has a broad outlook, she listens to what she is told. I do not see anything that can prevent this, and time is at our service. So yes, I think she will be number one again, that's why I'm here.

- Was Vicki's victory over Serena in the Indian Wells final your job?

Well, I wouldn't say it's my job. We all work, as she herself said in Miami: Teamwork gives a result”, and therefore it is difficult to say that this is someone's personal merit. It's a lot of puzzle pieces put together. Of course, I could help her against this player a little more, because I know a lot more details from both sides, but in general this is the work of many people. Here you need to consider Vika as a company, if people did not devote themselves completely to work, the company would not grow by itself. But now we are doing well, which we are all very happy about.

- When you watch the match Williams - Azarenka, what do you feel?

We have been working with Vika for a year and two months now, but in Indian Wells, before the final, I saw the whole [Serena Williams] family - with my mother, sisters. You hug each other and then you walk to the bench on the opposite side of the court. It's not easy because I'm a very emotional guy, we were close and they are like my second family. I am very grateful to them for all the time that I was with them. But now is the time to help Vika on the court, this is my job, this is a business, so I have to do everything so that she wins. But after the outcome of the match is decided on the court, we are a family. Once a family, a family forever. But this is a very difficult moment.

Somehow you were asked what will happen after the end of cooperation with Serena or if she ends her career. You replied that you will continue to work with another tennis player from the WTA tour. Why not ATP?

I don’t even know, to be honest, because when I actually finished working with Serena, I wasn’t sure that I would continue with someone else, although the tennis circle is quite understandable, there are a lot of girls on the tour with whom I could collaborate. As a result, when our cooperation with Serena ended, I thought about what to do next, even reconnoitered the situation in several academies in order to go to work there, but it turned out much more successfully - Vika called me. If some tennis player from the men's tour offered me a job, I would not refuse either.

- "He's a slightly crazy guy, and in this we are similar," - that's what Serena Williams said about you. And if we asked Victoria Azarenka to characterize you, what would she say?

I do not even know ( laughs), you should definitely ask her.

- We will try to ask, but maybe you can suggest something so that we can compare?

I would like it to be only good, but I can’t answer the question about myself for someone else. I hope that he will say only good things about me and share a couple of funny stories that often happen to us.

I saw on your twitter that you were sharing links to the wiki column in Sports Illustrated. Maybe you can help her in some way?

No no no. She writes everything herself. And I'm impressed! I think she does an incredible job, which is why I enjoy reading her texts whenever they come out. I don't know what she'll write about, so I see them the same as everyone else when they're published. I know roughly the subject, she might come along and say, "You know, I'm going to write about this and that." I say: “Cool! When will it be possible to read?”, - but I never specify the details, I don’t want to know them in advance, I want to be like everyone else and wait for the column to be released in order to read. So I always look forward to it.

- At a press conference, she said that she writes something else besides articles, you know what?

To be honest, I don't know, so I don't have an answer. I see that she often makes notes for herself, no matter where she is, but I don’t know what and what it is about, but I don’t want to ask, because it seems to me that it’s personal.

- And if Victoria writes a book, buy it?

Oh god, of course! ( laughs.)

- Please tell us about the word "pinish". What does it mean and where did it come from?

Pinish? We need to file a patent for this word ( laughs). It, in fact, arose out of nowhere, it consisted of two: punish (punish) and finish (finish). It all started as a joke, I just kind of casually dropped it, saying, "Hey, you 'pin' that match yesterday really well." In response, I heard: "What, I'm sorry?". It was more like a joke, but it stuck and we started using it. I even used it in the design of my Twitter account. Maybe we need to go further and create some kind of charity event on this basis. So, it started as a joke, and now people like to use it.

- Maybe there are other such words?

No-no-no, just “pinish”, although I would not refuse.

- Who is your favorite in the ATP tour?

I have to say it's Novak [Djokovic]. I really like him. Novak is number one, I like his playing style, efficiency, mentality. good athletes a lot, but I would single it out.

- Do you know any words in Russian?

I know, but they're all bad, so I can't pronounce. (He said in a mysterious voice, pointing to the recorder). Although, perhaps, I have one favorite word - "chicken", because that's all I eat ( laughs).

- That is, if someone swears in Russian on the court, do you understand this for sure?

- Finally, I want to ask you to continue a few phrases.

Team Wiki- the best.

Reaching the final of any competition- always a great experience.

Very important to me stay healthy.

I am a good sparring partner because I know what I do ( laughs).

I dream about about retiring one day, living in a nice house and maybe joining a circus troupe ( laughs).

“If anything, about the circus - it was a joke, but you can publish it, I don’t mind,” said Big Sasha, who broke into a wide smile, shaking my hand tightly.