MELBOURNE — Zhang Shuai's transformation from an emotional wreck to a grand slam quarter-finalist has been the feel-good story of the Australian Open but also counts as a triumph of player management by her faithful coach Liu Shuo.
Finding the right words to comfort a player after a loss is one of the tougher parts of a coach's job, so 37-year-old Liu had to get creative last year as Zhang suffered a crisis of confidence that pushed her to the brink of quitting.
Zhang slumped to her 14th successive first-round exit at the grand slams at the French Open last year, a record among active players in the women's top 300, and her ranking, which peaked at 30 in mid-2014, plummeted towards the 200s.