Sharapova's former coach starts training programme in Singapore

SINGAPORE - Under floodlights, Michael Baroch barked when either of his two young charges got their strokes wrong. Pep talks by the net with the girls in between the two-hour stint were common.

Elite tennis coach Baroch - who had worked with Roger Federer's one-time trainer, Tony Roche, and groomed former women's world No 1 Maria Sharapova - has been training over 50 promising young talents at the National University of Singapore (NUS) sports and recreation centre since Oct 4.

The number of aspiring Sharapovas and Federers is set to increase as the 44-year-old Aussie gears-up to establish an international centre of excellence for tennis here within the next 12 months. Staffed by sports psychologists, nutritionists and strength and conditioning experts, Baroch told MediaCorp over the weekend it will be the permanent Asian base of his Melbourne International Tennis School (Mits). LINK