Australian tennis coach BOB BRETT, who was interviewed for the post of Lawn Tennis Association performance director 11 years ago, "has been recruited by the governing body to report on the quality of coaching at Britain’s higher establishments," according to Neil Harman of the LONDON TIMES. Brett was a disciple of HARRY HOPMAN, "the legendary Australian Davis Cup captain and coach, who ruled the game with an iron fist in the 1950s and 60s." Times "have changed a lot since those days of domination Down Under," but Brett has been a "highly respected figure" on the int'l scene for many years. In recent years, Brett has been working at his academy in San Remo, Italy, as well as on a consultancy basis for Tennis Canada and, therefore, "it is hardly the greatest shock" that he is one of the first people to whom new Canadian LTA CEO MICHAEL DOWNEY has turned (LONDON TIMES, 2/17). In London, Simon Briggs wrote Brett "came close to being put in charge of the whole show" in '03, before DAVID FELGATE was appointed as LTA performance director. This time, he is not planning to work directly with the players, "but will spend 60 days assessing the way the machine functions." Many believe that it is too narrowly focused on the £40M ($67M) National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, "where the LTA’s offices are also based." The LTA runs a network of 21 high-performance centers across the country, "but has often been accused" of providing inadequate -- and overpriced -- coaching for the best British prospects. Its Talent ID system, meanwhile, "is widely disliked for making judgments on players at an early age and demanding that juniors from all over the country are brought to the NTC for regular assessment" (TELEGRAPH, 2/17).
