A significant tennis promise is growing in the Czech Republic. Only fifteen-year-old Maxim Mrva immediately after transitioning to the junior category shows the ability to defeat significantly older players. In his year, he is among the best tennis players in the world. “He is a huge talent, but it is important not to rush him,” Davis Cup captain and head coach of the Prostejov club Jaroslav Navrátil told Aktuálně.cz.
He is a junior in his first year and is making waves right away. At the end of October, Maxim Mrva dominated a major tournament in Sanxenx, Spain, and moved up 37 places in the ITF rankings to the top 50.
No one in it is younger than him.
A year ago, he won the prestigious French tournament Les Petits As, a championship under the age of fourteen. He added his name to the famous winners of the past: Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Juan Carlos Ferrer, Richard Gasquet and Frances Tiafoe.
The reputation of great talent is confirmed this year as well, and in Prostějov they suspect that they have an uncut diamond in the club. “He’s a very gifted boy. Extremely skilled. He basically has no weakness in hitting as such. That is, except for serving,” said Navrátil.
Together with his son Michal, the coach of the current best Czech tennis player Jiří Lehečka, he led Maxim Mrva for about a year. A few months ago, they were replaced by Jan Mašík, who can travel with the youngster to tournaments.
“What he can do at 15 is exceptional. Especially in terms of technique, foresight on the court, seeing situations. He has a small reserve in the service, but that’s because he’s not that tall yet,” said Navrátil about the 177-centimeter tennis player.
“We hope that he will still pull out. He could be, for example, 185,” added the long-time captain of the Czech Davis Cup national team.
He considers Mrv’s ability to play the best balls in the decisive moments of matches to be unique.
“He loves those situations and that’s the most important thing. There are a lot of players who play well up to 5:5, but they can’t handle the endings. He’s managing it so far, he plays very bravely, that’s his big asset for the future,” Navrátil pointed out.
Mrva plays solid and very fast tennis from the baseline, has an extremely high-quality backhand. “He often messed up on his forehand before, but recently he has worked on it a lot and is making a lot of points from it,” the coach said.
“He plays very fast. I took him to training with Jiří Veselý and the huge age difference in the speed of the game was not noticeable at all. He was an equal partner to Jirko,” revealed the man who once started preparing the then sixteen-year-old Tomáš Berdych for the transition to adulthood.
However, the experienced coach urges caution in the case of Maxim Mrva.
“It’s important not to rush him. The body is developing, problems with joints and cartilage can come. It has to be done slowly, not to rush it with some big volumes. It’s a promise, on the other hand, at this age we had clouds of talent. Now it’s fantastic, but the decisive years are yet to come,” warned Navrátil.
According to him, the gifted 15-year-old player was still not very fond of physical training, preferring to spend his time playing directly on the court.
“At this age, it’s understandable. Next year, however, he will be mixing big junior tournaments with small men’s tournaments. It will be much more demanding for him, so physical preparation must not be underestimated. He has to work hard already through the winter,” noted Navrátil.
According to him, the young tennis player coped admirably with the recent family tragedy.
“Unfortunately, his father died a few months ago. It’s a big loss for him, but he managed it the way he managed it, the end of the season was excellent. I think he dedicated his success to his dad up there,” said Navrátil.
