Family coaching set-ups are not out of the ordinary in the tennis fraternity, but the duo to have taken on guiding teenage American Madison Keys are not even her relatives.
The husband-and-wife co-coaches are five-time grand slam champion Lindsay Davenport and her husband Jon Leach and between them it is expected they will divide their time between raising their four children and spending time on tour with Keys, the highest-ranked teenager on tour for the past two years.
It will be Leach cheering on his charge from the stands on Pat Rafter Arena today as Keys faces a difficult opener in her 2015 Brisbane debut against last year’s Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova.
The world No.30 leads their head-to-head 2-0 having beaten the Slovakian twice in China on hardcourts, although Cibulkova retired hurt in their most recent meeting.
Cibulkova lost in the quarterfinals in Brisbane last year before her surprise run at Melbourne Park where she upstaged Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska only to fall to Li Na in the decider.
A title in Mexico further laid the foundation for her top-10 debut although she failed to pass the third round at any of the remaining majors of the season.
“The first four months were absolutely fabulous and everything went off without a hitch,” Cibulkova said of her 2014 season. “The second half did not go according to my expectations, but I have gained further valuable experience.”
In the second match on Pat Rafter Arena, Australian wildcard James Duckworth will be out to avenge a defeat to sixth seed Gilles Simon, after the Frenchman ended his run in the Round of 16 under the roof three years ago.
Duckworth had claimed an impressed win over Simon’s countryman Nicolas Mahut in the first round that year. Now having slashed his ranking 118 places since that match to stand at No.127 in the world, the 22-year-old will rate himself a better chance this time around against the world No.21.
For Simon, it was an impressive finish to the 2014 season. He reached the semifinals in Tokyo before beating Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka en route to his second ATP Masters 1000 final in Shanghai where he fell to Roger Federer in two tiebreak sets.
In another Franco-Australian tussle, eighth seed Julien Benneteau will meet 18-year-old Adelaide wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis in the final match of the day session.
The 32-year-old Frenchman beat the talented Australian in a Davis Cup dead rubber in France last year but the fast-rising teenager has made big inroads since, breaking into the top 150 having started last year ranked No.570 in the world.
The first night session of Brisbane International 2015 sees last year’s runner-up, former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka continue her comeback from a foot injury when she takes on Czech Karolina Pliskova.
Azarenka, who won her first career title at the 2009 Brisbane International, starts the year unseeded after playing only 24 matches last season and will be desperate to get off to a good start against one of the tour’s most improved players of last year.
Pliskova, started the 2014 season ranked No.67 but stormed up to No.23 with two titles and three other runner-up appearances. The only time the pair met, Azarenka claimed the honours but it was eight years ago when both were teenagers.
Bernard Tomic makes his Brisbane International return after a three-year absence, when he takes on big-serving American Sam Querrey on Monday night.
The Australian worked his way back into the top 60 with a title in Bogota after two hip surgeries early last season and has noted his intentions of breaking into the top 20 this season. He has won both previous matches against the world No.35.