ATP Dubai: No chance against Djokovic - Kohlschreiber's arduous road back to the top of the world
Philipp Kohlschreiber s way back to the top of the world will be a rocky one - this was shown not least by the smooth Dubai second round defeat against Novak Djokovic .
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Feb 26, 2020, 07:11 pm
by Jörg Allmeroth from Dubai
Philipp Kohlschreiber had rightly pointed out that last year he played quite often against the best in the industry for a middle-class tennis player, against Novak Djokovic. He even won the first of the four matches sensationally in 2019, smoothly in two sets at the so-called "fifth slam" in Indian Wells. In 2020, he soon started again against Djokovic at the Dubai Duty Free Championships at the end of February, but the events took a rather contrary course. Djokovic, previously unbeaten in this series, also won his 15th match, didn't give Kohlschreiber a chance at 6: 3, 6: 1 in exactly one hour.
Only in the first four games of the first set did the Serb and the German move on an equal footing, then parted ways in front of almost 6,000 spectators in the crowded stadium - Djokovic pulled safely, he also benefited too often from the 36-year-old's mistakes Kohlschreiber. “I am very satisfied that I was able to play through the game so well. Philipp is a dangerous opponent. But luckily I was able to leave early, ”said Djokovic later. Kohlschreiber showed that the way back to more familiar world ranking regions around 30th place is still difficult and arduous. After many injuries in the previous season, he currently has to fight his way back up from ranked number 80, and he is clearly still lacking in game play against the elite.
Struff calls for Tsitsipas
The last German Mohican in Dubai is now Jan-Lennard Struff - and you can still trust him a lot at the ATP 500 spectacle in the tent roof arena. In their 6: 1, 6: 0 against Georgians Nikoloz Basilashvili, the East Westphalia delivered an impressive short shift on Court 1, the game lasted only 39 minutes and eight seconds. Struff has a prominent appointment in the quarterfinals on Thursday on Center Court, then he meets last year's finalist and ATP world champion Stefanos Tsitsipas. The match is scheduled as a second game after 12 noon German time. Djokovic faces the Russian Karen Khachanov in the first match of the evening session. Struff is also challenged in double, with his partner Henri Kontinen (Finland) he has to compete in the second round with Matthew Ebden and Leander Paes (Australia / India).
In doubles, the French Open winners Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies came late in the second round on Wednesday with a 6: 4, 6: 7 (7), 10: 8 victory. With two fantastic points from 8: 8 to 10: 8 in the match tie-break, Krawietz ensured the success of the German combination. Krawietz and Mies now meet Jürgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin - the duo from Austria and France had previously surprisingly defeated the British Jamie Murray and Neil Skupski.