ATP Finals London: Pierre-Hugues Herbert - "Dominic Thiem better every year"
Pierre-Hugues Herbert has again reached the ATP final in London together with Nicolas Mahut. The Strasbourg-based Frenchman denies the interview with tennisnet in perfect German.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Nov 11, 2019, 11:14 pm
tennisnet: Monsieur Herbert. They have won all four Grand Slam tournaments with Nicolas Mahut in doubles. At the last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year in Paris-Bercy you have now also struck. What did this success mean to you?
Pierre-Hugues Herbert : This victory was incredibly important, also because we were able to play efficiently again after I was injured in Vienna. Being able to win at home, the biggest indoor tournament in France, was very emotional and positive. Especially since we lost 2016 in the final. There was a lot of pressure over the weekend, but they also played well.
tennisnet : You separated from Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon because you wanted to focus more on your individual career. Was it always clear that you would play together again in the fall?
Herbert : Separating is too strong. Nico and I took a little break. After making the career Grand Slam in Australia, I wanted to play a bit more singles at the age of 27. And after those three or four months, see how successful I can be. It was a test. And now I am glad to play more doubles again.
tennisnet : Is it completely out of the question, that somebody qualify for the ATP Finals in singles and doubles in the same year?
Herbert : That would be an incredible achievement. A dream. Nobody has done that yet, also because the single players play very few doubles. Not even at the Grand Slams, where there are the most points. That's why I do not know if that's possible.
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"I am very sad about the Davis Cup reform"
tennisnet : Talking about single players - you played against Dominic Thiem twice. And won both matches. Why?
Herbert : I played against him once in Rotterdam and once in Doha. So on quite fast surfaces. And shown a really good performance in the two matches. I've never played sand against Dominic. Would be nice if I played against him a third time. But Dominic gets better every year, he won at Hardcourt in Vienna this year. In the next match with him I will certainly not be the favorite. I would definitely be happy to play against Dominic again. Because that would mean that I'm in a big tournament.
tennisnet: Last year, you also gave the sparring partner for Roger Federer here in London. What about this year?
Herbert : I would have liked to do a one-to-one training, but I could not. Unfortunately, we arrived very late from Paris, only on Thursday evening. Last year was incredible to train with the singles here.
tennisnet: After the ATP Finals, the first Davis Cup final tournament in history is waiting for you. What do you expect from the week in Madrid?
Herbert : Nobody can know that. I am also very sad about this decision to play the Davis Cup during a week in Madrid. That is not in the spirit of this competition. Davis Cup was a competition in which our opponents in our country played or we with them. And that ambience and energy - that's what only the Spaniards will experience in Madrid. It will be completely different for the other countries. This energy, the stress you can experience when playing a Davis Cup final at home - I was fortunate enough to play a final twice in France, against Belgium and against Croatia. And those were moments I will never forget. That's why I'm very sad that this decision was made.
tennisnet : Did you think about not playing?
Herbert: No, no. If you are called to play for France, you can not say "no". And I'm also looking forward to spending the next week with the entire team and doing my best.