ATP: In conversation with Oliver Marach - "I've made plus, minus zero for the last two years"
In an exclusive conversation with tennisnet.com, Oliver Marach speaks honestly about the problems in the professional tennis circuit and also speaks openly about his personal future.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Nov 25, 2021, 11:01 pm
Oliver Marach was already in second place in the ATP double world rankings in 2018 and has thus set an Austrian record for the time being. In the same year, the native of Graz also won the Grand Slam at the Australian Open with his partner at the time, Mate Pavic from Croatia. The now 41-year-old, who is in action at the Davis Cup final tournament in Innsbruck this week, has not only put his stamp on Austrian tennis over the past 24 years. Marach spoke to tennisnet.com about the problems of the professional circus, the financial pressure during the COVID pandemic and his personal future.
How was the year for you for 2021, after 2020 everything went haywire due to the COVID pandemic?
Well, I have to hook up with last year. With the pandemic, everything was really difficult to coordinate, you could probably have done better for your own tennis, that I could have stayed in Austria, for example, but I have family and children who go to school. How the pandemic came about was the Davis Cup in Graz against Uruguay. In my match I hurt my back a little. My wife and the kids who were there in Graz then flew home and I should have played Indian Wells. But then I drove to my doctor at Chiemsee for a day or two - for injections because of my cross - and then suddenly everything was canceled. Then I thought to myself, if Miami is also canceled, I'll fly home quickly, because that's near Panama. And I was really lucky because I caught one of the last two planes, after which everything was closed. At home in Panama it was really bad, the city was completely closed for two months. As a man, I was only allowed to go to the supermarket two hours a week, women three times and children not at all. Of course, I wasn't able to train there either, which also means a complete change physically. The good thing was that I saw my kids once for four or five months - that was really nice, I have to say.
# IMG2 #
After two months we fled to the beach with a bit of risk, there you could at least move around freely, and there I was able to do a little fitness. Overall, I haven't been able to play tennis for three months. There just weren't any players here, and I couldn't let anyone fly in. In 2020 - at the beginning - I actually played pretty well with Raven Klaasen, after the pandemic it was a complete disaster. I didn't win any matches, instead I put in a negative series that I've never had since playing doubles. What kept me alive a bit was that the ranking was frozen, so I kept my points, even though I had actually won practically nothing. Actually, I should be in a much worse position.
You were once number two in the ATP doubles ranking, you are currently in 42nd position. How satisfied are you with that?
That's actually a bad ranking for me when I look at the past few years. I can no longer play 1000 tournaments, no more players ask me. The big teams have always been able to play thanks to the system, and they now have a lot more distance to the other players - it's really difficult to get back up. If you are around 40, you need at least a final at a Grand Slam, otherwise it won't do anything. And in terms of budget: I've actually made plus, minus zero for the last two years. The prize money was a total disaster. If you look at Mate Pavic, for example, he actually won practically everything this year, but lost around 1.5 million euros compared to a normal season. And those are the people who win, the people who lose the first or second round are always in the red anyway. An example: Pavic won the 1000 tournament in Rome. In a normal season, you get between € 120,000 and € 150,000 for a win. This year he got € 17,000 for the win.
Then at some point the question arises as to whether it still pays off?
Yes, of course, at some point my wife came too. Up until now she has never stressed me out, always letting me play, but I have a family with two daughters - nine and six years old - and they saw me until two weeks ago, this year three weeks, and that's a disaster, it has never been so bad. I played a lot, and if you don't make the money and don't see the children and are always gone, it doesn't really pay off anymore.
With your great experience: In your opinion, what do you need to embark on a successful, professional path?
When a young player comes to me and asks me whether he or she should become a professional, then two crucial questions arise for me. First: Is he / she a super talent, which, to be honest, happens once out of 100 times. You just have to be lucky. And the second question is, can you afford it financially? Or your parents? Because you just don't make any money if you're under 100 in single. At the Grand Siams you now get good money. When I was around 100 in the single, I got € 16,000 for the first round, today you get € 60,000. So you can finance the year with a coach, because you need one, but a coach is extremely expensive. If you are not in the top 100, you are simply not making money in the sport because you are spending too much. It's also so hard to get up with the whole system. There are fewer tournaments.
# IMG3 #
How is it going for you now specifically after the Davis Cup? This season in particular you have repeatedly indicated that it could also be your last.
I am currently in the planning phase of a large sporting project in the USA that I cannot reveal anything about yet. And I can't say yet whether I'll continue playing next year. I'm losing the most points to Dubai and Rotterdam, because that's where I have the most to defend. And I definitely don't play any more Challenger tournaments. I can still play Australia now, I will decide shortly before the entry deadline on December 12th whether I will do that, I would say it is 50:50. After that I could still play the South America tour because I can't get in Rotterdam and Dubai anyway, with a single player at most, but it won't play either because most single players prefer to play with other single players. They also want to leave when they are out individually. I've always been an extreme fighter and fighter, but things have subsided a bit since the pandemic. I have more pounds on my body now, I'm not quite as fit anymore. I think I've played really well again in the last few weeks, but the results still haven't come up, they weren't as I would have liked. And then you just have to think about whether it still makes sense. I have the only chance now in Australia, if I have a really good result there, then I might still have a chance. But otherwise ... Even if I were to play the South American tour - two 250s and a 500, I can't get up there either, that just doesn't help. If I win a 250, I might get a place or two up - and you have to win that first. If I take a coach with me, if I win a tournament like this, I'll make maybe € 400-500. In any case, during the pandemic a coach usually earned more than the player, he gets his room paid and his weekly wage fixed.
Dear Oli, no matter how things go for you personally after the Davis Cup, all the best for your family and your future and hopefully see you soon!