Australian Open: Philipp Kohlschreiber receives a violent Grand Slam beating - "I have no explanation"
Aside from Alexander Zverev, there are currently hardly any bright spots among the German men.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jan 20, 2022, 03:12 pm
Philipp Kohlschreiber was just in his early twenties when he traveled to the other side of the world for the first time in January 2005 – to the Australian Open. He reached the round of 16 right away on his debut, he became a regular at the cup fight Down Under, and he even garnered a small, loyal fan base on the fifth continent behind him. He played three times in the second week of the tournament, he always had big performances, for example against Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin del Potro or Andy Roddick. The first Grand Slam of the season was "actually always good" to him, he was "very happy" to make the trip to the fifth continent, said Kohlschreiber about the tennis venue Melbourne.
When he left his job at the National Tennis Center on Thursday, however, a rather inglorious chapter had been added for the tour veteran. The 1: 6, 0: 6, 3: 6 second round shocker against the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut was like a beating for the 38-year-old from Augsburg, at least he had rarely suffered a comparable defeat in 17 years in Melbourne. "I'd like to know what happened there. But I have no explanation," said Kohlschreiber after the humiliating Grand Slam performance. Bautista Agut, a solid, unspectacular Spanish pro, mostly just had to keep the ball in play, with Kohlschreiber doing the job, scattering the balls like a shotgun. In the end, 44 slight mistakes were in his match record, "It couldn't have gone any worse," said the German grimly, "that was a tough day for me. The whole game went like a charm.”
The whole burden of expectations of the German tennis friends lay again with Alexander Zverev, the only remaining Grand Slam soloist. Zverev meets Moldovan Radu Albut on Friday, an opponent who should not prevent him from entering the next major round of 16. The 24-year-old from Hamburg is currently the only German men's player who plays a major role in the traveling circus in the narrower or wider world class. Nine male DTB players competed in the knockout games in Melbourne, but the bright spots were few and far between - for example in the form of Yannick Hanfmann from Karlsruhe, who convinced himself in his second round defeat against Rafael Nadal. Jan-Lennard Struff, on the other hand, who had repeatedly caused real Grand Slam coups in the past seasons, continued his form crisis at this Australian Open - he lost the opening match against the young Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp without a chance. An absolute top player next to Zverev is currently not in sight, big and highly valued talents like Rudi Molleker and Nicola Kuhn have disappeared for the time being - the latest problems with the complicated transfer from junior to adult tennis.
Medvedev silences Australian fans
Long after Kohlschreiber's miserable tournament end, fellow favorite Daniil Medvedev (Russia) defied the early Australian Open challenge against showman Nick Kyrgios and his local tennis afficionados. Medvedev, now the highest-ranked professional in the tableau after the headline-grabbing departure of frontman Novak Djokovic, kept his nerves ice-cold in the heated atmosphere in the Rod Laver Arena and advanced with the ultimately safe 7: 6 (1), 6: 4, 4 :6, 6:2 victory in the third round. The second in the world rankings also put away some provocations from the fans unmoved: "I let my racket do the talking." Spectators who had whistled and booed him between the serves, however, later called Medvedev poisonous "people with probably low IQ."
Old champion Andy Murray (4:6, 4:6, 4:6 against the Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel) was eliminated on the fourth day of competition, as was his compatriot Emma Raducanu, the surprise winner of the US Open. Raducanu failed 4: 6, 6: 3 and 4: 6 at the Montenegrin Danka Kovinic. Garbine Muguruza, the reigning WTA World Champion from Spain, also had to bury her title dreams in Melbourne after a 3: 6, 3: 6 debacle against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.
Here is the men's individual tableau
Here is the women's individual tableau
laver arena