Davis Cup: Boris Becker confident for German team
Without Alexander Zverev , but with a lot of confidence, Germany wants to qualify again for the Davis Cup final week in Madrid. Belarus should not be a stumbling block on this path.
by SID / red
last edit:
Mar 03, 2020, 03:26 pm
Boris Becker sat on the referee's chair, gray sweatshirt, red baseball cap, highly concentrated. "A little more kick, Philipp," he called to Philipp Kohlschreiber at his serves, then the boss climbed down from the chair and devoted himself to number one in the team. "Struffi, come briefly," he whispered to Jan-Lennard Struff, followed by a lively conversation in a whisper.
In the Castello in Düsseldorf, the German Davis Cup team wants to remove the only obstacle before participating again in the final week in November in Madrid. On Friday and Saturday the international second-class Belarusians, whose top player Egor Gerasimow is the number 68 in the world, will face off.
Michael Kohlmann warns - "Never take it lightly"
With all restraint, you have to admit that you are in the favorites role, said team boss Michael Kohlmann on Tuesday in Düsseldorf, but warned against arrogance. "A look at history shows that favorites in the Davis Cup have had some unpleasant surprises," said the 46-year-old: "We take nothing and nobody lightly."
Of course, three days before the first serve on Friday (16.00 / sportdeutschland.tv) the question arose about Germany's top player Alexander Zverev, who is not there in Düsseldorf. He spoke to Zverev about this topic at the Australian Open in Melbourne in January, Kohlmann said: "And it quickly became clear that if he played Acapulco and Indian Wells, he would not play here." But that was not a decision for the whole year: "We'll talk about Madrid if we are qualified."
Jan-Lennard Struff as number one
Jan-Lennard Struff is responsible for number one for the time being, and he already did this job very well at the final tournament in November 2019. "He has a big presence on the pitch, he goes ahead, he never gives up, his attitude is absolutely exemplary," said Kohlmann. Struff was most convincing in Dubai, where he had reached the quarter-finals in singles and even the semi-finals in doubles.
Philipp Kohlschreiber, 36, number two on the team, is very proud of the seven years younger Struff. "He is an incredible team player, he brings a lot of energy and is a totally positive guy," said "Kohli", once the German number one: "Struffi always gives 100 percent, he is very important to us." For the final double, Kohlmann nominated last year's French Open winners Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, the fifth man in the team is Dominik Koepfer, who showed great at the US Open last year.
Boris Becker, head of the men's tennis division at the DTB, had meanwhile taken a seat on the referee's chair again. "He always communicates this self-image to the boys, which he dealt with under pressure," said Kohlmann: "He is a very important part of the team." Unfortunately, what advice Boris gave the struffi in a whisper remained a secret.