Dieter Kindlmann - The better at Kerber's side
Dieter Kindlmann has already worked with Maria Sharapova or Madison Keys. Since autumn he has been taking care of Angelique Kerber's interests as a coach.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jan 23, 2020, 01:40 pm
When Dieter Kindlmann walks over a Grand Slam facility like in Melbourne, he inevitably meets many of his former bosses. Kindlmann, the 37-year-old from Allgäu, has been a tennis coach in the middle of the cheerful interplay, the hectic hiring and firing of coaches in just a few years. Kindlmann was sparring partner and assistant coach of Maria Sharapova for three years, before experiencing firsthand after her doping ban in 2016 how thin the patience in the ejection seat industry of women's tennis is spun with capricious players and their many-headed entourage. Kindlmann came. And Kindlmann left. With Madison Keys, the American who reached the US Open final with him. With the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, with the Australian Alja Tomljanovic, with the Belgian Elise Mertens.
Now the energetic Kindlmann has a job that he has secretly been waiting for a little longer. A job with a German player, the most successful player since Steffi Graf's golden age. Kindlmann has been taking care of the concerns of Angelique Kerber, the three-time Grand Slam Queen, since late autumn - and after the Bavarian had long believed that nobody in Germany was interested in his services, Kerber was looking for personnel, the job-finding phase for a new one Coach, finally almost logically towards Kindlmann. Kindlmann had noticed some time ago that he had an "almost better reputation abroad than at home" when he was talking about German women's tennis, about the crises of some players behind the big generation with Kerber and Co. Kindlmann would have liked to help them, but he also did not want to pander to himself - a liaison with one of the troubled talents did not materialize. "Too bad, very too bad," Kindlmann always thought.
Madison Keys in the 2017 US Open final
Now he is, so to speak, in the front row, jumping into the national spotlight. At Kerber's side, who moved into the third round of Melbourne on Thursday with a sovereign 6: 3, 6: 2 victory over the Australian Priscilla Hon, he, the trainer, is also closely and suspiciously observed. That doesn't matter to him anymore, he has got used to a certain prominence elsewhere. When he was employed by the American Madison Keys, the entire US tennis scene looked a little puzzled and equally suspicious - a German for the greatest talent at the time behind Serena Williams? But together with Lindsay Davenport, Kindlmann even led the powerful youngster into the 2017 New York Grand Slam final, a "goosebumps moment" for the ex-professional. However, the intrigue was less beautiful, which catapulted him out of the job at Keys very soon, and Davenport also saw vigorously at the time.
Kindlmann is a man who demands consistency and passion from his employers. Also because he knows "that only this dedication leads to something" in modern women's tennis: "You only make it into the top ten if you show this consistency and straightforwardness over a long period of time. Many players cannot handle this. Or don't want it, ”says Kindlmann. He had learned a lot from his first boss, from Maria Sharapova's unconditional professionalism: “She was always incredibly structured, clear in her ideas, absolutely ambitious. She didn't waste a minute in any training. ”When he went his own way after completing his apprenticeship in the Sharapova team, other players quickly benefited from Kindlmann's expertise. In short: whoever worked with him got better, physically stronger. Ascended in the world rankings. Layoffs did not harm his reputation, rather that of his employers.
Kerber is happy with Kindlmann
With Kerber, who now meets the Italian Camila Giorgi in Melbourne, Kindlmann also faces an immense challenge. Because for the German number one, which was already number one in the world, it is a matter of once again connecting to the absolute top of the world - and playing the big titles, as in Melbourne, as later this year in Wimbledon , Kerber has to shake off the mixed season 2019, come back to a mental state that once carried her to the highest Grand Slam heights. Kindlmann has to moderate this process, and fitness coach Marco Panichi is also at his side. The challenge is not small. Kerber and Kindlmann, the K&K team, also requires patience, staying power. Far beyond Melbourne, the first important location where the Germans and their German trainers have to prove themselves. "I'm happy that Dieter is by my side," says Kerber.
Here is the tableau for women at the Australian Open
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