Free thinker and lateral thinker: Andrea Petkovic is the new moderation face of ZDF sports
Andrea Petkovic starts her career on Sunday as a sports presenter.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Nov 29, 2019, 06:10 pm
Exactly half a year ago, Andrea Petkovic delivered another great tennis at the French Open. It was one of those crazy days with and with Petkovic, this slightly different migrant worker in the industry circus. Petkovic walked through all kinds of highs and lows of a turbulent Grand Slam match, standing in the Paris second-round thriller against Taiwanese Hsieh Su-Wie just two points before the tournament, before storming the crowd amidst the fans' applause somehow turned. An hour later, in her press conference, Petkovic came to this emotional conclusion: "It will be hard to replace such moments. It was one of those days when you think, man, what a cool job I habe. "
But tennis, with all boundless love and passion, has never been Petkovic's whole kingdom of heaven. And so one should not be surprised if the lively, bustling and highly eloquent Darmstädterin on this first Sunday of Advent now suddenly, still in the midst of their professional career, as a new moderation face of the ZDF sports report on the screen appears. Petkovic likes challenges, Petkovic has been toying with the genre of journalism for quite some time - and she is a telegenic phenomenon that is capable of producing word-for-word suspense and attention. "I just plunge into the adventure. I'm curious how it all will be, "says the 32-year-old.
Of course, Petkovic also has respect for the task, not least because she knows herself only too well. Your - depending on your perspective - weaknesses and benefits. "I'm not allowed to chat. And I have to see that I do not spontaneously slip out of something crazy, "she says. By the way, she was looking for last weeks stress-stricken even after the matching dress for the TV premiere, "at first glance" was nothing suitable in the wardrobe inside.
Thomas Tuchel as a preferred candidate
Petkovic is now very prominently in another role in the large, often complicated network of relationships of the professional sports company - as someone who has to classify even athletes and events, has to give critical reviews. And at the same time it is still part of the professional scene. However, Petkovic can master this tightrope walk intellectually, and she has never been known to mince words or shy away from plain language.
In any case, the format of the ZDF sports report, with its continuous search for traces beyond the daily routine, fits Petkovic and her obstinate, free-spirited character. Just like the show itself, lateral thinker Petkovic has often felt strange, quirky and whimsical in the big, wide world of sports in the past - during her journalistic excursions. Including the fascinating, exciting range of types that populate this world. For example, she would love to interview someone like the football teacher Thomas Tuchel, who would be a "dream candidate," she told the "dpa".
"Two hours Wozniacki, one hour of Weimar Republic"
Petkovic has been a darling of the media since her appearance on the tennis court, which has been almost a decade and a half since then - in good times and in bad. She always had more to say from her own experience than others, whether as a greenhorn in her teens, or later as a seasoned, mature, experienced power on tour. It also had something to do with the fact that for a long time she was not aware that tennis could ever become her bread and butter profession. Petkovic often had "what's up," as she herself said: an internship in the Hessian State Chancellery, when Roland Koch was still head of government there. Studied political science, which led to Petkovic describing her daily routine at a tournament in Miami: "Two hours Wozniacki, one hour of Weimar Republic. Two hours Jankovic, one hour of empire. "
Later, the former world number nine Ninth dealt with philosophy, but also again and again with journalism. It was also a therapy to mitigate the monotony and stress of everyday tennis, the same journeys to the same locations - jetting across continents and through time zones. From the usual rituals of the colleagues, she said goodbye quickly, rather read their books, when the pack to the Players Party and the flickering lightning stride. However, she never made a religion out of this being different, did not create an obvious distance. On the other hand, Petkovic was and still is a gifted team player, one who plunged into many disturbing Center Court battles for Germany. She was regularly the spokesman for the DTB selection, a front figure, even though her friends Angelique Kerber and Julia Görges had already overtaken her in the world rankings.
Love of tennis
Petkovic's tennis life was often characterized by restlessness, by sometimes over-ambitiousness, by ever-new comeback attempts. The urge to prove more to the outside world than to yourself "how good I am." But now she's ready to "stop asking questions and put pressure on her," says Petkovic. "Something crazy happened to me at some point: I only played tennis, knowing that I love this sport so much." have also found clarity about her profile: "I'm not out there for the beauty award. I am the fighter. The player who bites and scrapes, "she said," it must be a story of blood, sweat, and tears on the court. "
Petkovic had become a bit too colorful with the side-scenes, which she liked to talk to in her tennis trips. She continued to talk about God and the world, about music, politics, culture and business, about the Greens or science fiction, but only in homoeopathic doses. "I felt like I was in the drawer of the Exotine. As the slightly weird chick, "says Petkovic.
She will handle this with the healthy mix in front of the camera as well, on the first two advent Sundays and then again and again 2020 - she will throw the gaze beyond the horizon, describing the sport in the larger social context. But do not neglect the core business: data, numbers, facts, yes, the 1: 0 or 15: 0. And with all this she will be and remain one: the still-tennis player, the woman who still has ambitious goals in her profession, for example, "to win a nice tournament again and again." Even with 32 years.