French Open: Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies - suddenly strong characters again
Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies are facing their second triumph at the French Open. This was not necessarily to be expected in the past few weeks.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Oct 09, 2020, 10:55 am
If Boris Becker is asked about his most important win, he doesn't have to think long. It was not about the much touted "tennis big bang", his out of nowhere success at Wimbledon 1985 against Kevin Curren. But the victory exactly one year later, against Ivan Lendl, the gnarled American exile: "If you win something big for the first time, you're not sure," says Becker, "you think it was coincidence or luck." But in the first hours after the second Wimbledon victory against Lendl, the top man and Grand Slam champion, it became clear to him in 1986, according to Becker, “that I'm really good, that I belong in the front”: “This confirmation was groundbreaking for my entire career. "
Becker was also one of the first to congratulate the exceptional German duo Kevin Krawietz / Andreas Mies on Thursday evening. "Hats off," he called out to the Coburg Krawietz (28) and the Cologne Mies (30) after they had reached the final of the Clay Court Grand Slam again in another miraculous French Open mission. As an expert, when analyzing the smooth semi-final victory of the German tennis brothers against the WesleyKoolhof / Nikola Mektic combination, he had already expressed his amazement at the coup: “This is the most difficult exercise ever. To confirm something like last year, to show off in defending the title, "said Becker," I have a lot of respect for that. "
Work balance of "Kramies" last mixed
All the more if you look at the work balance of Krawietz and Mies in the last few months, at the rather mixed results. "We didn't have much to laugh about, most recently in Hamburg, right before the French Open, it actually went really badly," says Mies, the spokesman in the black-red-gold tennis alliance. There, at Rothenbaum, they lost for the second time this season against Koolhof and Mektic, before the sovereign victory against their rivals under the Eiffel Tower followed. “It was just like that. We did our homework, analyzed in detail what went wrong, "says Krawietz," we didn't want to repeat the old mistakes. "
Paris, the second wondrous adventure trip, is actually the first moment in which the rather withdrawn Krawietz and the extroverted Mies came back into the spotlight this season. The duo's last major, widely acclaimed appearance dates back to 2019, at the ATP season finale of the eight best doubles in London's O2 Arena. The two Germans didn't play for the title at the time, but the guest appearance in this exclusive setting was another bonus, an extra after the French Open sensation in 2019.
Rediscovered self-confidence
Krawietz and Mies had flown high in the Roland Garros stadium in the crazy May and June days of last year. Suddenly they, the surprise winners of the French Open, were right at the top, in thin mountain air, in the summit region of world tennis. At first they enjoyed the fresh attention, the public interest, the appointments in the press, radio and television - two players who only knew a few tennis insiders before the Grand Slam fairy tale. But with the sudden fame came the usual side effects: external demands, own expectations. And opponents who could no longer be amazed when they had to face the German couple. “We had tough weeks after the title run. Suddenly even the simplest things no longer worked, ”says Krawietz. And partner Mies adds: “All these defeats again, they weren't so easy to put up with. That was already going to the kidneys. "
The fact that after all the ups and downs, after all the ups and downs, they are back in the middle of the raffle for one of the biggest industry titles, they owe primarily to the rediscovered lightheartedness and ease. And the self-confidence that they developed from this attitude: “We said to ourselves: We always have the quality to be at the front,” says Mies, “the opponents take us more seriously, but we also have the means to defend ourselves Fight back. "Mies calls this the" breast-out effect ", it was discussed for a long time with Becker, the tennis champion, at Davis Cup matches:" He told us that we have to exude confidence and strength on the Place. You play as you pretend. "
It was significant against whom Krawietz and Mies had won in Paris so far. They suffered defeats against three of the couples they eliminated on their way to the finals during the season, against Koolhof and Mektic even twice. They shook off their frustration in Paris, the place that exudes a special magic for them. But it was actually the magic that came from within. And who was responsible for her success to date. The magic of having reinvented yourself as strong characters in the red sand. Only the Brazilian Bruno Soares and the Croatian Mate Pavic, the opponents in the final on Saturday, can now stop "Kramies" - the two hellishly strong heavenly dogs. The German Wall of Paris.
rg2020