Frustration and hope and waiting for Becker: German tennis at the crossroads
After the avoidable end of the Davis Cup against Switzerland, German tennis is under pressure. The prospects are modest but not hopeless.
by SID
last edit: Feb 05, 2023, 08:18 pm
The helplessness was written all over Boris Becker's face, only a day late did the three-time Wimbledon winner make a half-hearted, meaningless public statement. "We fought hard and left everything on the pitch," Becker wrote on Instagram.
Everything was not enough in this case, the German Davis Cup team around its no less perplexed leader Alexander Zverev has to fight for relegation in the world group in the play-offs after the 2: 3 against Switzerland in Trier in autumn. "We hadn't actually imagined it that way," said DTB President Dietloff von Arnim. "It is what it is, I can't change it," said a frustrated Zverev.
Wawrinka decides
It was 1: 1 after the first day in Trier, when Zverev had still managed to compensate for the defeat of the overwhelmed Oscar Otte with a two-set win against old master Stan Wawrinka. 24 hours later, Zverev was transformed. He was not able to use the 2-1 provided by doubles Tim Pütz and Andreas Mies, his defeat against Marc-Andrea Huesler and Daniel Altmaier's futile struggle against Wawrinka brought Germany to the brink of second division.
Zverev, who is still looking for form and consistency after his serious foot injury in June 2022, is almost symbolic of the state of German men's tennis in 2023. If it's not going well for Germany's flagship professional, it's hardly going at all in the team either . "We have the problem that the gap to Zverev is huge, at least in individual terms," said former Wimbledon winner Michael Stich of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.
Pioneering weeks
And now? The prospects for the coming months and the landmark play-offs in September are not particularly promising. Oscar Otte has recently owed a lot, even Jan-Lennard Struff, who is currently injured, is not a reliable guarantee of points, and Daniel Altmaier has not delivered too much countable since his surprising entry into the round of 16 at the French Open 2020. Offspring? talents? none.
And so we come full circle with Boris Becker. The 55-year-old, who is always with the team in Trier as a "friend of the team" at the invitation of the German Tennis Association (DTB), is apparently not averse to working with the DTB again. The next few weeks will show what form that will take and whether he can and wants to return to his old position as "Head of Men' Tennis" after his last prison sentence. But it is also clear: Tennis is Becker's core competence, the players listen to him, he has something to say.
Despite the defeat, team boss Michael Kohlmann avoided criticism of his team. "Actually, nobody can blame themselves," he said. Kohlmann, who has been in office for exactly eight years, did and is doing a good job, he has to work with what he has. "We are a bit lacking in width," said DTB President von Arnim, who is hoping for a home game in the play-off. "With the best possible team and the home crowd behind me, I would be very confident that we will play in the world group next year," Von Arnim told SID.