Generali Open 2022: Günter Bresnik - "A dream comes true for Sascha Shevchenko"
Star coach Günter Bresnik came to the Generali Open 2022 as Alexander Shevchenko's supervisor. The first task in the main draw is a tough one: Shevchenko meets Dominic Thiem (from 7:30 p.m. live on ServusTV and in our ticker).
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jul 26, 2022, 07:43 am
Günter Bresnik has an eye for everything, including Dusan Lajovic's dog. And of course don't forget that the Serb won his opening match against Vitaliy Sachko in straight sets on Monday in Kitzbühel. So a short congratulations to Lajovic, a compliment to and about the dog who came to the Generali Open 2022, and further in the text. Jurij Rodionov and Lukas Neumayer drop by during the conversation, Jürgen Melzer waves from afar.
Who's still missing: Alexander Shevchenko, the 21-year-old Russian, who has been training with Bresnik in Südstadt for many years. Shevchenko is facing a career highlight this Tuesday, he will meet Dominic Thiem, the champion of 2019 (from 7:30 p.m. live on ServusTV and in our ticker) in front of a sold-out house in Kitzbühel. When talking to tennisnet, Günter Bresnik not only exudes great composure in this regard.
tennisnet : Mr. Bresnik. Her protégé Gael Monfils should have played here, but hasn't played a match since the tournament in Madrid. How is Gael doing right now? What exactly is the problem?
Günter Bresnik : To date we don't even know exactly which injury it is. It goes in the direction of plantar fasciitis, i.e. inflammation of the tendon plate in the foot. Gael got a cortisone shot a few days ago, which athletes say from experience is either okay. Or that you have to start the whole fuss all over again. Since then he hasn't had any pain, but he hasn't put any weight on it either.
tennisnet : Did you consider that he would still try in Kitzbühel?
Bresnik : I told him that if he comes here and plays here unprepared, that's theft for me. Because then he would only have collected the entrance fee. I appreciate that about Gael. I don't like the people who just pick up the money. Knowing that they can only play one or two matches.
tennisnet : What are the prospects for Monfils?
Bresnik : The objective is that he plays in Montreal. He was already in really good shape for Wimbledon. He had the ball incredibly well on the racket. Not out of motion. But that's the least of Gael's problems.
Günter Bresnik - "Shevchenko can play really fast"
tennisnet : What does the tennis fan need to know about Alexander Shevchenko?
Bresnik: I've been training with Sascha for ages. His dream has always been to play in the main competition in Kitzbühel because he was on vacation here with his parents when he was eleven. In the winter. He then went to Vienna and asked if he could train with me because he met a Russian coach in the sports shop who said to him: If you want to learn to play tennis, you have to go to Bresnik in Vienna. At that time I trained with Dominic, Sascha watched it and I talked him into dreaming of starting in Kitzbühel. Now he's done it.
tennisnet : What are his strengths?
Bresnik : Sascha can play really fast. It has an impact well beyond 200 km/h. Forehand and backhand are very good. Physically he is not yet at a level that he can play at his highest level for an hour and a half. With the touch and the volley there is still a bit of a problem. Sascha is missing two years from Covid but he has now won a Challenger. Won good matches against good people. For the match against Dominic: He will have problems with the atmosphere. Playing on center court against Dominic, whom he's watched practice for ten years, is special. A childhood dream comes true.
tennisnet : Lukas Neumayer, who also trains with you, was eliminated here in the first qualifying round. But showed up a few weeks ago in Salzburg with victories against Gilles Simon and Arthur Rinderknech. Where is Neumayer right now?
Bresnik : The performances are very variable. Against Kopriva in qualifying Lukas didn't play well the whole match, although he won the first set. For me, the most irritating thing at the moment is the difference in pace between training and matches. Also in doubles, which we just watched (Neumayer lost with Sebastian Ofner against Tim Pütz and Michael Venus, editor's note). There wasn't a good return. Basically, the game is still too slow. He has to be more aggressive, dominate the game. And must not depend on the opponent playing badly. I know from training that he can play his basic strokes really quickly. And you see that too seldom at the moment.
tennisnet : A word about Joel Schwärzler, who won the U-16 European Championship title in Prerov last week. Supervised by Jürgen Melzer …
Bresnik : For me, Schwärzler is the only player in Austria who really has the potential to get to the top in men's tennis. A left-hander who can serve very well and has a great backhand. These are regions of Melzer and Koubek. He can generally play fast. The significance of this victory is so high because he won the final 6-4, 6-4 against a boy who is already in the top ten of the ITF world rankings. Martin Landaluce, a Spaniard, a really good player. That was surprising and impressive. But Jürgen will make sure that Joel doesn't take off.
Here is the individual tableau in Kitzbühel
kitzmap