Interview with Alexander Peya - "Olympia 2021 is one of my goals"
Double ace Alexander Peya had to sit out for two years due to an elbow injury. In the big tennisnet interview, the veteran talks about his favorite partner, the special strengths of a double and the PTPA.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Dec 14, 2020, 09:28 am
tennisnet : Mr. Peya. How are you doing right now? Are you working on your comeback?
Alexander Peya : I'm doing pretty well, I'm actually working on my comeback. I've been practicing tennis relatively normally over the past few weeks. That means that I've already played one hundred percent. Very intense, I also trained more singles than doubles. Just not every day, I allowed myself two or three days off here and there. At the moment I'm in a resting phase because it's still a relatively long time before the tournaments.
tennisnet : You will come back to the ATP Tour with a protected ranking. Do you already have an idea how your comeback will go? And above all: with whom?
Peya : My Protected Ranking is 19. I can use it twelve times within a year of starting. The problem is: On the one hand, it's a great ranking that I get into every tournament. On the other hand, I don't have a normal ranking at all. I can't just say I'm playing a challenger in preparation. I would have to rely on a wildcard. Of course, I will only use my Protected of 19 for the biggest tournaments. As far as partners are concerned: I'm not that far because I first have to see how my elbow is held. Besides, nobody is shouting: I have to play with the peya! After a two year break. It will be a challenge to find the best possible partner.
tennisnet : Your last partner in the very successful year 2018 was Nikola Mektic, who won the ATP Finals in London a few days ago. Is the impression that Mektic has improved enormously since then?
Peya : For sure . He also improved in the one year with me. Nikola was a solid player before that. He certainly benefited from my experience because he was relatively new in doubles in 2018. Even after I won my Masters title, he wrote me very, very nice message that goes in this direction. It's nice to see. I felt a certain appreciation from his side. The reverse is of course also true. I'm following its development very closely. And for me he was the best man at the ATP Finals and especially in the final there.
"Bruno Soares is deeply relaxed"
tennisnet : Despite the success, Nikola Mektic was looking for a new partner, Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo have split up, and Brunos Soares, your former playmate, also had to reorient. What's going on in doubles right now?
Peya : We're seeing a chain reaction. In the past few years it has been relatively quiet. Five or six years ago there were a few changes, and that decreased. But when one or two dissolve, everyone is somehow looking. In this extraordinary year there are now an extraordinary number of splits. It is unusual for couples to split up at the very front. Especially with Pavic / Soares, who have almost dominated since the restart, that's strange.
tennisnet : Do you know who took the initiative?
Peya : Mate wanted to break up. For Bruno it was already relatively tight, in terms of time. The messages then go through this double network. And someone just bites when it's the right person.
tennisnet : Where do you see the outstanding strength of Bruno Soares?
Peya : His huge strength was always the return. He is very reliable there. In a good week it will return unbelievably. Otherwise for me it's his double IQ. Bruno hardly makes any nonsense, manages to dose his game well. You can see again and again that a lot of people risk too much from behind, mistakes creep in - that rarely happens to Bruno. He also appears very calm in tight situations, almost deeply relaxed. And he is a very good partner in the following ways: He forgives you everything. Because he knows things can go bad for him too. That was very important for me as a partner. With Bruno you don't know ten minutes after a match whether he won or lost. I also took a lot with me. Because in the end it's just a tennis game.
tennisnet : Michael Kohlmann, with whom you also played, explained to us a few days ago that the secret of Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies' success is also that the two play an incredibly good match. Which partner did you have the best match with?
Peya : Definitely Bruno. And to a certain extent Nikola, even if we only played together for a short time. For me it was a little Bruno version. Very reliable on returns. Not the really great artist on the net, I was more able to live it out. On the other hand, the two were able to compensate for these weaknesses in those phases when I might not have returned so well. We have brought mutual strengths to the fore. That distinguishes a good double. Just like the Bryans: One served unbelievably, the other unbelievably returned. The rest was always good, of course.
"You'd have to work on the ATP front"
tennisnet : Krawietz and Mies hardly train together in the off-season, but each one individually. How important is it for you to practice with your respective partner?
Peya : Normally you train together so often during tournaments that I never thought I would have to get together with my partner again in the off-season. Except maybe after you've first met. You spend so much time together anyway that at some point the point has come for me to say: At some point it will be too much. A little bit of separate training where you work on your strokes, that's it. You meet again at the tournaments where you bring everything together.
tennisnet : Are the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo a goal for you?
Peya : In principle, yes. My first goal is health - that my elbow works again. It looks pretty good now. Also so that I can continue playing tennis afterwards. And if I could play tournaments again now, I won't just play into the blue. I have great demands on myself. But that's difficult because after a two-year break you don't know where you stand. My primary goal was that I wanted to say goodbye to tennis. So that I can tick that off emotionally. Whether that's over after twelve tournaments with protected ranking or I can play longer.
tennisnet : Can you assess the Professional Players Association, which was founded by the tennis circus during your absence?
Peya : I was too far away to judge. But it has always been an issue that the players could and should appear stronger and united. I was approached at that first initiative, that was around the year 2000. But I believe that it is difficult to unite the players separately from the ATP. You'd rather work on the ATP front to get everything back on track.
tennisnet : Did your break from injury have at least something good in that you did not have to undergo the various quarantine or isolation measures this year?
Peya : I still missed tennis, even if you noticed that the whole thing is a bit tedious. Of course, it wasn't the tennis world I knew. Still, I would have loved to play and have been part of it all. Now that I'm dealing with a line-up in Australia and the next year in general, I'm getting more aware of how awkward the matter is. I imagine it to be even more complicated for single players. I hope we will dive into some normalcy again soon.