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Interview with youngster Lukas Neumayer: "It's great to have an idol in Dominic Thiem in your own country"

Lukas Neumayer is one of the greatest young hopes in Austrian tennis. In an interview with tennisnet.com, the Radstadt native speaks about his medium-term goals, his elapsed time with the juniors and explains what you can learn from Dominic Thiem .

by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 28, 2021, 02:45 pm

Lukas Neumayer has big plans after his last junior season
© GEPA Pictures
Lukas Neumayer has big plans after his last junior season

Mr. Neumayer, you have just returned from training. How is this currently taking place?

In the morning I usually start with a warm-up for the core or a speed training, then in the morning a two-hour tennis session is on the program. In the afternoon I stand on the square for another hour. Then I do another unit in the weight chamber. This is what my daily training looks like at the moment.

How often are you currently on the field with your “second” coach Günter Bresnik?

Actually, I can almost always train with Günter when I'm here in Südstadt.

Has anything changed after working with Gael Monfils ?

No, it hasn't had any impact so far.

In Austria, hobby players continue to look into the tube due to the ongoing lockdown. Do the COVID-19-related restrictions have any influence on you?

At the moment it doesn't actually affect my training. I wasn't allowed to train during the first lockdown, but now there are some players who are allowed to train despite the lockdown. So I'm very happy with the situation.

Didn't have any impact on my performance at all.

Lukas Neumayer about his symptom-free COVID infection last year.

You have had a corona infection yourself. Has this had any impact on you apart from the ten-day “training ban”?

My corona infection was symptom-free, so I had no impairments at all. Even after that, it did not affect my performance.

The previous year ended with a sporty damper for you. As you explained to the Salzburger Nachrichten, you traveled to the Orange Bowl in Florida with very high expectations. It then became a clear second round. Was the self-imposed pressure too much at your last junior tournament?

Pressure was definitely an issue. But it was also a very bad day on which nothing just wanted to run together. But yes, I went to the Orange Bowl with great expectations, which was a shame.

Keyword pressure: Almost all top players always emphasize the importance of the mental component. With Patrick Bernatzky, you work with a mental trainer at a comparatively early stage. What exactly is being worked on during these appointments?

At the beginning of my career I had the problem that I complained too much, that my position was too negative - we got that under control. But we also discuss preparation for matches, mental strength during the game and other topics away from the field during these meetings.

As already mentioned, your time with the juniors has been history since this year. How do you look back on that time? At the French Open there was a lot inside against the eventual winner Dominic Stricker.

The defeat against Dominic (Note Stricker) was definitely a shame, because I had already played against him three times and won two matches. I also played very well throughout the tournament and played my worst match in the tournament against him of all people. That was of course a shame because it was such a big and important tournament.

Since last year it has been important for you to assert yourself at the future level. How have you made the transition so far?

Fortunately, I scored my first points at the first tournament this year, which was the declared goal. But I definitely need a few more matches to be able to show my best tennis at these tournaments.

In Antalya at the start of the year you celebrated your first triumph at this level, then came close in the second round. What exactly do you have to work on now in order to be able to play consistently at this level?

The consistency is definitely one of the most important factors that I have to work on. That means bringing solid tennis onto the court from the first to the last point without major negative spikes. This is something that I definitely have to improve.

Many of our readers have heard your name but have never seen you play: How would you describe yourself as a player? What are your great strengths?

What distinguishes me is the powerful game from the baseline. I have massive basic strokes, but I also try to play with many variations, I like to play with many stops. But most central in my game are definitely the strokes from the baseline.

If you take a look at your homepage , you can see that you have very ambitious goals. In the long term, you want to be in the top 10 in the world rankings. Where do you see yourself today in two years?

At the end of this season, my goal is to move up to 600th place in the world rankings. In two years' time I would like to be close to 200th place so that I can play Challenger tournaments and maybe play one or the other ATP tournament. That would definitely be a big goal.

In addition to your appearances in the junior competitions of the Grand Slams, competing in the Generali Austrian Pro Series in summer was definitely a major career highlight for you. What did you take away from this “marathon tournament”?

I was able to take a lot with me from that. To play against all the seasoned players, such as Ofi (Note: Sebastian Ofner), Jürgen Melzer or Dominic Thiem - you can simply learn a lot there. It is something different whether such a player or a future player is on the other side. That is a different quality in the strokes, for example when the impacts come along with over 200 km / h.

Believe that every player can learn a lot from Dominic

For Lukas Neumayer, Dominic Thiem is an idol in his own country

As part of the Generali Austrian Pro Series, you also played a match against Dominic Thiem, who has been able to call himself Grand Slam Champion since last year. What can you learn from him?

I believe that every player can learn a lot from Dominic. He just has an incredible game, has incredible strokes. I think his forehand is his strongest punch, it's incredible how much pressure he can generate with it. You can of course learn a lot from this.

Dominic Thiem has also worked with Günter Bresnik for a number of years, are you perhaps even trying to “copy” this forehand?

No, not really. I've only been working with Günter since last year and we're actually only changing little things in the technology. Because it actually fits the way it is now, quite well.

While Thiem has caused a real tennis hype again in Austria, it is probably not always easy for the next generation. Do you see it as a burden to always be compared to a Dominic Thiem?

No, I see that as no burden at all. It's great that we have such a tennis player in Austria. It's also great for me to have an idol like that in my own country, to have someone you can look up to. So no, I don't see any burden in this at all.

You have been an army athlete since October last year. Did your training conditions improve as a result?

The training conditions are definitely much better now, the armed forces have a base here in Südstadt, where the center of excellence is. I have a room here and I only walk two minutes into the hall. I can also use the weight chamber. So the conditions are great, I'm very grateful for the support I get from Army Sports.

How could sport and school be reconciled beforehand?

I left school last year because it just couldn't be reconciled with tennis training. Learning at the tournaments was just too much in the end. I discussed this decision with my family and my coaching team for a long time and I think that I made the right decision because I can now concentrate fully on tennis.

You are now back home for a week or two, after which you will go back to the tennis circus. How exactly do your coming weeks look like?

Exactly, I'll be training here at home in the next two weeks, then I'll either go to Tunisia or Egypt, that's not entirely clear yet. I have to see which tournament I can get into first.

At 18, it is not natural to spend so much time away from home. How do you deal with this situation?

I've been traveling a lot for a few years now, so it's not a problem for me today. I also really enjoy flying to tournaments - otherwise I wouldn't do that either. On the other hand, it's always nice to come home and see the family again.

Thank you for the interview.

by Michael Rothschädl

Thursday
Jan 28, 2021, 07:15 pm
last edit: Jan 28, 2021, 02:45 pm