Lucas Miedler in the tennisnet interview: "The victory in Vienna was the crowning glory"
Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler are going for their second title of the year at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Munich. In the tennisnet interview, Miedler is relaxed as usual.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Apr 19, 2023, 10:41 pm
Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler did everything right in Munich on Wednesday: Not only did the two Austrians win their opening match against Guido Andreozzi and Guillermo Duran, no, Erler and Miedler also managed to draw 6:2 and 6:4 hurry up And are still dry in the cabin.
The tennisnet conversation with Lucas Miedler took place two days earlier. At Sunshine. And with a training Dominic Thiem in the background.
tennisnet : Mr. Miedler. It's not easy as a pure doubles specialist. Sometimes it's enough for a place in the tableau of a major tournament, sometimes not. What can the ATP do?
Lucas Miedler : For the ATP, it is paramount that all the individual stars play. Everyone understands that. They attract people. I also saw that in Indian Wells, where I played with Cameron Norrie: the place was full because of him. Nevertheless, solutions are needed so that these withdrawals no longer occur in the course of a tournament. It also affected me in Indian Wells. When a good singles player goes far in singles, everyone realizes that they won't focus on doubles. On the other hand, there are also people who show that both are possible. Like Andrea Vavassori last time in Marrakech.
tennisnet : Was the success in Kitzbühel 2021 something like the turning point from singles to doubles?
Miedler : Kitzbühel more or less happened. Before that, it wasn't even clear who was playing with whom. But this victory didn't change that much because the plan back then was: We play the singles challenger, go to tournaments together and then play doubles. That was possible thanks to the 250 points in Kitzbühel. At that time there was no focus on the doubles. We have grown as a team through the many matches we played together. The victory in Vienna last year was the icing on the cake. I'd still like to play singles, was first or second out on the alternate list a couple of times this year at a tournament. But at the latest with Acapulco the individual ranking is gone. Now it's about us really concentrating on the doubles.
tennisnet : What demands have you recently come to the tournaments with?
Miedler : It may sound dead boring, but we always go into a tournament with the approach of just looking from match to match. That helps us. But of course it's different when you play at ATP level every week and not just every three or four months. Then you have to deliver immediately. Here in Munich we don't just want to win a round, we want to win the whole tournament.
tennisnet : Why isn't there one more dominating double on the tour like the Bryans used to?
Miedler : You have to win a set and you're in a penalty shoot-out, so to speak. Everything is possible there. You saw Sam Weissborn and Romain Arneodo: They lost Challenger's first round - and suddenly they're playing the final in Monte Carlo. And that makes it harder for the good teams too. In addition: the doubles is becoming more and more professional. At the moment it's really difficult to find a dominant couple. I find Koolhof and Skupski to be the most solid players, playing their results almost week in and week out. I'm also a fan of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic. I don't know why they are going through such a difficult phase right now. At the moment Austin Krajicek is almost the best doubles player for me: he showed it with Nicolas Mahut in Miami. And also won Monte Carlo with Ivan Dodig.
tennisnet : At the moment you seem to be set in the Davis Cup...
Miedler : We both want to play the Davis Cup. These are the matches that are also good for us. Away, too, but we always play well at home. And I do believe that we are now a support for the whole team. We can't guarantee points, but we showed in Croatia that we're up to such a task. But there is still a long way to go before the Davis Cup in September, Ossi is still there, and who knows: maybe Sam will continue to play so well. Our advantage is definitely that we play together all the time.
tennisnet : Do you already hear the call from Paris 2024?
Miedler : The Olympics are definitely a goal for us because it would be incredible to play in Roland Garros. Olympia is a tournament where a lot can happen. And of course that's in the back of your mind. But it's still more than a year to get there.