Maximilian Marterer - "Difficult to make money with sport"
Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, the DTB German Pro Series will begin at four different locations. Maximilian Marterer is there, too, who would like to regain practice and success after an injury-ridden period. tennisnet.com spoke to him.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jun 08, 2020, 07:51 am
It has become Troisdorf for Maximilian Marterer, near Cologne. There the left-hander, placed sixth in the DTB German Pro Series, will serve in a group with Daniel Altmaier, Niklas Guttau and Lucas Gerch. For the past few weeks, however, Marterer has trained at the TennisBase in Oberhaching. There he also met tennisnet.com for a chat .
tennisnet : Mr. Marterer. You just came from a training session in which tough sprint intervals were also on the program. Is the impression deceptive - or are you as fit as rarely in your career before?
Maximilian Marterer : I did it a little differently now: During the corona pandemic, a lot of people gained a few pounds, I lost a few. I was now able to work on everything that is usually neglected, such as fitness.
tennisnet : Would you say that you even benefited a little from the forced break due to your injury problems?
Marterer : You have to see it positively. I wasn't 100 percent fit at the beginning of the year, and I still had a few days when I had a lot of difficulties. For me, it is about using these extra weeks and months so that I am fully there when the ATP tour really starts again.
tennisnet : The DTB German Pro Series starts on Tuesday. What is your attitude towards this event?
Marterer : I definitely take the event seriously. Because it is a good opportunity to collect match practice. This is very important to me. But of course it's not about ATP points. There you can try a few things that you are training now.
tennisnet : Who did you mainly train with here in Oberhaching?
Marterer : Philipp Kohlschreiber and Peter Gojowczyk have been there for the past few weeks, including Kevin Krawietz. Plus the professionals who are here anyway, like Yannick Hanfmann.
Marterer - "Dominic Thiem maybe exaggerated a bit"
tennisnet : In 2018 you made it into the fourth round in Roland Garros, and you were also financially compensated for it. What would you have felt if you had come to you and told you to put money into a solidarity fund for poorly placed players?
Marterer : Good question. It was the first good season for me at that time, in which I was able to put a little bit aside. Nevertheless, I just came from a situation where I knew how little you could make on futures and challengers. And if you can't get into the Grand Slams, it is very difficult to make money from the sport. That's why I think that players need a social streak. Whether that is an amount of 5,000 euros or 10,000 euros remains to be seen. It will be difficult to find a solution where everyone feels treated fairly. There are also players who are better off from home. And which are further back.
tennisnet : Dominic Thiem said a few weeks ago that no professional tennis player had to starve, that he preferred to donate his money to those who urgently needed it. And that there are players in the back ranks who don't always work hard enough. Your opinion?
Marterer: Domi is a good friend. I think the statement has a certain value. Because he accomplished everything he accomplished through hard work - and talent. That is certainly his philosophy. And I agree with him that there are players who haven't worked hard enough. On the other hand, I do believe that the vast majority of us players already work very professionally. From this point of view, I found the statements somewhat exaggerated.
tennisnet : Just in case, the professional tennis tour actually comes back at the end of summer. Then what are your first steps?
Marterer : It's difficult to say, because I don't know how many tournaments are offered, how many challengers are on the calendar. I still have a few protected rankings with which it will be possible to enter Challenger. Originally the plan was that I would use the Protecteds to qualify for the Grand Slams if I didn't have the ranking yet. That could of course look a little different now.