Neil Oberleitner in the big interview: "I am convinced that I will make it"
In a detailed exclusive interview with tennisnet.com, the Austrian tennis hope Neil Oberleitner talks about the hard and grueling life on the ITF tour, about his recent record battle in Cairo, why Jannik Sinner is easier, faster in the world rankings to climb up as an Austrian player and what it's like to come from a "tennis-crazy" family.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: May 10, 2022, 07:25 am
tennisnet.com: Hello Neil! Last week you played doubles with Max Neuchrist at the ATP Challenger tournament in Mauthausen (Upper Austria) and narrowly lost in the first round to top seeded Philipp Oswald and Hans Hach Verdugo. How was the game for you?
Neil Oberleitner: I was a bit nervous at first because Philipp Oswald is an experienced doubles player in Austria. He was in the top 50, that's something special, you can show what you can do and of course learn a few things from him. For example how he stays very calm in tight situations and plays the things he does best. You could say I'm still a bit green behind my ears because I haven't had that many matches at this level yet. I made some decisions that were wrong, but overall I can say it was a good game and I can be satisfied. We won the second set and in the Champions tie-break it's always like that - a few close points decide the match.
How was the atmosphere on the pitch at a home tournament like this?
I have to say it's really cool considering that it was actually quite late because the matches before that took quite a long time - we weren't finished until around 8:30 p.m. There were still a few people there, but there were also three Austrians on the field. The spectators applauded for both sides, and there were also a few players there, such as Dennis Novak and Lucas Miedler, who is a very good friend of mine, and when they watch it's something special. The tournaments that I usually play - the future tournaments - they usually don't play, so that's a lot of fun.
How is your training setting at the moment? Who do you work with and where?
Well, I'm still training at my father's academy, Michael Oberleitner, who used to be at Tennis Point with Günter Bresnik. Then he became self-employed. My second coach is Martin Gattinger, who is currently mainly responsible for me because the father-son relationship is difficult here and there when you work together on the pitch. Mainly because my father and I have different personalities. He always wants to do everything perfectly, and for me there must always be a little bit of fun involved. That's why we said that Martin is responsible for me, and that's how the relationship between me and my father has improved a lot. But that is also understandable. In the summer we train at the Colony Club in Hütteldorf and in the winter we train at my family's indoor tennis court on Cumberlandstrasse near Unter St. Veit. Lenny Hampel is one of the players there at the moment, he's also one of my best friends and I train with him a lot.
Alex Peya and Julian Knowle also used to train with your father in the past...
Yes exactly, that's why I was allowed to train doubles with them very often early on, which definitely helped me.
#IMG4#
Your ranking in doubles is currently 272nd and in singles 798th. How satisfied are you with the situation at the moment, judged pragmatically by the bare numbers?
If I just look at the numbers, I have to say that I'm more satisfied with the doubles at the moment. I am convinced that it can still go up in singles as well as in doubles. I haven't exhausted everything I can show in the singles, so I fought for a relatively long time to prove to myself that I could win something. I have to say that I'm actually a very positive person, but when it comes down to assessing my own ability and being confident on the pitch, well. When the coach says, 'You can go to a Futures tournament and you can win it too', you don't believe it until you've actually made it. But I have to say that in doubles I've actually exhausted almost everything I can bring with the futures, because if I win another future now, then I hardly score any more points because I've already got so many results in the ranking. I actually have to play Challenger for doubles, but I would like to improve my singles ranking beforehand.
Just how grueling is it when you know you have to win a tournament in order to go any further?
I have to say it's very tough mentally at the 15,000s. That was the case in Cairo, for example - you play singles for three hours, win the game and then an hour later you're back on the field for doubles. And in doubles, anyone can win against anyone, but they can also lose against anyone. That means doubles depends on a few moments where you just have to be attentive on the tight points. And then you stand in there and think to yourself, for what actually? If I win the match, it doesn't really do me any good. I would then have to win four matches and thus the tournament to maybe get three points in the ranking. That's tough at the moment. But afterwards you think to yourself: 'Hey, you're a tennis player, that's your job. You want to win a game like that, you should do your best in every game, even if it's very tough mentally here and there on the pitch. In the end it's the job. If someone sits in the office, the eighth hour a day is certainly not easy either, but you do it anyway. I chose the job and it's part of it. And I have to say, I'm a guy, I'd rather be there for an hour longer than in the office for eight hours - I'm not that guy. Other people have to do completely different things, and I'm even allowed to do something that I enjoy.
You recently made headlines with a monster battle at the ITF tournament in Cairo when, after qualifying in the first round, you defeated the Thai Maximus Jones after an unbelievable 4:48 hours 7: 6 (4), 6: 7 (4), 6 :7 (7) are inferior. It was the longest three-set match ever played in an ITF or ATP tournament. How did you experience this crazy game?
It was (long pause) nerve wracking. I knew the opponent, he was a wild card player, he's been to Egypt several times and trains there sometimes. He's young, he can play very well, he has about my pace, which doesn't really suit me that much. Not much came from him, he played on the forehand with a trajectory and distributed the balls well. As a result, I couldn't really pursue what my playing style actually is. I didn't serve very well that day either. We finished at 9:45 p.m. and I've been at the facility all day because we played the last match - and the matches ahead of us took quite a long time. I don't really like it, when I go back to the hotel and lie down there, I lose the tension.
#IMG2#
It was a little windy but not too bad. I was already a break in the first set, I already served on the set at 5:4, then got the break, then I made one myself to make it 6:5, then I already had set balls and didn't do it again. Mentally I was still strong and stuck with it and still won the set. It was a very close affair with very long rallies. That was a little frustrating for me. I was also a bit tired from the previous tournaments, where I had to qualify twice as the first seed. In the second set I was a break behind, mentally it was very tough there, but I kept fighting and then also made the break. At 6:5 I then served on the match, had two match points, didn't make either and then he played a really strong tie-break. After missed match points and three hours of play, going into the third set really wasn't easy mentally. But I got off to a great start in the third, was quickly 3-1 ahead, then got a breakball to make it 4-1, but don't do it. I then have two more breakballs to make it 5:2, but he serves really well twice. At 5:4 I play a really bad service game and get the break. But mentally I stayed calm, made the break again to make it 6:5, which was a really tight game. And then I have three match points. I play the first one too nervously with my backhand, the second was a double fault, and the third he plays very close to the line. I think he touched her, but the referee gives it out. I then go to the net, he too, we wanted to shake hands, but the referee looks at the ball again and then gives it a good hand. I then lost the game and the tie-break was very close and mentally tough when you actually thought you had won. On my last match point, I put a forehand volley just wide. Yes, and he then makes his second match point. It can be summed up as: It wasn't meant to be.
After that I sat on the bench and didn't know what was actually going on. Then I was very sad, there was nothing more to eat because the buffet was already closed. In the room, I have to admit, a few tears flowed down my face, I really left everything where it was, but if it doesn't want to be, then it doesn't want to be. I then booked the flight directly and at 5 a.m. I was already sitting in the shuttle, so that wasn't a long night, let's put it that way.
How is life on the ITF tour in general for you?
You have to love that, you have to love to travel. It helps that I'm actually already used to it. Ever since I was little, I've been circling around at the junior tournaments. I also traveled alone relatively early on, my parents trusted me quite early on. I've been doing this for a while, and it's actually routine. One can imagine that the future tournaments are not always the best organized. Eg now in Cairo it was of course not a five-star hotel where I stayed. But my pain threshold is pretty high there, so it doesn't really bother me. The food may not always be the best either, but then you are all the happier when you come home and get a nice Kaiserschmarrn from your girlfriend. And one is all the happier about the wildcard from Mauthausen, which I thankfully received from ÖTV and Florian Leitgeb (tournament director, note). That's when you see the difference and you feel like you're in paradise for a week. You get there, you get new balls to practice on, you just have to text to register on a pitch, the hotel is paid for, etc.
Maybe that's the biggest motivational boost when you see this difference and then think, that's exactly where I want to go?
Exactly, you then think, I would like to have that every week. That is of course an incentive. I don't lack motivation in general, but it definitely helps. But I think if you have that every week, you don't appreciate it as much anymore. For example, I heard that some players in Mauthausen are upset that the hotel room is too small or that the coach is in the same room. And I thought to myself, this is paradise. Give me the smallest room you have, I don't need anything to eat. Even the pitches have some players complaining that they are uneven and the ball bounces. I think that was the best pitch I've ever played on (laughs) .
In an interview with your father six years ago, he told us that he is very satisfied with you, that you have enormous potential, but that consistency is still a bit lacking - which he preferred to having less potential and you would have been super consistent for that. How is your consistency now after six years?
A lot has improved at Konstanz over the last six years. But I also have a different way of playing than many others. I have a very aggressive style of play and it used to be a bit tough for me because I always wanted to be like the others who can put the ball in cross-court 500 times. But I'm not, and I can't. But then my father explained to me that it helps you up to a certain level, for example you can get to the challenger with it. But if you want to go higher, you need aggressiveness, you need weapons. You have to beat winners. It's actually much better when you have the game in your hands. I either make a winner or I make a mistake, but it's up to me. That gives you a good feeling. And when you then learn to make fewer mistakes and then you also know how to play in which situations - that helped me a lot. You don't depend so much on your opponent, whether he's playing well or not. If you play well, good - you can shoot him away, you play badly - then it just doesn't fit. But at some point it fits more and more as far as consistency is concerned. I play a certain level more and more often. I used to argue quite often with the fact that I once played a really good Monster game, won against someone where at first I didn't think I had a chance anyway, and the next day I lost to someone where I thought to myself, how can you lose this? Or even within a match it went up and down, up and down. That often caused me a certain unrest in the matches, where I just waited for when I would play worse again. And if you just wait for it, then it will come stronger and faster. But like I said, I'm getting better and better at it.
#IMG2#
Your father was a tennis pro and is now a tennis coach, your uncle was a top player and your aunt was also a successful tennis player. In a family like that, is it actually possible to become something other than a tennis pro?
(laughs) Of course we have always been a tennis-crazy family, because my grandparents were really enthusiastic about the sport. My sister also started playing tennis, but then switched to horseback riding. From this you can see, for example, that something else could have been done. But of course - ever since I could walk, I've had a tennis racket in my hand. When I was a little baby, I sat in the ball wagon during training and threw the balls out for the players. I think it was clear then at the latest that I would play at some point.
Have you ever thought about what else would have interested you?
For a short time I played ice hockey, as did my cousin Mira (Antonitsch, note) who started playing it. My cousin Sam (Antonitsch, note) plays professionally anyway and my uncle Alex (Anotnitsch, note) is also extremely enthusiastic about the sport. But I have to say about myself that I think I'm a better individual athlete. Of course, Davis Cup would be a big dream of mine because of the atmosphere and because it's something completely different from the normal tour, but if I were to play in an ice hockey team, for example, I would probably think too often that I would help out here and there got to. If I were a striker, I would go back to defend and then I would go forward again, and of course that doesn't work in the long run. And I think that's why I decided to play tennis.
(Short break) At some point the question always comes up, what is the plan B for a professional athlete. At school people used to ask me: 'Well, do you think you can really do it? If you can't do it, what do you do?' My interest then always went in the direction of the police, and I have now also applied for police sport. This is something similar to army sports, only for police officers. Some tennis players are already there, and of course that would be really cool for me. You have one month of training once a year for five years, and during that time you get your normal salary like a policeman. And that would definitely help, because in tennis you never know how much money you will get. The future is always uncertain. That's something very pleasant when you have your money fixed for the month and you can now, for example, pay for the apartment quickly. Of course you play with less pressure on the tour.
Well, the fact is that you are clearly better in doubles than in singles. How long do you give yourself to take the singles with you? Or is it already a bit in the room to concentrate on doubles?
For me personally it is not yet in the room, for my coach and my father not yet. But quite a few people have asked me because I've played really well in doubles for the last two seasons and I've advanced quite a bit. I answer the question that I personally want to give myself up to about 28 to see how far I can advance in the individual. When I'm 25 and I see that I'm already at my maximum and I can't play any better, then maybe it will happen earlier. But I have the feeling that it can go much further. I am now trying e.g. B. to make the jump to the Challenger tournaments as quickly as possible. If I see continuous progress, then I want to stick with it on an individual basis. I am convinced that I will make it. In doubles, as you saw with Knowle and Peya, for example, you can still play really well up to 40.
#IMG5#
Do you sometimes feel pressure that you should slowly deliver now?
Yes, I have to say, I put myself under pressure sometimes. But not at all from my parents – that is, from my father. He's the most relaxed person when it comes to that, because he believes in me and that I'll make it one day. And whether that happens at 28 or at 22, he doesn't give a damn. Of course, putting pressure on yourself is also nonsense, but you can see that there is (Carlos, note) Alcaraz or (Jannik, note) Sinner, who are already in the top ten at 20. There is no question that the unbelievable exceptional tennis players are. But you also wish that for yourself. I once said that to my father after I struggled with it a bit. But then my father said: 'Yes, but you go your own way.' It's also easier for Sinner, for example, because he got a lot of wildcards for Challenger in Italy. It's easier when you get 15 or 20 of them a year. Although we now have more challengers in Austria anyway. Of course, that helps if you can play there and not always just in the futures. But like I said, everyone has their own way. If you look at (Aslan, note) Karatsev, for example - he only had his breakthrough at the age of 28. It just depends on the person. And you have to keep at it and fight.
And what's next, what are your medium-term goals?
Next comes the national league, where I play for my hometown club Pötzleinsdorf. Maybe I'll even play my first league game in Germany on Sunday. That depends on whether there is enough time. For me, the next tournament would be the 15,000 future in Villach. It's just a super nice tournament, I played that last year too. My uncle's family comes from there, even though I personally grew up in Vienna. Last year Alex and my aunt Karin (Antonitsch, note) watched, maybe they'll come by again this time. That's something special then. Then at some point the national championships will come and then there will be the Challenger in Anif, where I hope to get a wildcard, that would be great. Speaking of challengers: This year I'll be joined at a few tournaments by Gary Muller (former South African top player, ed.) and Alex Peya. You will help me make the leap to the challenger level. In general, the goal for this year is to win a future in singles. In the summer I want to be in the top 500 in singles. At the end of the year, between 300 and 400 would be ideal so I can just start playing Challenger regularly next summer.
These are concrete and strong goals, for which we keep our fingers crossed for you. Thank you for the very nice interview and all the best, Neil.