Nicolas Kiefer: "I missed players like Alcaraz and Rune"
Nicolas Kiefer , formerly number four in the ATP charts, has a lot to gain from the younger generation around Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Mar 31, 2023, 08:37 am
Nicolas Kiefer has been in well-deserved tennis retirement for a few years, but the former fourth in the world rankings is still following developments on the ATP tour very closely. And Kiefer is particularly pleased that Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner are a trio that stands out from many of their predecessors in terms of play.
"Carlos Alcaraz is his very, very complete player," explains Kiefer in an interview with tennisnet. "In my opinion, he has no weaknesses, is top both offensively and defensively, has incredibly fast legs. And also varies with his serve-and-volley game. Personally, I am particularly pleased that this variant is available again.”
Which brings Kiefer to Holger Rune: “Rune also plays serve and volley from time to time. I've missed that over the last few years, the boys going online. Because the points are decided up front.” From Kiefer's point of view, Rune has even more to offer. "He's a guy, stirring up the tennis scene. He's not afraid of anyone, as you saw in Paris-Bercy.” Eminently important with Rune is his strong serve, which gives him a lot of free points. "It will help him a lot throughout his career."
Kiefer: "Sinner plays with brute force"
Both Alcaraz and Rune are almost at the same level as Novak Djokovic, Kiefer continues. “A big success factor for Rune is Patrick Mouratoglou, who has helped him further. But I also find it very strong that Holger is continuing with his old coach Lars Christensen.”
Juan Carlos Ferrero as coach of Carlos Alcaraz is of course not bad parents either. And Darren Cahill, who takes care of Jannik Sinner, knows Nicolas Kiefer from his own active days: "Cahill was with Lleyton Hewitt, then with Andre Agassi." on the forehand as well as on the backhand side, but is also super strong on the defensive. Sinner started tennis a bit later than Alcaraz and Rune, which also shows that there are many ways to get to the top.”
Alcaraz on sand in front
Sinner has a very clear head when he plays. And Kiefer sees him in the pecking order among the three youngsters even ahead of Rune in second place behind Alcaraz. "It's no longer enough just to play well from the baseline. I'm excited to see how the weeks on sand develop. Even if I see Alcaraz clearly in front there.”
Nicolas Kiefer will certainly follow the upcoming tournaments as closely as possible, but the Hanoverian is primarily busy with his heart project "NK-4". “We got off to an excellent start, admitted 17 clubs from three countries in less than a week and already have eight tournaments registered. We're already looking forward to our first event in Austria.” The game is played in Fast 4 mode, exciting matches are guaranteed and registrations are accepted at any time.
Although there is still quite some time until the start (end of April), Nicolas Kiefer is already looking forward to the Masters with anticipation. “The juniors will choose their winners in HalleWestfalen in November, the adults in October at the Robinson Club Sarigerme in Turkey.