Oliver Marach on Dominic Thiem: "I think he can become number one"
Oliver Marach and his partner Mate Pavic will face Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. The Grazer expects a "close" game, but also spoke about the state of Austrian tennis, the Davis Cup and a possible end of career in the exclusive Tennisnet interview.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: May 09, 2019, 01:05 am
How are you doing in terms of health?
I have therapy every day. I was in rehab last week. I injured myself in Barcelona - thank goodness it wasn't as bad as in the years before when I had to take a few weeks off. Of course I feel my back. I haven't played tennis for eight days and suddenly play three matches in a row. Of course I can feel it, but I hope it is just muscle hardening.
How do you see the development of tennis in Austria? With Dominic Thiem and the many good doubles, Austria doesn't seem to be too badly positioned.
We don't have to talk about Dominic, he is the absolute top of the world. He won in Indian Wells and Barcelona this year. He plays incredible, I saw his matches in Barcelona. Djokovic and the others are older too. I think he can become number one. He plays very well on every surface, is a very nice guy and a hard worker. I think that if you work hard, you will get far in your career. About Austrian tennis: I always said that we don't have very many good coaches. The problem is that they have no international experience of how to train today. You have to say that honestly. I don't want to speak negatively, but unfortunately it is so. I proposed a small project to the Styrian Tennis Association. For example, next week we agreed with Barbara Muhr (note: President of the Styrian Tennis Association) that two coaches from the Styrian Tennis Association would travel to Rome. You can sniff in and see how the tour trains. Hopefully we can make a difference in Austria. It is also good for me if a few coaches are there - for them, too, certainly. So hopefully we can push tennis in Austria even further.
I've always said that we don't have very many good coaches.
Oliver Marach
How did you see the transfer of former President Werner Klausner?
Unfortunately you ask the wrong person. I am not much in Austria because I live in Panama. For me this is surprising, but unfortunately it just happened that way. I don't even know who is currently president of us (note: Christina Toth has this role). I hope that we are in a good position again. The Davis Cup is important to me. It was a shame that we couldn't make it into the new format. It was about a lot of money that would have benefited the ÖTV very much. It hurts a lot. Hopefully we can position ourselves well against Finland and then we would have a decision game if we won, so that we could move up to the new format. That would be great for Austria, of course. There is a financial push. This way we could promote more players. We have to look - now we're two Davis Cup games away, but I hope the whole team will play there (note in Finland).
Would you be there in Finland?
I've always said I play Davis Cup when you need me. I once canceled it due to family reasons, because I live in Panama and my children almost never see me. We had a few problems there. That was the only reason why I once skipped the Davis Cup. If you asked me, I played every Davis Cup and I'm sure I'll be at the next one if you need me. The most important thing is that I am fit. I am also an oldie and my body has to be right because I will not be injured in the Davis Cup.
One final question: You mentioned again and again that the body pinches. Are there any concrete plans for a career end?
I have often thought about the end of my career. My career has often had injuries, but every tennis player has that. I have to knock that I have not had gross injuries that I would have been away for a year or two. I built up a lot in Panama. It is questionable whether I will continue to work in tennis afterwards. Tennis is dead in Panama. There are no tennis players there. I don't know if I should do private lessons there. Maybe sometimes you need me on the tour or in Austria, you will see everything. I think I have enough experience. I have been on the tour for 22 or 23 years now and have seen a lot. Now I hope that my body stays reasonably fit and that I can play for a year or two. Then we'll see.
The interview was conducted by Nikolaus Fink