Patrik Kühnen - "Alexander Zverev showed strength"
Patrik Kühnen, tournament director of the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Munich, did a true interview marathon on Friday when the event was previewed at the end of April. The former Davis Cup player and captain spoke to tennisnet.com about the number one of the tournament: Alexander Zverev.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Feb 09, 2020, 03:44 pm
tennisnet : Mr. Kühnen, you accompanied the ATP Cup as an expert for Sky. Would you have thought it possible that Alexander Zverev with all his obvious problems in Brisbane would reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open a few days later?
Patrik Kühnen : I was pleasantly surprised. In my opinion, the serve is the central anchor in Alexander Zverev's game. If the serve works, it has a tremendous positive impact on his game. Conversely, however. But it was then as Sascha described it: That he just hadn't had enough training days before the ATP Cup. After that he worked extremely hard.
tennisnet : Also next to the court?
Kühnen : It is extremely important that you sit down after an experience like the ATP Cup and do a very hard analysis. And wonders: what was going on there? What was it really about now? And you have to be honest with that. Apparently that happened. Sascha also showed strength - that he drew his conclusions from the results of this analysis. And it was important that he got off to a good start in the Australian Open and found quick confirmation of his investment in training.
tennisnet : You were a Davis Cup captain yourself for many years. How would you have dealt with the situation when Alexander Zverev spoke very loudly to his father?
Kühnen : I think you have to be in this situation to know what is right for the respective player. With Alexander Zverev, when he was discussing with his father, I probably would have behaved similarly to Boris Becker. Because it makes no sense if two people talk to one player. Because the information that you give to a player in such a situation must also be correct. Clear communication without a lot of words is better than well-meaning overloaded information. Afterwards, when the emotions have subsided, there is room to talk about this situation. And that's what happened.
"Philipp Kohlschreiber will soon be in the top 50 again"
tennisnet : Alexander Zverev agreed early for the BMW Open 2020. At the final press conference last year you were a bit reluctant in this regard ...
Kühnen : This impression was only due to the fact that we had one year until the next tournament. The planning does not take place so early, and there was also a change of management at Zverev. The fact that Sascha is coming to Munich for the seventh time is also an expression of his appreciation. He knows where he is going. He started here as a 16-year-old with a wildcard against Jürgen Melzer, in the second year he also got a wildcard, continued to play forward year after year and won the tournament twice. We are really happy that he is coming. It is not a matter of course that he does this as a top ten player.
tennisnet : Your record winner, Philipp Kohlschreiber, is going through a difficult time. Are you worried about the triple Munich champion?
Kühnen : There are developments that take place with advancing age. you have to give yourself more breaks, ask yourself what needs to be changed. We also see Roger Federe adapting his decisions. At the same time, I have to say to Philipp Kohlschreiber that he is a very attentive, experienced player who reflects very well. And who recognizes the signals of his body. Looking back on his career, you have to say that Philipp was never hurt any longer. And from a playful point of view, he is able to get back into the top 50 in the coming weeks.