US Open: Coach Lars Uebel - "The demands on Sascha Zverev are enormous"
Lars Uebel, head coach at TennisBase Oberhaching, is Cedrik-Marcel Stebe's advisor at the 2019 US Open. In an interview with tennisnet, Uebel assesses the chances of the German players on Thursday.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Aug 29, 2019, 11:43 am
tennisnet : Mr. Uebel. Her protégé Cedric-Marcel Stebe won against Filip Krajinovic at the start of the US Open. Did you expect that?
LarsUebel : I was very surprised. That was a big upset from Cedric that went down a bit along with the other surprises on Tuesday. I think that Krajinovic, as he has played in the past few weeks, could almost be set here again from the level. That's why it was a victory that I'm very happy about. Because you first have to see where Cedric is now and where he comes from. Cedric started again in April, before that he played at the 2018 Australian Open, but then the wrist was actually broken. And you have no self-confidence there. Maybe mental, but not playful. He has to work that out first. It was very difficult because Cedric is also about earning his retirement year. As you know, this is later associated with about 50,000 euros per year. You need six to eight ATP main fields and a certain number of points.
tennisnet : You mentioned the many surprises. Could you see a common thread?
Uebel : There was no clear line to be seen. I saw a lot of Rublev vs. Tsitsipas, which was a great match. I would take that out now because Tsitsipas didn't play badly. Dominic Thiem was certainly not completely there physically. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether this is the right way to play here. You can see that the field is open after the first three. Sascha Zverev is currently also having problems when self-confidence is not very high.
"Philipp Kohlschreiber is in a difficult situation"
tennisnet : Last year you looked after Phillip Kohlschreiber. He lost to Lucas Pouille in round one. How did you rate the match?
Uebel : Phillip is in a difficult situation. He still trains from time to time in Oberhaching. I don't think anything has changed in his attitude when he enters the training ground. He tries to accelerate and improve from the first to the last minute. From my point of view, however, there are two things missing from the matches: on the one hand, I think that the snappiness that Kohli always stood for has become a little less, maybe that is also related to self-confidence.
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tennisnet : And secondly?
Uebel : I find Phillip in the matches far too rarely in situations that are good for him. Phillip's great strength comes into play when he can get under the ball and hit it up. That means he paces with height. And when he tries to play relatively flat with hard-hitters like Pouille, that's bad for Phillip.
tennisnet : There are three German players on Thursday. Let's start with Alexander Zverev. He is playing against Francis Tiafoe. A match that screams for the big stage.
Uebel : I think it's a great stage for Sascha to show what he's capable of. Exactly the right thing to say: I'm not really talking about what a shitty year I've had. I think Sascha sets extremely high standards. He is number ten in the race and everyone is talking as if he hadn't won a match this year. For today I would be happy if he throws a sporting bomb into the stadium.
"Jan-Lennard Struff went through a great development"
tennisnet : What are the chances of your player Cedric-Marcel Stebe against Marin Cilic?
Uebel : Certainly the Marin Cilic from 2014 is no longer current. But in New York, Cilic will surely play a number more. You know exactly what you get. He'll serve very, very well, and try to get through Cedric from behind. If he succeeds, he will win the match. If things are not going perfectly for Cilic, then Cedric must be ready. I hope that he wins a sentence and then, as the saying goes: "we go from there".
tennisnet : Can you hope for more with Jan-Lennard Struff against John Isner?
Uebel : I currently think that Struffi is going through a really great development. This team with Uwe and Carsten, which has been working for years, is now bearing fruit. you can only congratulate all three. Isner may not be as good as Cilic, but he is also a man who has a lot of experience here during the night sessions. It is his home tournament. And if you know how Isner can push himself, he is my favorite. But I'm not afraid that Struffi will stick back and move her head. He will come out with all weapons and will lay one or the other board.