US Open double winner Laura Siegemund is still a few years
Acted as "new Steffi", then without the big breakthrough, and when that came, a serious injury ensued. The career of US Open double winner Laura Siegemund is amazing - and the cup hunt is not over yet.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Sep 14, 2020, 11:09 am
When Laura Siegemund was the world's best player in her age group at twelve, something very familiar happened in Germany. Siegemund, at that time also the proud winner of the prestigious Orange Bowl tournament, the Junior World Cup in Florida, was declared the "new Steffi" - the apparently logical heiress of the tennis superhero - especially on the newspaper boulevard. “It was a crazy time. I was completely overrun back then, ”recalls Siegemund. At home, in their Swabian homeland, agents, marketers and sponsor representatives were buzzing around, all hoping to be able to sign the next superstar for themselves.
Siegemund is now looking back somewhat amused at the turbulent beginnings of her eventful career. She has had to learn that often nothing turns out the way you imagine or hoped for. “You cannot know what will become of you. Especially not in tennis ”, says the 31-year-old, who came into the spotlight on the last extended US Open weekend as a sensation winner in women's doubles alongside the Russian Vera Zvonareva.
"Laura Everywhere" in the US Open Final
In her career with many ups and downs, Siegemund was least able to dream of this extraordinary New York coup, of a victory at the very first joint appearance with her experienced partner, of a brilliant march through to a 6: 4, 6: 4 win in the final against Nicole Melichar (USA) and Yifan Xu (China), from a cash prize check for $ 400.00. Ironically, the Ghost Grand Slam in New York, this spectator-free tournament of silence, brought Siegemund the most spectacular and most valuable triumph of all, the first double success with German participation since 1985 (Claudia Kohde-Kilsch with Helena Sukova / TCH) in her late tennis years.
After the sporty happy ending, Siegemund revealed that it was an emotional borderline experience not only because of the strange Grand Slam world: "My aunt Helga, my mother's twin sister, died three weeks ago," said the German national player in a halting voice. “You kind of work, you do your job. But of course there was always something in my head. ”Especially at the final, Siegemund was able to hide the private grief, she was the outstanding, formative figure of this title match of the Open American Championships 2020. TV expert Boris Becker called the gripping butcheress“ Laura Everywhere ” .
Siegemund: "Not a real professional player until 2014"
Since the early wave of euphoria in childhood, Siegemund has experienced pretty much everything that is possible in a complicated tennis career. For a long time there were more difficult moments than good ones, there were many worries, many doubts. And more than once the question of whether she should even continue in this imponderable traveling circus industry. In the meantime, she also stopped once, in 2012, as the best of her year, did her trainer A certificate, and began a distance learning course in psychology. "Until mid-2014 I wasn't really a professional player at all," says Siegemund, "but the thought was always in my head: It can't have been that yet."
Siegemund started again about six years ago and persistently fought his way up the world rankings. She only celebrated her Grand Slam debut in 2015 at Wimbledon, but a year later she greeted New York as the Mixed US Open winner. A bitter setback followed in 2017: Siegemund had just won her home tournament, the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, when she suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at the tournament in Nuremberg. The forced break after the mishap lasted almost two years, but Siegemund fought her way back to the top international once again - a woman who stands for never, absolutely never giving up, not even after all the misfortune and adversity before. "She is amazing," says DTB woman boss Barbara Rittner about the resolute professional player, who is also known for talking like a waterfall. Observer Becker said with a smile that “Laura really didn't fall on the lips”.
"Failure under pressure" was once the title of the bachelor thesis, for which psychology student Siegemund was awarded a grade of 1.4. In the New York final, she quickly shook off possible fears of failure, the success was now “absolutely insane, the crowning glory”, said Siegemund, “I think I've really earned it now. After everything that has happened. ”The 31-year-old is still having a“ few good years, especially in doubles ”. But the immediate focus is now on the French Open, the Paris Grand Slam tournament that starts in two weeks. There, too, she wants to compete with partner Vera Zvonareva and cause all kinds of unrest in the Grand Slam title race. “The year is far from over,” says Siegemund. Neither is the cup hunt.