Germans Don't Want Last Place
6/01/2010
By Chris Pike
GERMANY’s Sabine Lisicki and Philipp Kohlschreiber have differing form lines at this year’s Hyundai Hopman Cup, but both have enjoyed the experience in Perth with the Tie with Kazakhstan on Friday to go.
Lisicki started her second Cup campaign with a win over world No. 5 Russian Elena Dementieva on Monday and then beat young Brit Laura Robson on Wednesday. Philipp Kohlschreiber hasn’t been as fortunate going down to Igor Andreev for the eighth straight time on Monday and then coming up against a buzz-saw in Andy Murray on Wednesday.
The Germans also lost both mixed doubles to now be out of contention for Saturday’s Final, but Lisicki is well on track for a glittering career. She was happy with her 2009 until illness and injury came along. She feels she isn’t far off breaking into the world’s top and is happy with how her year has started.
“I don’t think I’m far away. The title in Charleston proved that when I beat (Venus) Williams, (Marion) Bartoli and (Caroline) Wozniacki who are all in the top 10, and then at Wimbledon of course I beat the French Open champion (Svetlana Kuznetsova),” Lisicki said.
“I’ve been working pretty hard in the off-season and I really want to get up there in the rankings. I’m ranked 22 and I played a very good first half of the year, but unfortunately I got sick and injured after that. I could have been even higher ranked, but these things happen and you have to come back stronger and that’s what I did, so I’m happy.”
Kohlschreiber might have lost his two singles matches, but he’s a quality player ranked 27th in the world and he is going to continue working hard to get to the level he wants to be at the start of 2010.
“I’m not right there where I would like to be. My off-season was not that great. The good thing was that I had two weeks for holidays and then after I got a virus for three weeks and couldn’t play. I was just lying in bed,” Kohlschreiber said.
“I took all the stuff to work on here because I wasn’t able to do it at home so at the moment I’m trying to get fit. I really like to enjoy every minute on court and there are some things I need to improve. I’m going to work really hard for three or four hours in a row so that I get used to playing longer rallies, especially to be ready for a five-set match.”
While Kohlschreiber is feeling close to 100 per cent physically, his match conditioning isn’t where it needs to be just yet and he will be working as hard as possible for the rest of his time in Perth, and then before the Australian Open.
“Overall I’m making too many mistakes and that’s the kind of thing that is normally one of the biggest pluses on my game. I am normally solid and can work good from the baseline, but that’s not working that well at the moment. That’s what I would like to improve,” he said.
“I have a game which fits almost every surface, but at the moment I feel a little bit slow on the court. I get a fast ball and it’s hurting too much if I have to go to the corner. I’m not moving well enough to get there and then especially I should be able to have no weaker side. At the moment I feel uncomfortable on the forehand so that is what I need to practice on.”
Kohlschreiber had a mixed history with his two Cup opponents so far. He had lost to Andreev all seven times previously but never faced Murray. He was pleased with his first set against the Brit, but not his second.
“Nobody expected anything from me really, even me I was happy that the first set was quite good. I was tough and came back from a break down, but then finally his higher level showed in the second,” he said.
“He was up a set and played really well to not leave me with any chance. If I could have made the second set closer I would have been happier, but it was too easy for him.”
Kohlschreiber follows the likes of Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer in representing Germany in Perth, and he feels bad for letting down Lisicki so far. The Germans’ goal is now to not finish last in Group A and that will happen unless they beat Kazakhstan Friday.
“Sabine is playing really great tennis in the singles and mixed, and has won both matches,” he said.
“It’s a team combination and she gets always a little bit sad when she sees my singles and then we lose the mixed. She’s in great form and hopefully I can get a little bit better for the last match. We can’t go to the Final anymore, but our goal is not to finish last in the Group.”
Back to current news.