Dubai: Philipp Kohlschreiber is hoping the German media would go easier on their tennis players following their Davis Cup success against former world champions Spain earlier this month.
Ranked No. 25, Kohlschreiber won two points for Germany in their 4-1 win over Spain in the Davis Cup World Group to set up a next round meeting with another former world champion France.
Even as they may lack the quality or flamboyance of German legends like Boris Becker and Michael Stich, Kohlschreiber & Co have done their bit in pushing German tennis towards new limits.
“The German media is not very hard, but sometimes we wish we would get a little bit more credit for what we do. Those days [of Becker and Stich] are over and I also wish to be a superstar like Becker. Obviously, I am not that good enough to win a Grand Slam but I think I still do a very good job to be the World No. 20. Sometimes it would be nice to get a bit more credit for this,” Kohlschreiber told media after the official draw for the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open on Saturday.
“We’ve had a very good start beating a very big nation like Spain at home. Now we are facing another tough one in France in Marseille. Maybe if we win this match [against France] then things may change a little bit and the media will write good things about us. But it’s going to be very tough,” he added.
After making three quarter-finals so far [in Rotterdam, Zagreb and Auckland], Kohlschreiber is looking at going one step, if not further in Dubai this week.
“The quarter-finals are nice, but I need to make that next step, and it’s always going to be tough. Maybe luck during important moments has not been on my side, but I am very happy with the way I am playing. It’s so close [as you advance in a tournament] that you should not be thinking of changing anything. It just comes down to your game and making the right decisions, and maybe I have not made the right decisions so far,” the 30-year-old admitted.
