Practice makes semifinalist

Dubai: Wimbledon semifinalist Rainer Schuettler put his success last week down to extra practice and hardwork.

The German tennis player has been dogged by injuries and poor form recently but produced his best at the All England Club.

"I had not played so well for a long time, so I'm extremely happy that the hard work and the self-belief paid off," Schuettler told Gulf News yesterday.

The tennis player has been spending a few days in Dubai following his Wimbledon success, which was halted in the semifinals by eventual champion Rafael Nadal.

Last week, the 32-year-old became the third-lowest ranked player at No. 94, to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon in this decade.

"Of course, I was surprised with myself.

"One always need a little bit of luck and everything has to work perfectly together if one wants to go far in a Grand Slam," said the German.

"But on the other hand, I was well prepared and I felt very good on the grass courts in Wimbledon during practice.

"I just felt that I could go far in the tournament especially after my second round match against James Blake.

"I'm very happy about my performance at Wimbledon. I had some health problems and I didn't play so well for a long time," he said.

To prove himself

Schuettler put his success down to the extra work he put in ahead of the tournament at the All England Club.

"I had been working extremely hard for a couple of weeks before I reached Wimbledon. I practiced more than before because I wanted to prove to myself that I can still compete with the best players," he said.

Schuettler said he believes that as long as the major injuries are behind him, he can continue with the good work.

"The most important thing is that I'm healthy. I didn't have any big injuries since August last year," he said.

His parents were at courtside for the first time.

He said: "I realised after the match against Nadal how much it meant to them to sit on centre court and see me play. This was the first moment when I realised that I achieved something special in the last two weeks."

Olympics: Ace eyes Games spot

Rainer Schuettler feels it would be a privilege to participate in his third Olympic Games in Beijing next month.

Schuettler teamed up with Nicolas Kiefer to win the doubles silver in Athens 2004.

But Schuettler has not been selected by the German team this time, forcing Kiefer to campaign for his presence in Beijing next month. "So it would be great to play again together in Beijing. But I don't know the latest news if the National Olympic Committee will nominate me. I guess I will know more in a few weeks," he said.

"For me it would be a dream to be at the Olympics and see how sportspersons work and live."