BIt doesn’t count, and pessimism would only be interpreted as a weakness: So the members of the German Davis Cup team emphasized before the semi-finals this Saturday (1 p.m. on Servus TV) against Russia at every opportunity that they have a real chance to move into the final. Realistically, that only applies if the players of team boss Michael Kohlmann somehow manage to get the final double played.
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This requires a point in the two items. However, that Jan-Lennard Struff (No. 51 in the world) defeats world number two Medvedev is just as unlikely as a victory for Dominik Köpfer (54) over world number five Rublev. In the group matches against Serbia and Austria and in the quarter-finals against Great Britain, once Köpfer and twice Struff won the points. In all three matches, the doubles Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz completed to win the match. “I would almost say that doubles are the strongest point in the German team,” said Boris Becker at the beginning of the week. Not a bold statement given the results and performance.
The 30-year-old from Coburg and the 34-year-old from Frankfurt are 14th and 18th in the double world rankings. They didn’t fight for positions together, but with different partners. They only played together at the Olympics in Tokyo, where they were eliminated in the round of 16. The shared experience was important insofar as the two of them, like the rest of the German team, were crammed together in a small apartment in the Olympic Village, which turned out to be an excellent team building measure.
The fact that Krawietz and Pütz get along exceptionally well cannot be taken for granted, because it was Krawietz who interrupted Pütz’s Davis Cup career, which began out of nowhere in 2017. Team boss Kohlmann came to the Frankfurt team as a surprise to end the then notorious double weakness of the German selection. The only reference from Pütz, whose tennis career had been inconspicuous up until then: he played a successful Bundesliga double for Aachen with Struff.
An exciting alternative
Kohlmann landed a direct hit. At Struff’s side, the Nobody not only won the first double against Portugal, which helped prevent relegation from the world group, but also the next three Davis Cup matches against heavyweights such as Australia and Spain. But despite the flawless record, the soaring of the duo, who went by the nickname “Tim and Struffi”, ended.
A change in the Davis Cup game mode meant that Struff would have had to play singles and doubles in succession. In addition, an exciting alternative suddenly appeared: Krawietz and his partner Andreas Mies had unexpectedly developed into a world-class combination and won the Grand Slam title of the French Open in 2019 and 2020, among other things.
“It would be a lie if I said it didn’t hurt that I couldn’t play in the Davis Cup anymore. But it was still easy for me to accept. As a team boss, I would have acted the same, ”Pütz told the FAZ on Thursday. “And I have always felt like a full team member.” When Mies was out due to cartilage damage, there was no question for the Hessian to play alongside Krawietz for Germany at the Olympics and now in the Davis Cup.
In 2017 Kohlmann had to persuade the man from Frankfurt to see his future in doubles. “I knew I was pretty good at doubles, but I didn’t care. Singles are a lot more fun. ”Just to stay in shape for the Davis Cup doubles with Struff, the Hessian also reported at the tournaments in doubles. Reluctantly. “I only made my peace by playing double at the end of 2018.”
Because in contrast to his individual career (best placement 163) the results got better and better. That year he had his breakthrough. With his new partner, Michael Venus from New Zealand, Pütz forms one of the world’s best combinations. The two recently won the Paris-Bercy Masters. And as the Davis Cup shows, even with Krawietz, Pütz doesn’t have to fear any opponents.
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The main reason for his late rise? “I’ve learned to accept that I have a lot less access to the game because there is a partner. I used to be so annoyed in doubles that my concentration suffered. ”Now focusing is one of his particular strengths. With Krawietz, Pütz won all four tie-breaks that they had to play in this Davis Cup campaign. The last against the British Skupski / Salisbury 7-5 after 0-5 deficit. “How we did it, I still don’t know today. But earlier I would have made some nonsense out of sheer anger about the deficit and wouldn’t have won the game. “
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