Tim Pütz has had the best season of his life

Tennis professional Tim Pütz from Usingen will show off in 2021 and will even be at the Olympic Games. What must distinguish a double partner?

Usingen (rem). When Tim Pütz has not just made himself comfortable with his family these days, he often drove from his house in Usingen to Bad Homburg, walked across Louisenstrasse and went to see the physiotherapist he trusted, Matthias Sauer, across from the Kurhaus. Completely undetected, one has to add. He didn’t have to sign autographs or take selfies with fans.

The 34-year-old Pütz is one of the most unknown world-class athletes that this country currently has to offer. It has to do with his sport. The young family man from Taunus is a doubles specialist in tennis. Or do you know Mate Pavic, Nikola Mektic, Joe Salisbury, Rajeev Ram and Nicolas Mahut? These are the top 5 in the world rankings. Can you see it….

However, it is not the case that Tim Pütz would intervene against his status if he could change something about it. “It’s a good thing that I’m not popular,” says Pütz after taking a seat on the massage bench, “I’m not keen on attention. You can’t buy anything for that anyway. ”When the man with the big, brown eyes and three-day beard says this, he sounds absolutely authentic and believable. Pütz says what he thinks. And mean it. When Boris Becker was “Head of Men’s Tennis” in the German Tennis Association and everything revolved around the superstar for life on the sidelines of a Davis Cup game, the Usinger preferred to praise Michael Kohlmann. Because as the Davis Cup boss, he does the work that was actually at stake.

Speaking of the Davis Cup. It was only logical that Pütz was called back to the national tennis team in November after several years of abstinence, as he was just completing the best season of his life. Four tournament victories on the ATP tour (in Estoril, Lyon, Hamburg and Paris) are now in his vita, as well as participation in the round of 16 at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The 1.85-meter-tall right-hander then expanded this balance sheet. He was instrumental in ensuring that Germany made it to the Davis Cup semi-finals and celebrated its greatest success in 14 years. Pütz – with doubles partner Kevin Krawietz – finished his number five, six, seven and eight with victories. Eight Davis Cup games, eight wins. Not even Boris Becker could claim to be undefeated.

Pütz played with Krawietz for the first time in the summer. When the doubles were scheduled for the Olympics, that made sense. Krawietz is actually a partner of Andreas Mies, with whom he has already won the French Open twice. But he was still injured. The fact that Germany’s new top duo harmonized so well came as no surprise to Pütz. “I’ve known Kevin since 2011, we are personable, our families know each other.” That is also important in tennis doubles. It’s like being in a love affair, says Pütz. “If you know each other well, it helps a lot more than if you are just well-rehearsed. Otherwise you wait on the pitch for signs from your partner that may never come. «Tim Pütz, who, when he was still playing singles, recorded his second round participation in Wimbledon (2014) as his greatest success, has arrived in the world class. He is ranked 18th in the world, but has a positive record against most of the top 10 players this year. In his opinion, the fact that this is the case has to do with “a lot of luck and a lot of work”. But also with the person Tim Pütz.

Australia is waiting

On the tour, he cultivates interpersonal relationships on his travels around the world. You are already moving in the same circle at the tournaments. But Pütz also has good contacts beyond that.

For the season opener in Sydney (from January 2nd) he and his Davis Cup colleagues have booked into the same hotel again via the WhatsApp chat group. The fact that people in Tokyo were not allowed to enjoy life in the Olympic village because of the pandemic, but rather moved in a “bubble” between accommodation and tennis stadium, was the best team building measure. “We played cards in the room and told each other jokes,” says Pütz. That welded together.

He has been close friends with “Struffi” (Davis Cup colleague Jan-Lennard Struff) for years. As young fathers, the two also spend time with their families at tournaments. Pütz’s wife and son are often there. Whenever distance and travel stress allow it. If possible, no more than a week should go by without the three of them having seen each other. The Usinger previously lived with his family in Bornheim, and trains at Eintracht Frankfurt when he is not on the road.

But back to the user’s many contacts. If you had told him before the season that he would make it into the top 20 in the world, he would have responded by asking how he would be ranked 61 in the world. should get so many points? Of course, in a competition like tennis doubles, this is directly related to the partner. With Hugo Nys, the 30-year-old Monegasque, with whom Pütz celebrated the first two tournament victories of the year, he has got along great for years. Nys is also ambitious. However, when New Zealander Michael Venus (34) – he has known and valued the experienced world-class player for a long time – called Madrid after the tournament because he wanted to play with him, “I just had to do it.”

Nys also showed understanding for the change. Because Venus ‹high world ranking was the door opener to big tournaments for Pütz. Only with those there are many points. “I got three times as many points this year as usual. But I didn’t play three times as well,” smiles Pütz. His athletic development also has something to do with the ATP point system. And with Matthias Sauer anyway.

In the practice of the Bad Homburg physiotherapist, the Usinger hits every now and then. Be it for prophylactic or really urgent reasons. After tearing his abdominal muscle at the US Open, he received intensive treatment for a good four weeks – in order to achieve the greatest successes of his career just after the break.

At the age of 34, Tim Pütz has no choice but to listen more closely to his body. There are always aches and pains, he smiles. Shared pain is half of the pain. There are just eight players under the age of 30 in the top 50 of the double world rankings. Let’s see what the tennis career still has in store for Tim Pütz. When he’s back on the pitch with his doubles partner and hits the ball as hard as possible in the corner. “I want to establish myself where I have come now,” he says. “But first and foremost I want to stay healthy.”