Updated on 06/22/2022 at 2:42 p.m
- Tennis veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber made the leap into the main field at the classic grass lawn in Wimbledon and thus missed the last Grand Slam tournament participation of his career.
- At the beginning of the week Kohlschreiber announced that he would end his career after Wimbledon.
In the hustle and bustle of the Community Sports Center in Roehampton, Philipp Kohlschreiber’s dream of saying goodbye to the big tennis stage was shattered. In the last few meters of his career, it was no longer enough to qualify for the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon. After the 7: 6 (7: 4), 3: 6, 4: 6 against Mikhail Kukushkin from Kazakhstan it’s over – after 21 years on the professional tour.
Kohlschreiber had already announced his decision on Monday: “It will be my last tournament. I will stop after Wimbledon 2022.” The end came on Wednesday at one of the many qualifying grounds in south-west London, just a few minutes’ drive from Wimbledon’s iconic Church Road.
Kohlschreiber, who has won a good $13.7 million in prize money, can look back on a “great and wonderful career”. Many wishes came true, but he missed the last goal, a final point in the All England Club. Nevertheless: “It was a very long journey, I have great memories, especially here with my greatest success in a Grand Slam.”
Kohlschreiber’s greatest success: quarter-finals at Wimbledon 2012
In 2012 Kohlschreiber reached the quarter-finals on the Holy Lawn in south-west London. The longtime Davis Cup player won a total of eight ATP titles and climbed to 16th place in the world rankings. He was particularly strong at home: he triumphed three times in Munich, once in Halle/Westphalia and once in Düsseldorf.
The resignation comes as no surprise. He was “not as professional as he used to be,” Kohlschreiber said after his first round in Munich at the end of April against Daniel Altmaier, who was 15 years his junior. And further: “The chances are very good that I played a singles game here for the last time.”
In the world rankings, Kohlschreiber was only ranked 230th. The alternatives were: hope for a wild card or go through the mill of qualification as at the beginning of your career. That no longer has to be the case, Kohlschreiber decided. For Wimbledon he makes one last exception. Even if it only reached Roehampton, it was worth the try. (dpa/AFP/lh)
Despite his current injury break, Alexander Zverev is better placed in the world rankings than ever before. The tennis Olympic champion climbed to second place for the first time. The new leader is the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
