Even without a Grand Slam victory, Philipp Kohlschreiber shaped German tennis like few others. A conversation about the strange end of his career, twenty years of touring – and the reason why his wife always had to follow him when skiing.
Interviewed by
Gerald Kleffmann
On June 22, the almost unimaginable happened in German men’s tennis: Philipp Kohlschreiber ended his career at the age of 38 – after 20 years as a professional. His record is impressive even without a Grand Slam victory: the Swabian from Königsbrunn near Augsburg completed 865 matches on the tour and won 478 times. For ten years he was consistently among the top 50 professionals in the world. He has won eight titles, five of them in Germany. In 2012 he was number 16 in the world rankings. In the first big interview since the end of his career, he talks about the ups and downs on the tour – and reveals what advice he would give his younger self.
