Sebastian Ofner’s tennis year 2023 is more than impressive. The 27-year-old Styrian was just outside the top 200 at the start of the season, but he really took off in February.
First on the Challenger Tour, then even on the big ATP Tour. In addition to the tournament victory at the Salzburg Challenger and three Challenger finals, what stands out above all is the qualification for the round of 16 at the French Open.
“To be honest, I surprised myself,” laughs Ofner LAOLA1-Interview. Actually, the Styrian “just” wanted to get into the top 100 at the start of the season. Now the world number 58 is scratching. Even in the top 50.
In the following lines, Ofner reveals why it went so well and why he is now raising his expectations even higher.
LAOLA1: What does it mean to you to be number one in the Davis Cup?
Sebastian Ofner: Since I’ve been so far away from that over the years, it’s obviously great to be number one for Austria. I never even thought that something like this would happen before. But I’m really looking forward to it because I haven’t played that often in the Davis Cup yet. That’s a good feeling. The Olympics are of course also an issue at Roland Garros. Until then we’ll have to see, because I have a lot to defend before I get there. If it happens, of course I want to play it.
LAOLA1: You’re having the best season of your career so far this year, you’ve made it to the round of 16 in Paris and you’ve almost made it into the top 50 in the world. Did you surprise yourself a bit?
Ofner: Yes of course. The goal before the season was to reach double digits in the ATP ranking. I started the year around 195, so after half a year I’m already around 80 and shortly afterwards I’m in the top 50, which is of course much better than expected. So far I’ve actually been able to maintain it quite well. Now I hope that I can go one better in the coming months or at least maintain the level.
LAOLA1: How has your exciting journey been over the last few months? Did you get into a kind of flow state in which everything comes easily?
Ofner: No, nothing was ever easy (laughs). At the beginning I noticed in the Challenger tournaments that I was playing well and consistently. I knew then that I had a good chance of reaching a semi-final or final at every Challenger. Paris was incredible again. The goal was actually to qualify and then see what happens. The fact that it worked out like that and I made it to the round of 16 was unbelievable. Then of course my expectations also increased. I now wanted to gain a foothold on the ATP tour and go one better. Sometimes I succeeded, sometimes not so much. Now I’ve had good training days again, the Davis Cup is just around the corner and then there are still a few exciting months ahead.
“I believe that you would get better just from being on the tour and training with these players for two or three months – without playing a single tournament.”
Ofner on the advantages of the ATP tournaments
LAOLA1: If you’re on the ATP tour all the time, you’ll of course have completely different sparring partners at your disposal. Is that good for your game?
Ofner: In any case. I believe that you would get better just from being on tour with these players for two or three months and training – without playing a single tournament. You also play points in training and get used to the game of these players. That’s really great. This automatically takes you a step up.
LAOLA1: At the end of last year you went under the knife because of bone marrow edema in your heel. To what extent was this operation the right decision and what impact did it have on this season’s performance?
Ofner: Last year I was in constant pain for half the season I played and actually always played with painkillers. That’s when I felt what it was like when things weren’t going well. This year I was really pain-free for the first time in February and only then did I enjoy playing more again. When you’re pain-free, it’s a little more fun. (laughs) And then it really started. I was fully motivated in every match and was able to play through three, four, five matches without any problems. Then things went right.
LAOLA1: You have been training with Wolfgang Thiem in Traiskirchen for some time. Stefan Rettl is your touring coach. What part does the coaching team play?
Ofner: Wolfgang has done a great job in the last few years. Three or four years ago, the forehand in particular was far from where it is today. That was my biggest construction site at the time. I also feel really comfortable with Stevie Rettl as my touring coach. He makes sure everything fits. The coaching team is impeccable. Everything just fits and I think that’s why the jump came about. I feel comfortable and have confidence. That won’t change in the near future.
LAOLA1: Has your training work changed in the last few months?
Ofner: What definitely changed was fitness training. This has become much more concrete. During tennis training, much more attention is now paid to the little things. Before that we took a lot of shots, especially to get security on the forehand. As a result, the backhand didn’t work so well for a short time because we were paying a lot of attention to the forehand. At the moment the main thing is to address the little things in the match that aren’t working yet and see that something can be done further.
LAOLA1: What little things would those be?
Ofner: On the one hand, that would clearly be the percentage on the first serve. This is still not where it should be. I can serve really well, but I make life difficult for myself if I only serve fifty percent of the serves. The top people do it better. The forward play can also definitely be improved. I have to focus my game a lot more on the net and therefore put more pressure on the opponent. There is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to returns. Of course, some of these are bigger things anyway, but when it came to strengthening the forehand, there wasn’t that much time for that. It was important that these point shots hit once.
LAOLA1: Do you often train with Dominic Thiem and if so, how much do you benefit from such sessions?
Ofner: I train with him again and again. Of course it depends on when we are in Traiskirchen. At the beginning of the year I was still at Challenger tournaments and he was at ATP tournaments. That’s why we didn’t see each other there often. We now train every now and then at tournaments or when we are both there at the same time. Of course that helps me. His punches still have a certain level and that’s why it’s really good for me.
LAOLA1: After the Davis Cup you won’t play in your Styrian hometown in Bad Waltersdorf, but in Saint-Tropez. Why?
Ofner: Unfortunately, I had to look at myself and couldn’t take such a tournament into account. Even though it is of course great that such a tournament is taking place in Styria, the whole situation has changed for me. If I train on hard court beforehand, play the Davis Cup on hard court and then fly to the ATP tournaments on hard court, it doesn’t make sense to me if I spend a week on clay and lose my rhythm on hard court. It was strange for me because they had advertised to me before, even though I never said yes. Last year I said at the press conference that I would definitely play when it suits me. That’s why I was a bit confused. Sometimes there are misunderstandings. I have to take a look at myself in the area where I am now.
LAOLA1: What is your tournament schedule for the rest of the year?
Ofner: After the Davis Cup I’ll play Saint Tropez, Astana, Shanghai, Tokyo, Vienna, Paris and then Metz or Tel Aviv. These are exactly the big tournaments that I have been working towards for 20 years. That’s something different.
LAOLA1: There is a dark spot this season: In Kitzbühel you lost your opening match against the Slovakian Alex Molcan after a 6:4, 5:0 lead. How did you deal with it or reflect on it?
Ofner: It probably took two or three days until I was able to get over the disappointment. Nonetheless, it was just a match. Even though it would of course be doubly bitter if it happened in Kitzbühel and I would have reached the quarter-finals with this one win. Still, it was just a match and not even that match was really bad. It just happened the way it did. You probably only have a match like this once in your life. Of course I questioned a bit how something like this could happen. But something like that can happen in tennis.
2023-09-10 09:56:04
