Patrik Kuhnen, Former Top 50 ATP Player

By Ronald Agénor

Patrik Kuhnen, you were one of the best tennis players in the world, reaching a career high ATP ranking of 43rd in singles and 28th in doubles. If you look back which discipline gave you the most satisfaction the singles or doubles?
Actually both disciplines gave me a lot of pleasure, as I played most of my best matches in Davis Cup, doubles was my favorite one. To play doubles with Boris Becker and Michael Stich for Germany was very special to me and as I never lost a doubles for my country, I am still proud of that record and therefore Doubles would be the one.

All the tennis fans will remember your incredible win against Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon in 1988 on the famous Court 2. Do you think you could have won the Wimbledon title that year?
Wow, I have asked myself that question too. But Stefan Edberg in the quarterfinals was just too strong. I can still recall having a set point in the fourth set, but Stefan, one of the best on grass, turned it around and was the better player that day. Eventually, he won the title that year. To win against Connors was incredible, but to go from the quarters to win the title is another big step. Yet, that year in Wimbledon I played really good and enjoyed one of my best grand slam results.

You had so much success playing for the German National Team, you won 3 Davis Cups and 2 World Team Cups. It is impressive.
Playing for Germany has always been very special to me and playing aside Boris and Michael was a great gift and a lot of fun. Also the enthusiasm of the German tennis fans that time, was amazing, as all Davis Cup home-matches were one of the biggest events throughout the year. That incredible atmosphere made me play my best tennis. I am very grateful for these special memories.

You played with Becker and Stich are you close
friends with them?
I am still close to both of them, even if we don't see each other very often, since we don't play together anymore. this special time we had together, means we share something very unique and precious which lasts for a lifetime.

You have been the German Davis Cup Team Captain since 2003, do you feel any kind of pressure to win the Davis Cup title again as a Captain after winning it as a player?
No, I don't feel pressure winning the title, but it is one of my biggest wishes and the idea of making a final or winning the cup is what drives me every day in my work with the players. I just wish for them to experience only once how it feels to win the title for your home country together with your teammates.

Do you think German tennis has been in decline since Becker, Stich and Graf retirements or those 3 were just exceptional players that are difficult to replace?
At the time, when we were all still playing, there was a huge hype rolling over Germany, because never before d id a German player win a grand slam, nor did Germany win Davis Cup. Steffi even won the Golden Grand Slam. so obviously this decade was very unique and outstanding. Definitely those 3 were more than exceptional players and they set this exceptional standard for all following players. Since then Germany had great players like Tommy Haas, Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler and also today a player like Philip Kohlschreiber is one of the best in the world. But still, to cause a similar hype like in our days, you need to have a Grand Slam or Davis Cup champion. I think German tennis hasn't been really in decline, but since you cannot produce a champion and expectations are still high, someone might call it a decline. Today you can see a similar hype in Spain or Switzerland, caused by today's exceptional players, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

What can Germany do to get a Grand Slam winner again?
Pray...:-) Like you said: "Getting" a Grand Slam winner is a gift. There is no perfect strategy to create a Grand Slam winner. The German Tennis Federation is doing the best they can to provide the best possible facilities for their talents, including coaches of course.

Beside the Davis Cup, what are your other activities?
Since 3 years I am also Tournament Director in Munich, BMW Open. Also, I am involved in training our best young talents, do tennis clinics and work for TV from time to time. My new, very promising and special project, is an online Tennis Academy, which just started a few weeks ago. Since my experiences and coaching skills are quite good, i was looking for a way to help more people to play their best tennis. So I created an online tennis school, where you can basically provide exercises and tips from me, which will help you play better and be more consistant. With the "New- School- of- Tennis" I found the best way to share my knowledge with everyone who is interested and I really hope that many players in all different levels of the game will benefit from it.

What are the best and worst moments of your career?
My best moments where beating Connors at Wimbledon, winning 3 Davis Cup titles and 2 World Team cup titles for Germany. One of the most frustrating experiences as a Captain was at the Olympic Games in Athens, when Schüttler and Kiefer lost the doubles final after having three match points to win the gold medal.

Do you have any particular players on the ATP or WTA Tour that you like to watch play today?
I admit, i am also a Federer Fan :-) I like his style

Is there anything on the professional circuit that you would like to see changed or improved?
As a Tournament Director of a 250 event I would like to see the value of these tournament category rise again. At this stage only two 250`s count for the rankings of the players, which causes problems for each of those tournaments to get the best players.

What would you have chosen as a career if professional tennis was not in your life?
I really can't imagine anything else than tennis, because it was always the only possibility and my only dream to become a professional tennis player. But in reality if I hadn't been successful in tennis, my father was counting on me to take over his business. i would still be running around in a white shirt but smelling like cookies and I most likely would have become a Baker :-)

Your favorite hobbies and your favorite place in the world?
Hobbies: sports, cooking, reading and going for a walk with my girlfriend.
Favorite places in the world: besides Melbourne, my favorite place is definitely my couch.

A wish…
I have so many wishes and dreams, how could I possibly chose one? i think one of the most important ones is, that I really wish to have enough time to achieve my dreams and be able to continue my way.

One last word...
Go out and play tennis, it is a great game!!!