Kohlschreiber beats Sakharov in opener
dubai — Dubai has always been a happy hunting ground for German player Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The 34-year-old baseliner reached the semifinals here in 2014 and lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual winners — Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray — in the 2016 and 2017 editions of the event.
On Monday, Kohlschreiber was never in trouble in his 6-4 6-2 first round win over qualifier Gleb Sakharov of France.
“Yeah, I’m very happy to be back in Dubai. I mean, I like the indoor season, but I prefer the outside tournaments more. It’s great to come from the winter in Europe to play here in great conditions,” the sixth seeded player told reporters after his win on Monday.
“I feel always very comfortable here. Yeah, Dubai is a great city. It’s a great tournament. Well, it makes it maybe a little bit easier to play good tennis.”
Kohlschreiber played amazing tennis against Murray in last year’s quarterfinal — a match that produced a dramatic 38-point second set tiebreak that lasted 31 minutes. “I know it was a very great and entertaining match. It was great atmosphere, I think one of the best I ever experienced,” he said.
“But in the end I lost in the quarterfinals. I couldn’t say it was a great success from the tournament side. But yes, it was a great success in terms of how I played tennis.
“Of course, I know I can play really great tennis, especially here in these conditions. That gives me a lot of confidence for this year that I can go deep. I have to find my game to beat the other guys.”
Kohlschreiber, who will take on rising Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round, believes the tournament this year has a competitive draw despite the absence of top stars like Roger Federer.
“Maybe everybody is talking about Roger, the really big names in tennis, they aren’t here. But still I think we have a very competitive draw. Of course, it’s a good opportunity in a big tournament for everybody to go deep,” he said.
“On the other side, you have to play well to do that. If you play well, you always deserve it.”
The 2012 Wimbledon quarterfinalist says he is happy with his game despite his unimpressive results in the new season.
“My year so far has been a little bit rough. I haven’t had a good start,” he admitted.
“But I think I found my game in Rotterdam. Second round is not a great success, even if I played a good match against Roger there.
“I have to play a lot of matches. I will try to do it here, to get many matches as possible,” he added.
The experienced German player says you can never stop learning new things in tennis.
“It’s very simple. I mean, people watch you, how you play, what are your strengths,” he said.
“So you still have to learn new things to adapt, maybe not be too predictable for the opponents. You have to go out of your comfort zone.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com