Exponents of dying arts to lock horns in opener
dubai — Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber is a throwback with that delightful one-handed backhand of his. How many of them play that one-handed backhand these days?
The list is obviously very short and the most prominent names on it are Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet, and, of course, Stanislas Wawrinka, the other Swiss star who marries beauty with brute force every time he hits those onehanded backhand cross court winners. In the first round in Dubai, Kohlschreiber, 33, will face a modest Luxembourgian who is a rare exponent of another dying art in tennis — the serve-and-volley.
Kohlschreiber, the world number 28, believes he will have a tough time against Gilles Muller in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“It will be a very tough first round. He is a nasty player who is always playing good tennis I would say. I mean he is playing serve and volley. It’s not so common anymore,” Kohlschreiber told us after the draw for the men’s event on Saturday.
“He is serving very well. I think he is in great shape. He has just won his first tournament this year. So I guess he is full of confidence. But on the other side I have played always well here. I like the conditions and yeah I feel really good,” Kohlschreiber, a former semifinalist, added.
Kohlschreiber played Muller only once in the past, winning that 2011 indoor encounter in Moscow in straight sets.
“But it will be a tricky match here. It’s a 50-50 chance. If you look further then I have Andy (Murray) in the quarters here. That will be a small goal. Of course the big thing will be to win the opening match. Winning the first match is very important,” the German said.
Kohlschreiber says he looking forward to an injury-free season. “Well I did very good last year. I had a neck injury last year for a couple of months so I was out. But I am feeling good now and I am very healthy and I do a lot of fitness. I am working hard. I am hungry to win many matches in the tournaments that I will play.”