Serve for Zverev and Sinner

Admittedly, it was quite a long time ago. A classmate who, like me, later studied sports at the Technical University of Munich and even founded a ski school, was a member of a tennis club. That was his parents. They were, as they called it, well-to-do. And once he took me with him.

From gymnastics I had white gym shorts and an undershirt, white of course, and I was perfectly dressed for the sport that was still really white at the time. It was of course a huge honor for me to stand there on the red sand, because as a farm boy it was not normally possible for me to enter this elite society. I came through the back door, so to speak, but I learned that it can't be that wrong if you have good contacts.

I can't remember whether I hit the felt ball well or not so well. It was also a bully from my school friend, because of course I didn't have one. Later I played regularly and then tennis wasn't that special anymore. It has become a popular sport thanks to Boris Becker and Steffi Graf. And the media attention has also steadily increased. Football suddenly had a little competition. Wimbledon and Roland Garros were no longer foreign words. And when Graf became Olympic champion in Seoul in 1988 after four wins in all Grand Slam tournaments, tennis had finally arrived. Be a role model for the next generation But it has also become clear that such model athletes are needed to advance a sport and to appeal to and motivate young talent. I'm also thinking of Jannik Sinner from Sexten, who lures people in front of the television who had never watched tennis before his time. I experienced this myself during a visit to South Tyrol, when in a former tavern that a friend showed me, the hosts said that they don't normally watch sports on TV. Dream ship yes, but tennis not really. Actually. Because then the host, a spry 80 years old, started talking about Sinner. Jannik Sinner has made the leap into the elite. © APA/afp / MARTIN KEEP

And then his eyes sparkled. Now, according to his credo, that has of course changed. He watches Sinner, just as we in Germany didn't miss a second of Becker and his duels with Ivan Lendl or Stefan Edberg. When Steffi Graf used her great forehand and her inimitable backhand slice against Gabriella Sabatini, we were there. When they both played a double and won Wimbledon, it was an unforgettable experience in front of the television, which was still fed by tubes. Now the screens are huge but tennis has become smaller again.

Not in South Tyrol, of course, because Jannik Sinner continues to cut a good figure, is in tenth place in the world rankings and has already won his first round match, although he is now viewed more critically than he was a year ago. Back then, victories were celebrated unreservedly. Now it is said that he only did the bare minimum to win. With success, expectations also rise. Maybe it's even lucky for Sinner that Matteo Berrettini from Italy is still promising. He even ranks three places ahead of Sinner in the world rankings. Zverev alone in the hallway So the Pustertaler doesn't have to hold up his country's flag alone, like Alexander Zverev, who is the only German still in Australia. Twelve in total took part. Nine men, three women and eleven have already been eliminated. Even the former Australian winner Angelique Kerber lost her first game without a hitch. German tennis has never suffered such a defeat in the history of this Grand Slam tournament. The great tennis nation of Germany, with its big names such as Gottfried von Cramm, Wilhelm Bungert, Carl-Uwe Steeb, Michael Stich and Hans-Jürgen Pohmann, to name just a few besides Boris Becker, is now just a spectator in the great white sport. And there's no one like Sinner in sight. There is only Alexander Zverev. Fighting his way alone in Australia: Alexander Zverev. © APA/afp / MARTIN KEEP

We are a long way from a broad basis and so there is still a risk that tennis courts will be converted into beach volleyball courts, as has recently become fashionable. I will still have my old racket restrung again this year and I will also buy a pack of balls. And I've already found a teammate who will hopefully give me some breathing space, because that's the crux of this sport. You need a buddy who is about the same level, whatever that may be. Only then is tennis fun. Both. And when I think about it now, I regret to realize that when I first came into contact with this sport, I was probably not an equal opponent for my school friend. But it was still an experience. At least for me.

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Serve for Zverev and Sinner

The once great tennis nation Germany experienced a historic debacle at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Of the twelve players who competed, only Alexander Zverev remained. Our columnist Sigi Heinrich still remembers the great times around Boris Becker and Steffi Graf.

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