Topic: THE Philipp Kohlschreiber THREAD (pictures,artcles,etc..about Phil)

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Kohlschreiber vs Djokovic
Novak Djokovic and Philipp Kohlschreiber will square off out on Court 1 at Roland Garros on Saturday afternoon. A spot in the fourth round is at stake.

Novak Djokovic and Philipp Kohlschreiber will be meeting for the second time in their careers when they do battle in the third round of the French Open on Saturday afternoon. Djokovic eased through their first encounter 6-3, 6-2 at last year's Masters Series Indian Wells.

Djokovic, of couse, is heavily favored to make quick work of Kohlschreiber once again. The world No. 4 is in outstanding form at the moment and he appears to be the second-best clay-courter--hands down--behind Rafael Nadal. Djokovic finished runner-up to Nadal in both Monte-Carlo and Rome and he had three match points against the top-ranked Spaniard in the Madrid semifinals. Despite not quite capturing a clay-court Masters title, Djokovic found the winner's circle three weeks ago in Belgrade. He has not dropped a set in two French Open victories; first over Nicolas Lapentti and then at the expense of Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Kohlschreiber is in the midst of a solid but unspectacular year and he currently registers at 31st in the rankings. The German is 20-10 at the ATP level in 2009, but really his best result of the season is a fourth-round showing in Indian Wells. For Kohlschreiber, that has to be a bit of a disappointment. Still, he looked good last week at the World Team Championships in Dusseldorf and so far in Paris he has dispatched Bernard Tomic and former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero. Kohlschreiber needed five sets to dispatch Ferrer in a match that was postponed until Friday following a fourth-set tiebreaker.

The underdog can be dangerous if his one-handed backhand is clicking, but Djokovic has been devatstating from the baseline recently and he should be able to dictate play, this avoiding his opponent's favorite shot. Barring any minor mental lapses like the one he had against Stakhovsky early in the second set, Djokovic should end this in straight sets.

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As in general discussion thread I would be perfectly ignored And Kohli won't be discussed there, this is chance to cheer and admire about Kohli's todays performance!
He was so brilliant,playing like a real pro,without emotions while making some magnificent points showed is character! That was actually as I said the living proof why I don't like Nole's play!But I don't have to be excusable as I don't see the reason or it,Phil was simply a better player and Nole and his fans can't do anything about it,no single excuses would now help,as the match is proof oh Phil's display today!The only good and logic excuse to me is that wasn't Novak's day,as he was outclassed by Philipp! Auf Gehts Kohli!! 

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WOW! Kohli played the perfect match. One little hicup when serving at 5-2 in the 2nd, but nothing more.

[Chris1987]

What a superb match Kohli played today knocking Djokovic out in straight sets. Huge upset! Luggy you must be so happy with today, Tommy, Kohli, Chelsea, shame about Wozniacki.

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What a superb match Kohli played today knocking Djokovic out in straight sets. Huge upset! Luggy you must be so happy with today, Tommy, Kohli, Chelsea, shame about Wozniacki.

Yeah just beautiful day for me!  But nothing sweeter than watching Tommy today,he was so good
As for Kohli I knew something like that was coming,just didn't know when the German will prove himself,So I am more than happy for Kohli
Well Caroline was close as well,leading in the 1st set so easily 'til the collapse got her...But I am not sad,after all she had beautiful results recently,so she can't be that consistent Clay being her least favorite surface,I guess the 3rd Round ain't that bad at all...

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Germans Kohlschreiber, Haas reach fourth round at French Open
PARIS — Two German men have reached the fourth round at the French Open for the first time since 1996, and Philipp Kohlschreiber got there by pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament thus far.

The 29th-seeded Kohlschreiber managed to eliminate two-time French Open semifinalist Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 Saturday to join Tommy Haas in the round of 16. Haas beat Jeremy Chardy of France 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

"Maybe Tommy and me, we did a good a good job here, so maybe it's more expectation or more persons looking at tennis," Kohlschreiber said of the fans in Germany, who have been waiting for a men's Grand Slam singles champion since Boris Becker won the Australian Open in 1996.

The last two Germans to make it this far at Roland Garros were Bernd Karbacher and Michael Stich.

Against Djokovic on Saturday, Kohlschreiber could do little wrong.

"I think I played really one of the best matches I've ever played in a big tournament," said Kohlschreiber, who had never even made the third round at the French Open. "I didn't play my best the last few years here."

He impressed Djokovic this time, though.

"You have to give him credit for playing tactically really smart and really good," Djokovic said. "Unfortunately, I had no solutions."

Kohlschreiber won five games in a row to win the first set, and also won five straight to take a 5-1 lead in the second.

"I was a lot of times controlling or dictating many, many points," Kohlschreiber said. "Every choice I did today, also every big point, it was going on my side."

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Philipp at Gerry Weber Open,Halle:
1st Round:def. B Phau  6-4 6-2
next up:vs O Rochus

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scary one....

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Philipp Kohlschreiber
After reaching the next round

Q: How was your grass court experience today?
KOHLSCHREIBER: Actually, quite good. I was a bit lucky right at the beginning or he was a bit unlucky on the break point. You need two or three games to get into the rhythm. From the middle of the first set, after I got the break and could just play freely, the victory wasn’t really jeopardized.

Q: Are you happy it went so smoothly or would you have preferred some resistance?
KOHLSCHREIBER: It’s the victory that counts. Every easy victory is a nice victory. We played almost an hour. It was tennis on a very high but also very fast level. Things can quickly head in one direction. I had a period of about twenty minutes during which I played very well and returned well, too. I got so much ahead that the victory was almost up for grabs. I just had to concentrate on my service games. At the end, Bjorn got stronger and we had some great rallies. I am glad we only played two sets. A third set might have been much closer.

Q: What do you think of the German players being that good here so far. Six of nine players have made it through the first round?
KOHLSCHREIBER: It speaks for our quality on grass courts. But sometimes we have nine players in the tournament and nobody makes it further. Of course, it is excellent and great for the tournament and Germany likes that a lot.

Q: It was quite a surprise that your namesake beat Verdasco? You didn’t have such a good experience against him last year?
KOHLSCHREIBER: What shall I say. It is a great victory. It is always surprising when a Top Ten player is defeated by a player, who is lower in the ranking. But we all know that Philipp can be dangerous. It is a great victory.

Q: After this first victory, so you have the feeling that the momentum is similar as last year here in Halle or is it too early?
KOHLSCHREIBER: No, I felt good. I like the matches here on the centre court, the bounce and the court. I have a difficult piece of work ahead of me in the second round. Mr. Tursunov is an uncomfortable opponent. He doesn’t really have big weaknesses or one side, which you can attack. He plays with a lot of pressure, has a good serve. Sometimes, he has mental lapses but I think he likes playing that way. He is also crazy outside the court. So, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. He can use this craziness as a good weapon.

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Philipp at Gerry Weber Open,Halle:
1st Round:def. B Phau      6-4 6-2
2nd Round:def D Tursunov 6-3 7-6
next up:vs Lacko/Beck

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Kohlschreiber defeats unpredictable Tursunov

It was a strong start and a crescendo to finish: That was enough for Philipp Kohlschreiber to win his second-round tie against the Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) as another of the favourites falls by the wayside in Halle.
Both have been on the Tour for years, but Kohlschreiber and Tursunov have never played against each other. For such a premiere, more often than not it comes down to who can read their unknown opponent’s game the best. The German was the clear winner in this discipline. From the beginning, he confused his blonde, curly-haired opponent with numerous variations. It was above all his unexpected drop volleys and deep slices which knocked Tursunov out of rhythm. And Kohlschreiber reached his serves again and again and again with the break in the third game practically inevitable.

Yet whoever gets to face the Russian, who lives in California, cannot forget one thing: Dimitry Tursunov is completely unpredictable. He is a bit like Marat Safin. His whole body language gives no indication whatsoever as to what he is going to do. Sometimes the 26-year-old saunters around the court as if he did not care in the slightest; then he makes every ball for minutes on end. The 2006 Davis Cup winner had to wait a while for a moment like this. To begin with, only his error count was on the rise. Only at the end of the first set was he able to discover his powerful game. But because Kohlschreiber was playing with particular precision, it was 6-4 for him after 42 minutes.

The Russian then showed his game which had earned him a top-30 World Ranking and five tournament victories. Now it was the German’s turn to make mistakes and it was soon 4-1 for Tursunov. As the match seemed to be heading for a third set, the Moscow-born sixth seed had another of his lapses in concentration. A re-break made it 4-5 and the tie-break followed soon after. Once again, Tursunov alternated between brilliance and mediocrity. He was 5-0 up, but let that lead slip to 6-5. At 6-7, Kohlschreiber had match point, and he only needed one invitation.

The GERRY WEBER OPEN finalist from last year now has a huge chance of making it into the semi-final again this year. In the quarter-final, he will be the clear favourite when he meets either Andreas Beck or Lukas Lacko.

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vs Tursunov

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Philipp Kohlschreiber fends off Beck’s attack

Philipp Kohlschreiber of TK Kurhaus Aachen’s scream of relief was clearly audible throughout the GERRY WEBER Stadium. Without a doubt, the German Davis Cup player felt a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders when he converted his second match point to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Andreas Beck of TC Ravensburg.
The two players could hardly have been any further apart, despite being on the same court in this quarter-final tie. On the one side, there was Philipp Kohlschreiber, a man who is edging closer and closer to the world’s elite. On the other side was Andreas Beck, who is one of the biggest up-and-coming talents in Germany. Kohlscheiber was therefore the clear favourite and he simply could not afford to lose against his compatriot.

But that was precisely the problem: The Aachen Bundesliga player had to deal with this pressure and he could not manage this in the first set.  That was also down to the fact that Andreas Beck was able to latch seamlessly onto his performances in the first two rounds. With the score at 4-3, the underdog took his third break point before serving flawlessly to clinch the first set 6-3 in just over half an hour.

While Andreas Beck seemed to then doubt his own courage, Philipp Kohlschreiber discovered the rhythm he had been looking for. The match was soon level. As the second set moved into its decisive stages, Andreas Beck fell away dramatically. He did earn two break points, but Philipp Kohlschreiber won the so-called big points and that continued to be the case in the third set. When he took his second match point after one hour and 57 minutes, the favourite had managed to cope with the pressure and defeat the outsider.

“It was all downhill after the 3-3 in the second set and I cannot find an explanation for it,” said a frustrated Andreas Beck. After a week’s break, he will nevertheless go to Wimbledon in confident mood. “I have played two and a half really good games in Halle and that gives me self-belief,” he added.

The winner was obviously even happier. “I managed to pull myself out of a sticky situation,” said a relieved Kohlschreiber afterwards. “That may be down to my experience. You don’t like losing to somebody from your same camp, which is why I am particularly happy to have won.” In the semi-final, he will face another compatriot: Either Tommy Haas (TC Großhesselohe Munich) or Mischa Zverev (Rochusclub Düsseldorf). He will just take whatever he gets, citing no preference.

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Philipp Kohlschreiber INTERVIEW
After making his way into the semi final

Andy Beck just said that your victory was due to you being more experienced. Would you agree?
KOHLCHREIBER: partly. I used my experience to pull myself out of the one or two close situations today. IN the end the level was quite similar on both sides. He was the more aggressive player, I was the more defensive player. So, you got to see different sides. I was completely there in the few chances I had. Routine? I don’t know. I tried not to make any mistakes, play well which I managed to do.

How relieved are you given you had to play one of the young German upcoming players?
KOHLCHREIBER: Of course, I am very relieved. It didn’t look as if I was going to win during the first hour. I didn’t really find my rhythm. He just started hitting the balls, served very strongly, played fast balls from the baseline and gave me a hard time. If you are trying to find your way into the match and then start playing better and better, then, of course, the relief is even bigger. Of course, I am happy. You don’t want to lose to a younger player from your own 'camp’. But I would not have begrudged it if he had won. If he plays well you need to respect that he was better. But now I can say that I did it and I am very happy about that.

You don’t like losing to younger players? Would you like to lose to an older player?
KOHLCHREIBER: That’s even worse (laughs). If you asked me whether I would like to lose against Tommy … You never like losing. Andy Beck has been playing a great season, is on his way up. If you say, okay, he shouldn't overtake me that quickly. I still want to make it further ... So in that sense it was a nice victory today. Nevertheless, if I had lost I would have to say that he can beat a lot of people when he plays well.

Did you expect or hope that his performance would break down?
KOHLCHREIBER: It’s giving and taking in tennis. At the beginning I just made things too easy for him in his service games. I had difficulties to find into the match. He put me under a lot of pressure with his shots. You need to keep players busy, who play close to the limit and with a lot of pressure. Maybe I was fitter in the end or had better concentration periods. I just hoped that he will let me win one or two points in order to make a point myself which I couldn't really do that much today. In the decisive moments he gave me one or two points, I played a good point and got the break. That was very important.

Who would you wish to play tomorrow?
KOHLCHREIBER: I don’t have a favourite opponent. It would be best if neither wanted to play me tomorrow (laughs). I will just watch the match at four o’clock.

Now that you are the official No. 1 German player, is the pressure in German duels even stronger?
KOHLCHREIBER: No. It has been changing so often recently. It doesn't matter who I play tomorrow - Mischa Zverev, who has had a good season or Tommy, who is really playing well. It's not about who is ranked where. It's a prestige duel. Higher things are of importance here. Everybody who is in the semis wants to make it to the finals. That’s for sure.

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Philipp at Gerry Weber Open,Halle:
1st Round:def. B Phau      6-4 6-2
2nd Round:def D Tursunov 6-3 7-6
Quater Fnl:def A Beck  3-6 6-3 6-3
Semi Final: lost to T.Haas

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Philipp Kohlschreiber INTERVIEW
After being defeated by Tommy Haas

5:2, 5:3, you served and what happened then?
KOHLSCHREIBER: I felt a bit tense, got nervous. Maybe I played the first two silly points and Tommy returned well during that phase, didn’t let me play. I was a bit nervous and unfortunately I messed it up.

How bitter is it to lose such a match?
KOHLSCHREIBER: Very bitter. Some points I could have played better. Losing such a match is the maximum punishment. But that is sports. Tommy played a good match in the end and won.

Did you realize that he was very unhappy at the moment and struggled. Could you use that to your advantage?
KOHLSCHREIBER: I think I played great tennis at the beginning and don’t think he could have done anything even if he had played better. He always played on the limit with his serve. I returned well at the beginning and put him under pressure and didn't let him play. It was an excellent first set.

Can you take some of the momentum to Wimbledon with you or does this really get you down now?
KOHLSCHREIBER: No, of course I am disappointed. It was a great chance to make it to the final. It will take a couple of hours before I can joke again. But all in all it was a great week. I played a good match today. It was exciting. Everybody, except for me, can be happy. But somebody has to lose. I will try to play a good doubles match now and end the week here on a positive note, maybe with some golf.

Will you play somewhere next week?
KOHLSCHREIBER: Yes I will play an exhibition at the Stoke Club. So, I will go to London on Tuesday and play a few matches there.

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TENNIS: Kohlschreiber wins Boodles Challenge
German No.1 Philipp Kohlschreiber looked solid on grass on Saturday as he took the 2009 Boodles Challenge title from Wimbledon’s 12th seed Nicolay Davydenko.

The crowd at Stoke Park were treated to a best of three sets with a championship tie-break decider. Kohlshreiber lost the first 2-6, then came back to take the second 6-2 and stormed the decider 10-5. The tennis was both world class and entertaining with Kohlschreiber’s backhand proving flawless.

Kohlschrieber said: "This really is one the most fantastic atmospheres I've ever played in and I have to say thank you to The Boodles Challenge for making it such an enjoyable tournament.

"I feel like I've had the best preparation for Wimbledon and maybe I can also win some rounds there!"

The German had beaten Nicolas Lapentti in straight sets in Friday's semi-final.

In other matches on the final day of the Wimbledon warm-up event, Great Britain’s very own Wimbledon champion Jamie Murray took to the court with partner Jonathan Erlich against the world No.1 doubles pairing Bob and Mike Bryan.

The American duo took the match in two straight sets but all four players delighted the crowd with some entertaining and exciting tennis.

In the final match of the day, World No.7 Gilles Simon was looking for his first win at Boodles this year. Russian Evgeny Korolev’s hard hitting was impressive, but Simon’s precision took him to a championship tie-breaker. In the decider, however, Korolev’s power proved too much to the Frenchman and the Russian took the tie-break 10-4.

Other players who played in this year’s event include Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Novak Djokovic (pictured) and Viktor Troicki.

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Kohli at Wimbledon,England:
1st Round:def. F Serra 7-6 6-1 6-4
next up: vs I Minar

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Wimbly 1st R: