For Philipp Kohlschreiber, August 1, 2018 is a day he will never forget. In the morning, he married his longtime girlfriend, Lena Alberti. In the afternoon he was in Kitzbühel to play his second round match against Denis Istomin.
The story reflects the German’s commitment to his 20-year career on the ATP Tour, which put the finishing touches on him at the recent edition of Wimbledon. “It’s something unique,” Kohlschreiber told ATPTour of his marriage.
“He had been a bit ill, so he hadn’t been able to play the day before. He needed to rest a bit more to be ready for Kitzbühel (where he was defending the title)”. “When you’re a professional, you do everything for your sport… You have to find a good date for your wedding, so that it’s easy to remember.
So August 1, 2018 is still very easy for me. In this case, marriage was a little more important! he joked. The announcement of his retirement came spontaneously, after his victory in the first round of Wimbledon qualifications against Grégoire Barrère.
For the 38-year-old German, this is just a demonstration of his conviction about the decision he had made. “It was fun, I hadn’t really planned on announcing it,” Kohlschreiber said. “They asked me what was next and I just said there was nothing else, it was my last tournament.
I had no intention of going to Wimbledon and saying maybe yes or maybe no. Rafael Nadal looked good to continue his Grand Slam winning streak this year at the Wimbledon Championships.
Rafa Nadal had to retire
Toni Nadal wrote a column in El Pais about his nephew’s injuries and physical condition over the years.
“First of all, Rafael Nadal has the ability to endure suffering and overcome extraordinary difficulties,” Toni said. “Already in 2005, he had to accept and internalize the pain in order to continue his sports career.
If we had given any credit to the severity of his congenital injury, he would have retired around that time and wouldn’t even have won Roland Garros 2006.” The 61-year-old also said Rafael Nadal can’t think of give up in the face of difficulty because he is not used to it.
“And finally, his style of play has always been based on finding solutions to change the trajectory of a match that is going up for him, whether the difficulties are caused by his opponents or by his own problems,” continued Toni Nadal. “Rafael can’t think of giving up in the face of difficulty, just because he’s not used to it.”
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