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German tennis star Dominik Koepfer says getting used to the attention after reaching the fourth round of the US Open last year took some time getting used to. The 25 year old German was speaking on the "Advantage Podcast" where he said, "The attention I got during and after the US Open was much higher than I had ever experienced.
Suddenly I was no longer invisible. It takes time and practice. You don't experience that in normal life. That hurt a bit after the US Open and it took me a while to get used to it. That people now know me and that I am no longer anyone." Koepfer said that his own increased expectations of himself and others also played a role in the lack of strong results after the US Open.
The German qualified for the US Open and won three matches in the main draw before losing to eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round. The German has come from the American college system at Tulane College in New Orleans before coming on the ATP Tour.
"It's physically exhausting to fly somewhere else every week with the time difference. Every week in a different hotel. That sounds great at first, but it isn't always. It's getting tiring. You are physically and mentally tired. It is difficult to be motivated every week and get 100 percent out of yourself." During the current crisis, Koepfer says he is in Tampa, Florida and hopes to drop by the Saddlebrook Tennis Academy where countryman Alexander Zverev is stationed with some of the other players in the coming days when the situation permits him to do so.
"I haven't played in the last three weeks because of problems with my heel - actually since the Australian Open. It was good time now to cure it. I now do fitness and strength training every day and slowly start again with tennis training a few times a week.
But training completely doesn't make sense to me. The Saddlebrook Tennis Academy, where he and a few WTA players train, is not that far from Tampa. His brother Mischa and Marcelo Melo are also with him. They can stay there because it is a private facility. I'll be sure to drop by soon."