HAMBURG, July 24, 2019
Ahead of their start at the Hamburg European Open, reigning Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies visited “The Cliff”, situated at the Outer Alster Lake on Monday.
The German duo, who mainly competed at ATP-Challenger level over the past years, enjoyed a terrific run in Paris by winning the French Open doubles title. “We are looking forward to the Hamburg European Open. It’s always cool to play a tournament in Germany. Hamburg is a beautiful city and the venue is great. We want to play for the title, but we try to win the first round first, as the competition is very strong,” Krawietz said.
Krawietz/Mies seek first match win since Paris
The team is currently ranked No. 5 in the ATP-Doubles Race to London but struggled to find their form in recent times. Krawietz and Mies haven’t won a match since lifting their maiden Grand Slam trophy, suffering first-round exits at the grass-court events at Halle, Antalya and Wimbledon.
“Our opponents are more motivated now,” added Mies. This will also apply to Czech Roman Jebavy and Matwe Middelkoop from the Netherlands, which they will meet in the first round at the Hamburg European Open on Wednesday. “We have to grow into our new role and need to keep pushing forward.”
Back on clay
Krawietz and Mies will be pleased to return to the red dirt having shown an impressive form throughout the clay-court season. The tandem advanced to the semi-finals of the Hungarian Open and clinched ATP Challenger Tour titles in Marbella and Heilbronn. Krawietz also won ATP Challenger Tour events in Budapest (with Filip Polasek) and Aix en Provence (with Jürgen Melzer).
“You want to make that step from going from Challengers to ATP Tour level,” said Mies. “That was our goal when we started last year. It’s crazy that we made it that quick in that short period of time.”
Top seeds at the Rothenbaum tournament are Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic. The Croats will attempt to reclaim their Hamburg doubles titles they won together in 2017. Pavic also reached the final last year paired with Oliver Marach. The 39-year-old Austrian, who triumphed in 2011, is seeded third with Jürgen Melzer this year.
