Łukasz Kubot had a big dilemma on Thursday. On one side of the court in Melbourne Jan Zieliński and Hugo Nys, whom he has been helping since the beginning of the tournament, on the other – Jeremy Chardy. The 40-year-old traditionally sat in the boxing of the Pole and Monegasque, but his joy after their victory 6:3, 5:7, 6:2 was more subdued. It meant the elimination of his great friend the Frenchman and his compatriot Fabrice Martin.
Kubota’s dilemmas. Professional hints. Put the phone down and enjoy the moment
Kubot has joined forces with Chardy many times on the court, the gentlemen also liked each other very much in private. On Thursday, he watched the elimination of this Frenchman by the Polish-Monegasque duo, whom he helps a lot in Melbourne. However, when it came to the rival’s pre-match analysis, he folded.
– He said Chardy was his best friend. He made that very clear right away. Fortunately, I know Fabrice a little. Hugo knows them too and likes Martin a lot. I think Lukas knew it. He abstained, and I understand that very well. We still have such situations in the locker room – Mariusz Fyrstenberg, who trains Zieliński, assures in an interview with Sport.pl.
He has known Kubot for many years, who will soon play in a Davis Cup match in Japan. The popular “Frytka” is the captain of the Polish national team in these games. He also immediately points out that Kubot did not leave his compatriots alone before the semi-final in the antipodes.
– He gave them a lot of other tips. He is the winner of Grand Slam tournaments and the guys ask him, for example, how he approached the matches, so as not to stress, etc. Today we also had such a conversation – reports the captain of the Biało-Czerwonych.
Zieliński is initially surprised that we know about Kubota’s temporary withdrawal. – Who said he didn’t want to? she throws. And after a short moment of silence, he concludes: He helped us enough to win.
The Pole and the Monegasque will face the first Grand Slam final on Saturday. They had never played in a semi-final of a competition of this magnitude before. And people rich in experience and playing will always be happy to listen. There are both Kubot and Fyrstenberg.
– There are a lot of such simple remarks, but you really have to experience it yourself to know how to react. Mariusz and Łukasz told us how it was on their part. How did their preparations for these most important matches look like? What was important in their case and what bothered them – lists Zieliński.
Example? Fyrstenberg sent him and his partner a text late Wednesday afternoon advising them to put their phones away a few hours before bed.
– And they no longer looked at what was happening in the media. Because at this time Poland actually wakes up, news, articles, news, questions about the next interviews begin to appear. And here you have to cut yourself off before bedtime, calm down and do anything else, e.g. watch something on Netflix, dinner, chess, whatever. Łukasz also added: Enjoy what is now, and do not think about what will happen on Saturday – said the 26-year-old.
A unique court and melatonin ready. “You can look at us as nothing compared to others who are higher in the ranking”
He reached his first Grand Slam final in only his fifth appearance in a competition of this magnitude. An additional impression was due to the fact that the match against the French took place on the center court.
– On the court where I watched Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and other amazing tennis stars. That in itself was an amazing experience. All those names of winners in the corridor are sure to give some food for thought. But we focused on going out on the court to play tennis, not to get excited about how big the stadium is, how many people are around, how many lights and how loud it is, argues Zieliński.
Turns out he’s had a chafing at the Rod Laver Arena before. In addition to warming up, he trained there a year ago with Kamil Majchrzak and watched Hubert Hurkacz sparring with Rafael Nadal this year.
So I kind of knew what to expect. And now I don’t know what else to say. I’m giving an interview for the first time after advancing to the Grand Slam final. Maybe Mariusz will give me a few more lessons? But I’m definitely very excited – the Polish doubles player jokingly assures.
Fyrstenberg revealed that Zieliński and Nys had been having trouble sleeping for several days – when the tournament entered the decisive phase of the struggle.
– Hugo has been sleeping badly for four days. Even though he’s doing well on the court. Jason also sleeps poorly. But I think it’s such a “good problem” before the most important matches – he sums up.
Zieliński, in turn, expects similar difficulties before the final. – Hugo mentioned that he might use some light melatonin to fall asleep faster. We’ll see. For now, I’m not worried, and I’ll worry about sleeping on Friday night on Friday evening – he confirms.
He and Nysa will face Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler in the final. Local tennis players got into the ladder thanks to the “wild card”. They defeated Argentinian Horacio Zeballos and Spaniard Marcel Granollers in the semi-finals. The Pole emphasizes that rivals are very dangerous and dangerous, so they cannot be underestimated.
“Just because they have a “wild card” doesn’t mean anything. Me and Hugo are also unseeded and you can also look at us as being nothing compared to the others who are higher up in the ranking and have been seeded. But as history shows, Australians are very dangerous at home. The last few years regularly in the final. We are aiming for a very tough match against very demanding, good and complete players. And a very difficult audience, which we have already had the opportunity to meet and defeat in the second round – reminds Zieliński.
Source: Sport.PL
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
