Getting Acquainted With… Philipp Petzschner

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Philipp Petzschner is probably best known for his 2010 Wimbledon doubles title, which he shares with Jurgen Melzer, but the German is off to a solid start on the singles side this year. Ranked 66th in the world in singles, Petzschner won his second match of the Sony Ericsson Open today, defeating his doubles partner 6-3, 6-4.
 
We caught up with Petzschner shortly after his match.
 
How do you feel about this year’s Sony Ericsson Open?
It’s a great tournament, and the weather was amazing throughout the last couple of days. It’s always nice coming back to Miami, because it’s a great adventure and a great place to have fun. So far, so good. I had three matches [two singles, one doubles] and I won all three, so I’m really happy.
 
Germany won its last Davis Cup match up over Croatia, and faces France next. What does this next meeting mean to you?
Well, France killed us last year in the opening round of 2010, so we’re trying to get the rematch. We’re playing at home, which is I think a big thing for us, since the spectators will be on our side. We are trying our best to win.
 
How has your doubles success in the last few years contributed to your singles game?
I think either way it improves my tennis. I don’t know if it’s so much for the singles game, but it’s like hand-in-hand. The more success you have on the court, the more it helps you either way for singles or doubles. Just last year I started playing singles well. Before I had four semi-finals on the ATP [World] Tour, and had won Wimbledon in doubles, which also helped me. And the success in doubles helps you with confidence for singles.
 
If you were not a tennis player, which other sport would you play?
I would love to play golf. Every free day in my life, I try to go on the golf course. Basically, if tennis hadn’t worked, I would have tried to play golf.

 
Favorites
Tournament: Shanghai. Everything is organized so well, and the site is perfect.
German Athlete: Martin Kaymer, the No. 1 in golf
Tennis Shot: Backhand slice
Food: Bami goring with bassos. It’s an Indonesian food, and my wife is Indonesian. Whenever I go home, she or her mother will cook that for me. It’s incredible—I have it only twice a year because I am not home so much.