“Catastrophe!” Tennis madness causes angry reactions

On Saturday evening she will play in the US Open final in New York, and on Tuesday the Davis Cup in China is scheduled.

And in the time between, the German duo Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz have to travel halfway around the world. The flight to Asia puts the duo under additional time pressure, as they lose half a day due to the time difference.

The flight from New York to Hong Kong takes about 16 hours, before the two are taken by shuttle to the nearby venue Zhuhai.

No wonder that the two DTB stars are not exactly happy with the schedule.

“The planning is a disaster,” Krawietz complained about the decision of the world association ITF to hold the Davis Cup preliminary round in China two days after the end of the US Open.

The hosting of the four-team tournament in the Middle Kingdom had already attracted enormous criticism, also because the hosts are not even taking part.

In addition to the Germans, Slovakians and Chileans, the Americans are also taking part. The organizers could have held the preliminary round in the USA, where the world elite were already present at the Grand Slam tournament in New York.

But the decision cannot be changed, even if there are fears that the games in the Far East will attract little attention and will be played in front of half-empty stands. “Unfortunately, we cannot change it, we have no influence on it,” said Krawietz, adding: “From the players’ point of view, that is bad.”

Nevertheless, he and his doubles partner Pütz want to “try to be as professional as possible and as fresh as possible on the court on Tuesday.”

This would be urgently needed, as the DTB team has already been severely decimated by the cancellations of Alexander Zverev, who were justified by travel stress, as well as Jan-Lennard Struff and Dominik Koepfer (both injured).

Only if team manager Michael Kohlmann’s team finishes in the top two of the group will they qualify for the finals in Malaga in November.