Doubles Spotlight: Krawietz Chasing A Three-Peat At Roland Garros
When Kevin Krawietz travelled to Paris for Roland Garros, he texted Andreas Mies on the way to the airport. The Germans have won the past two titles at the clay-court Grand Slam. But this time, Krawietz is getting ready to play, and Mies is home recovering from right knee surgery.
“It’s a little bit confusing not to go together,” Krawietz told ATPTour.com.
Krawietz’s season — or at least the one he envisioned — ended before it began. The German team, which has qualified for the past two Nitto ATP Finals, arrived in Melbourne at the start of the year for their 14-day quarantine, during which they were allotted time each day to train.
But Mies was dealing with an injury to his right knee dating back to before last year’s US Open. He knew it was getting worse, and when it became clear that he would not be able to play, both men faced an issue. Mies was staring down surgery on the same knee he had operated on in 2015, and Krawietz was without the partner with whom he ascended from the ATP Challenger Tour to ATP Tour stardom.
“We tried to practise and after that he said, ‘Okay, I think it’s a tough decision, but I think I’ll get the surgery now, because then I can hope to continue a couple more years,’” Krawietz recalled. “Then I was standing there thinking, ‘Okay, what do I do now?’”
Krawietz felt bad his friend and partner had to deal with an injury. But he also had to worry about finding a partner while waiting for Mies to return. He agreed to compete for one week alongside doubles veteran Horia Tecau in Rotterdam. During his drive to the Netherlands, Krawietz paid a visit in Cologne to Mies, who had just had surgery. They enjoyed dinner together and a night of laughs.
As Mies remained on the couch, Krawietz reached the ATP 500 final in Rotterdam with Tecau. The German-Romanian duo have kept going from there and they are currently 11th in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings.
Photo Credit: Henk Koster
“It’s not easy on one hand. Of course I want him to do well and I want him to win his matches, but of course it hurts a little bit, too. I would like to be next to him and trying to fight together for more titles and more wins together,” Mies said. “We played the past three years together. I accepted the situation. It wasn’t easy at the beginning. The first few weeks were rough because you know you’re out for quite some time. But then I accepted it and now it’s fine for me to watch the matches.
Now Mies is “following everything”, watching most of Krawietz’s matches and even other teams to scout for when he returns. The former Auburn University standout texts Krawietz after virtually every match to share his support. Mies originally hoped to be back for the Tokyo Olympics and if he’s not ready by then, he aims to return by the US Open. But there is a potential dilemma.
What if Krawietz and Tecau keep playing well and climb the Doubles Race to position themselves for a spot in Turin at the end of the year? The German fully intends on reuniting with Mies once the Cologne-native is ready to compete, but a decision will have to be made for the rest of this season if he has an opportunity to reach the Nitto ATP Finals with Tecau and Mies cannot yet play a full schedule. All Krawietz can do now is fully focus on his efforts with the Romanian.
“That’s our goal: to play every tournament, to go for the title and go for the big tournaments trying to beat everybody,” Krawietz said. “It’s very unlucky from Andy’s surgery and I hope he’s getting healthy soon and can compete as soon as possible. But at this moment we’re going day by day, week by week with Horia.”
With the start of Roland Garros, where the Germans made the best memories of their career, Mies admitted, “This is probably the tournament that hurts the most for me to watch.” But for Krawietz, it is another important event at a venue he will always hold close to his heart, even if Mies won’t physically be by his side. The duo spoke on the phone Thursday evening, and Mies gave Krawietz his full support.
“It’s always like you have positive energy. You always have [memories of the] positive things that happened here the past two years,” Krawietz said. “It’s very emotional, but on the other hand I know that’s the past. Of course in 10 years, 20 years when I come back here, it will still be very special. Now it’s a new year, so I’m looking forward to seeing the draw.”