Tim Pütz ist eher der lakonische Typ. Als man ihn in Turin im Siegerinterview auf die Größe seines Doppeltriumphes mit Partner Kevin Krawietz aufmerksam machte, es war der erste für ein deutsches Doppel bei den ATP Finals, erwiderte er so spontan wie schlicht: „Ja, schön.“ Mehr Begeisterung war dem 36 Jahre alten Hessen über den Gewinn des wichtigsten Tennisturniers nach den vier Grand-Slam-Veranstaltungen auf Anhieb nicht zu entlocken.
Dass das 7:6, 7:6 über Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic (El Salvador/Kroatien) aber auch für ihn etwas Besonderes darstellte, hatte sich zuvor daran erkennen lassen, dass Pütz nach dem Matchball auf den Boden sank und auf dem Rücken liegend die Arme hochstreckte. Eine Gefühlsaufwallung, die zum Standardrepertoire vieler Tennisprofis zählt, aber nicht bei Pütz: „Das habe ich zuvor noch nie getan“, bekannte er. „Aber größer als hier wird es nicht.“
Eine Bank für Deutschland
Dem könnte man widersprechen, schließlich bestehen für ihn und den 32 Jahre alten Coburger Krawietz auch im nächsten Jahr vier Chancen, einen Grand-Slam-Titel zu gewinnen, und schon in dieser Woche spielen sie gemeinsam für Deutschland im Davis-Cup-Finalturnier. Aber der Fußballfan, der bei der Frankfurter Eintracht zu Hause ist, manchmal im Stadion, häufiger auf der Tennisanlage, hält lieber den Ball flach. Wenn er in Turin einen Satz sagt wie: „Das war der größte Titel, den Kevin und ich in unserer Karriere bis jetzt zusammen gewonnen haben“, dann folgt unweigerlich die Einschränkung: „So viel haben wir bis jetzt zusammen auch nicht gewonnen.“
That’s true if you think in terms of titles – Krawietz won his biggest with Andreas Mies (the French Open twice), and Pütz triumphed in mixed doubles at Roland Garros with the Japanese Miyu Kato. But the two have put together a lot of small, medium and medium sized victories. First in the Davis Cup, in which they have been a bank for Germany for three years, and then also on the ATP tour since 2023.
In their first year together they missed out on making it to the ATP finals in ninth place, but this season they qualified in eighth place. “We managed to get our fluctuations under control,” says Pütz about the progress: “We were very consistent this year, but without any big outliers, apart from participating in the final at the US Open.” Sometimes the best comes last.
“I’ve become a bit of a fatalist”
The German doubles still by no means saw themselves as outsiders in Turin. “In doubles the differences are very small, we had already won against everyone and, for example, had a 3-2 record against our final opponents Arevalo/Pavic this year,” said Pütz. And so the Hessian doesn’t want to do a big analysis as to why it finally worked out with the big title in Turin and not before: “There was also the necessary luck.”
In the semi-final, the Germans were “shown” – in their own words – by the Australians Thompson/Purcell for 45 minutes until a double fault from Purcell brought them back into the game. As they won the game 11-9 in the match tiebreak, the pair shook their heads in disbelief at how they had managed to avoid the noose. And the last point to win the final – 7:6 (7:5), 7:6 (8:6) – was a clever smash from Croatian Pavic. A note that is not intended to diminish the achievement, but rather to illustrate the fine line between victory and defeat.
“In doubles you have to accept that you can’t control everything,” says Pütz. The regulations alone, in which there is no third set, but a match tiebreak up to ten and no “advantage” – when the score is 40:40, the next point decides the game. With the help of a sports psychologist, the Frankfurter says he has also learned to tolerate uncontrollability: “I have become a bit of a fatalist, which is how I maintain the necessary relaxedness. Just switch off your head and concentrate on the next shot.” This was also the decisive point for Krawietz: “We managed to decide things for ourselves in the tight moments all week long.”
There wasn’t much time to celebrate, the next morning it continued: “It was just a beer,” is the official version that Pütz gave on Monday morning at the airport in Madrid before the onward flight to Málaga, where the Davis Cup -Final round will be held. There the German team will meet Canada as outsiders on Wednesday. “According to the paper, we are not the best at the start, but we have often played better in the Davis Cup than the paper said,” says Pütz about his expectations. “I just hope that the boys score points in the individual game so that Kevin and I can get a chance too.”
