Philipp Kohlschreiber has belief in teammates as he hints that this year’s Davis Cup could be the last of his career.
The veteran German is preparing to lead his nation in the Davis Cup Qualifiers this weekend when they take on Belarus in Dusseldorf.
Alongside Kohlschreiber will be Jan-Lennard Struff, Dominik Koepfer, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies as Alexander Zverev continues his Davis Cup boycott.
Ahead of this weekend’s tie, Kohlschreiber has been speaking highly of Jan-Lennard Struff who has been on quite a rise in the singles and doubles game.
In a recent interview with daviscup.com, Kohlschreiber explains why he has such faith in Struff, “Struffy is an amazing team player and loves Davis Cup,” the 36 year-0ld said.
“He’s always 100 per cent committed. The one or two ties he has missed he was sick lying in the hotel but he was still there. He’s a great guy, brings a lot of energy and is very positive.
“He’s very strong in singles, but if something happens he is also a very good doubles player. He’s very important for the team.”
Germany will look to qualify for the Davis Cup finals for the second consecutive year after they were knocked out in the quarter-finals to Great Britain.
As Kohlschreiber approaches the end of his Davis Cup career, the German still takes pride in participating in ties like this one, “The Davis Cup is the tournament in which you win for your country,” Kohlschrieber said.
“This could be one of my last Davis Cups. I’m always nervous but I will try to enjoy. I’m looking forward to potentially going back to Madrid for the Finals. I hope I can help the team to qualify. That’s the main goal and we’re all ready.”
Kohlschreiber has competed in 22 Davis Cup ties since 2007 and a first Davis Cup title for Germany since 1993 would be the perfect way to end his Davis Cup career.
But first they have to get past a Belarusian team that boast the in-form duo of Egor Gerasimov and Ilya Ivashka, they are joined by Alexander Zgirovsky, Martin Borisiouk and Andrei Vasilevski.
The tie will be played this Friday and Saturday.
