Laura Siegemund, the German No. 1, is entering the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in a positive mood. Before her opening match on Monday against the Pole Magdalena Frech, the 2017 winner spoke about her preparation for the season which was more difficult than hoped for due to physical problems and the aftereffects of the back injury she sustained in Wuhan – and about the pleasing start to the season. To give her body more time to regenerate, she has consciously reduced the number of tournaments she will play this year.
“I’ve played less than in the year before. It was also my aim this year to tone things down,” said the 38-year-old. After her tournaments, she needs more recovery time to get over niggles fully and to regulate the stress more systematically. In the meantime, she has the situation under control and feels she is well-prepared for the upcoming weeks.
Home tournament with a special significance
For the Filderstadt-born player, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is, even after all these years, still a tournament like no other. Her return to the Porsche Arena sparks not only tennis memories but ones of the special atmosphere at her home tournament saying, “The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix will always remain a quite special tournament for me. The fact that friends and family can see me live here makes it extra special.”
At the same time, the home tournament comes with its special challenges. Many people around her want to be a part of everything in Stuttgart. It all has to be well managed. On the whole, the positive feel outweighs everything. She consciously finds the time to get to the venue early and practice for her opening match in peace and quiet. “The tournament is simply special. It’s simply not like all the others in the world.”
Awaiting her in the first round is an opponent – Magdalena Frech – that Laura Siegemund knows well from previous encounters. The Pole, currently the world No. 39, is someone she describes as being very solid and consistent – as a player that makes few mistakes and can take control of long rallies. From the German’s point of view, it will come down to taking the initiative herself and dictating the rallies.
Critical words about German women’s tennis
Laura Siegemund also expressed her opinion about the Billie Jean King Cup in which the German team has been relegated to the third class Group 2. The reason for her withdrawing from the international match in Oeiras, Portugal was solely down to physical issues. After the tournament in Miami, she decided to continue her physiotherapy in order to not take any unnecessary risks for the upcoming clay court season. It changes nothing to her basic positivity: “I’ve always got a desire to play the Billie Jean King Cup.”
She duly put the German team’s disappointing performance into a bigger picture. Young players, have, in her view, to be introduced at earlier point of time into the team so that they can gain experience before the moment comes to take responsibility on the stage. In this connection, she also spoke about the role of doubles. It only enjoys little attention in Germany even though it is of great importance in team competitions and at the Olympics. In her mind, there is a lot of catching up to do.
Porsche im Tennis
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is the flagship of the Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG‘s worldwide involvement in women’s tennis. First played in 1978, the Stuttgart WTA tournament stands for tradition and innovation, just like the Porsche brand. As the most loyal sponsor of women’s international tennis, Porsche has accompanied the WTA’s oldest indoor event right from the start. Porsche has also been a premium partner of the “Deutsche Tennis Bund” (DTB – German Tennis Association) since 2012 and is committed to fostering up-and-coming players in the Porsche Talent Team.
