‘There were a lot of naysayers in the initial stages of my career’- Australian Open 2018 Men’s Doubles Champion, Oliver Marach opens up on his tennis career, and best moments| FirstSportz Exclusive Part 1


‘There were a lot of naysayers in the initial stages of my career’- Australian Open 2018 Men’s Doubles Champion, Oliver Marach opens up on his tennis career, and best moments| FirstSportz Exclusive Part 1
Oliver Marach with the Australian Open 2018 title, alongside Mate Pavic

Oliver Marach, is an Austrian professional tennis player, who has been a part of the tour since 1997. In a career spanning over 2 decades, Marach has 23 titles to his name, and has a career best ranking of World Number One, which he achieved alongside, Mate Pavic in 2018. The most noteworthy moment in his career was the Australian Open 2018 Men’s Doubles title which he won partnering Mate Pavic.

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Oliver Marach has achieved immense success in his 23 years on tour, having lifted several titles and beaten the legendary Bryan Brothers, a couple of times in his career. The Austrian has played over 700 doubles matches in his illustrious career, and is definitely set to play many more in the upcoming years.

Oliver Marach spoke to us regarding his tennis career including his best moments, his experience in India, his take on the Big 3 debate and the NextGen players.

Oliver Marach reveals his current training routine and plans for the upcoming 2021 season

Marach has been training rigorously for the past week

We started the interview asking Oliver Marach about his current training routine. He has been rigorously training for the past week, having arrived back in Panama after a long stint on tour. For the past couple of months  he has played almost 10 tournaments, with the final one in Paris.

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“ I started one and a half weeks ago my pre-season training, one week I  just did fitness training but today I combined it with a bit of tennis.“ Marach then spoke about the difficulty players have been facing on tour due to the strict quarantine rules in place because of the coronavirus situation.

It was completely new for us. For us tennis players, we lose 2 days before a tournament. You have a PCR Test and then you have to quarantine for 24 hours, until the report comes back as negative,” said Marach. He told us that he was still looking for a partner for the 2021 season. Marach had partnered Raven Klaasen for majority of 2020, but the pair parted ways after Cologne 1 Open.

“Right now I don’t have a partner yet, I am still looking. I played with Raven for most of the year but around French Open, we decided that after Cologne 1 Open we would go separate ways, because we did not play well,” said the Austrian. Marach ended the year playing with Rohan Bopanna at the Paris Masters, where they lost in the quarterfinals.

Oliver Marach talks about his most successful partnership with Mate Pavic, and their Wimbledon 2017 run

Oliver Marach ended as runner-up at Wimbledon 2017

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic, were one of the best tennis doubles team on tour in 2017 and 2018. They pair finished as the year as the number one team in 2018. They won the Australian Open 2018, and finished as runners-up at the Wimbledon 2017. The  pair won several ATP Tournaments during their partnership.

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Marach revealed to us that they (Marach and Pavic) had decided in 2017, after the grass court season, they would split,but they played so well, that they continued with each other and achieved tremendous success. “ In Stuttgart, we sat together and decided to split after the grass court season. But we won Stuttgart and I got a wrist injury. At Antalya I had to retire in the final because of an inflammation in my wrist. I did not play until the warmup before the 1st round of Wimbledon,” said the Austrian.

He then continued to speak about their incredible run at the All England Championships where they ended as runners-up, losing in the final to Kubot and Melo. “ We had an unbelievale year, we played the final. We were a bit unlucky, because at 11-11, they had to close the roof. But it was a great match and a great experience. Me and Pavic stayed together, we took a coach after the US Open and won the tournament in Stockholm later.

“We Won!,” Oliver Marach recalls the hilarious moment when he and Pavic won the Australian Open 2018 title

Marach and Pavic after winning the Australian Open 2018

Oliver Marach and Pavic came into 2018 at the back of 9 unbeaten games, if their walkover at the Vienna Open was not taken into account. Marach said that in December, he had a back injury and could not practice. But then they went to Doha, where they won the title, without dropping a single set and next played at Auckland, where they lifted  their second consecutive title.

“We were tired before the Australian Open but had a lot of confidence. I prefer confidence over anything,” said Marach. Speaking of the moment when they won the Australian Open 2018 Men’s Doubles title, he said that it was a hilarious moment, but one he will never ever forget.

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In the final, I was shocked. Mate did not know we won, he though it was 5-3. I was like OH MY GOD!! I just heard the umpire say Game, Set, Match! I shouted to Mate that we won and it was game over,” he said. The Austrian said that it was the greatest moment in his career so far.

“If you ask me, when I was young, there were a lot of naysayers who thought I would not even be a tennis player, so to win a Grandslam it is completely incredible. I was 38 when I won the Australian Open, but Mate has a long career ahead of him,” added the Austrian.

Oliver Marach reveals his admiration for the Bryan Brothers

Oliver Marach considers the Bryan Brothers as the greatest doubles team

Oliver Marach believed that the Bryan Brothers were the best tennis doubles team ever, and were inspirational not just on court but also off court. He revealed his plans to catch up with Bob Bryan, later in December as he plans to travel to the United States of America for the pre-season training.

“They (Bryan Brothers) have 112 career titles, for sure the best doubles team. The chemistry they have is incredible. Also off court when they practice, their intensity is very high. They are great guys, they have k*ck*d my as* on numerous occassions, I was 10 down against them in the start, but later beat them with Janko Tipsarevic and Mate Pavic,” he said.

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On his plans to meet-up with Bob Bryan he said,”My plan is to go to USA and practice with Bob Bryan, I am close to him and I love the guy and he lives in Miami.” The Austrian also spoke about the continous need to change and adapt in any sport. “I had to adapt, if I did not and played to my system, I would not have been playing anymore. Every sport gets better, faster, with younger players coming through the ranks, it is important to improve,” he added.

“I like the Combination of the Big 3, not a single player,” Marach opens up on the GOAT Debate and the NextGen players

Marach gives his views on the GOAT Debate

Marach said that he was not the person who only liked one player out of the Big 3 ( Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic). He said, “I was never someone who had one. I like the combination-fighting spirit of Nadal, the way Federer presents himself, everyone has their own traits. They are exceptional singles players and have been on tour for a long time.”

Speaking of the NextGen players, Marach noted the Russian, Andrey Rublev who has impressed him the most. The Russian won 5 ATP Titles in 2020, and broke into the top 10 rankings for the first time. He was also awarded a ticket to the Nitto ATP Finals in London. He recalled, practicing with Rublev 3 years ago.

“I saw the kid (Rublev), 3 years ago, I was practicing with him and the kid was shooting the ball everywhere. He is really amazing. Medvedev, Zverev, Shapovalov are also amazing players. Diego Schwartzman has a great fighting spirit and I wish the NextGen players all the best as they are the future of tennis.”

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Speaking of Federer’s return, Marach said that he did not know how the Swiss maestro would come back after a long time on the sidelines, with a couple of surgeries. “I do not know how Federer will perform, after his operations. They ( Big 3) have played for a long time already and should continue to do so as long as their body keeps up, and they enjoy playing tennis. But they should not destroy their body as you want a good life after playing tennis,” said the Austrian.

“I have experiences in India which I will never forget,” Marach recalls his time in India playing satellite tournaments

Oliver Marach recalls his time in India, playing satellite tournaments

We concluded the interview by asking the Australian Open 2018 champion about his experiences in India. The Austrian had won the Aircel Chennai Open in 2016. However, it was the satellites he played early on in his career, that he still remembers fondly. “I played satellites in India, in Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune. I personally love India, Indians are happy but they do not show it. I have experiences in between tournaments in India which I will never forget,” recalled Marach.

Marach recalled one particular incident when he was playing a satellite tournament in Pune, and had a match scheduled at Nagpur the next day. “I once played a final at a satellite tournament in Pune against my practice partner and we had to go to Nagpur. There were no flights that time, so we had night passes. And it was unbelievable. The final was at 1:00 pm and we had a bus to catch at 6:00 pm,he said.

For the first time in 6 months it started raining, we started the match at 3:00 pm and played for 2 hours 20 mins or so, and then had a 20 min celebration. We had to rush to the bus as we had no time. The suddenly, in the middle of the night, the bus stops, the engine stops workings and the bus driver left. I was very nervous. Next day we arrived at 4:00 pm and it was 40 degrees, it was very hot,” continued the Austrian.

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In the end, he spoke about his love for Indian food and its people. “I like India, we do have to take care of the water here, but I like the Indian food, though not spicy. I love the Indian naan. India is an inspirational country, and we can learn from you as people,” said Marach.

Also Read: “A lot of people and ATP thought that the PTPA was just for boycotting which is completely not true,” Oliver Marach clarifies misconceptions relating to the PTPA | FirstSportz Exclusive Part 2