The title dream is alive: Steirer Oliver Marach wants to mobilize his last reserves in the Melbourne double final on Saturday.
From Ulrike Weinrich from Melbourne
Over the past few days, two hearts have been beating in Oliver Marach’s chest. Of course, the 37-year-old wishes his double partner Mate Pavic only the very best in activities other than the exchange of blows. But the fact that the Croatian rushes from victory to victory in the Australian Open could make Marach’s mission down under more difficult.
The seasoned veteran knows that he has to be on his feet if the duo wants to win their first Grand Slam title in the final against Colombian Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah (No. 11) on Saturday evening in Melbourne Park,”Of course, the last few weeks have come to an end. But we know we can beat anyone,”said Marach before the team’s second major final after Wimbledon in 2017. In the lawn Mecca on Church Road last summer they had to bow to the exceptional talents of Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo (Poland/Brazil). After a dramatic sequence – 11:13 in the fifth set.
This season Marach/Pavic are still unbeaten after winning the Doha and Auckland tournaments before the Aussie Open,”We have the confidence from the first few weeks of the year, which makes a big difference on the important points,”said the resident from Graz, Panama. The other side of the coin:”I’m playing in reserve. I don’t have any injuries now, but the body is simply over-acidified after the many games” After a cheer in the semi-final against Jan-Lennard Struff/Ben Mclachlan (Warstein/Japan) Marach had even become dizzy for a short time.
Pavic is 13 years younger than Marach, but the left-hander from Split had to play in the mixed on Thursday after the double semi-finals. Just like on Friday, when he reached the final with Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski. Eagl wie,”I would love it if after the successes in Doha and Auckland, I would make it to the triple on Saturday”, emphasized Marach, the number 17 in the double world ranking.
After Jürgen Melzer (Wimbledon 2010, US Open 2011) and Julian Knowle (US Open 2007), Marach could become the third Austrian overall to win a Grand Slam title in the men’s doubles. For the coup at the Happy Slam, a cheque of just under 453,000 euros is waiting for the winning combination.
Regardless of the final outcome and physical condition, Marach is determined to win the Davis Cup duel for the Alpine republic against Belarus (2nd/3rd place). February) in St. Margarita This is very important to me. But I won’t start training there until Wednesday,”Marach announced. This is coordinated with Captain Stefan Koubek. First, the Melbourne finalist wants to be checked out by the doctor or physio after returning home.