Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya have competed in more than 20 country contests for Austria and were awarded with the Davis Cup in St. Gallen. Pölten presented the ITF Commitment Award.
Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya were given a special honour on Friday. After the victory of Gerald Melzer against Ilya Ivashka, the two Austrians were awarded a medal at the Center Court in the VAZ St. Gerald Melzer. Pölten from ITF-Referee Sören Friemel and ÖTV President Robert Groß presented the ITF-Davis Cup Commitment Award. This award is given to players who have competed in 20 or more international matches for their country.
Julian Knowle was the number 6 of the double world ranking list in 2008, the Vorarlberg team won 19 titles on the ATP tour, the career highlight of the 43-year-old was his triumph at the US Open in 2007 with the Swedish rider Simon Aspelin. Julian Knowle is currently working on a comeback after an injury. The Lauteracher has been a member of the Daviscup team since 1999, making his debut for Austria against Portugal, and most recently in Minsk in April 2017, where he and Jürgen Melzer celebrated a win against Belarus in the doubles. All in all, Julian Knowle took part in 24 international fights, the individual record is perfect – in the only match he celebrated a victory against Ivan Ljubicicic in Pula. In doubles, the score is 11:13.
What does it mean to you to play in the Davis Cup?
“Every Davis Cup was always an absolute highlight for me. You play for your country, you play for a team, it’s not common in tennis. I grew up when the Davis Cup in Austria was huge, I saw every match of Muster, Skoff and Antonitsch on TV, was at the record match between Skoff and Wilander at the Dusika Stadium in Vienna. It’s always been a dream for me to play in the Davis Cup.”
What memories do you have of your debut?
“The first convention came very late in my career, I was 28. I came to Wels, we played against Portugal, I arrived later and of course I was a bit tense. An ÖTV official greeted me in English: Welcome to Austria, I show you your loosely furnished rooms. He thought I was Portuguese – in retrospect a funny anecdote! Unfortunately, we lost the doubles in five sets.”
What were the highlights of your Davis Cup career?
Unfortunately, I haven’t gained much in the first few years, but the balance sheet for the last ten years is quite respectable. The doubles match with Alex Peya in Pörtschach against England was outstanding for me, we added the only defeat to Henman and Rusedski in the Davis Cup. The victories with Jürgen Melzer in Wimbledon against England, in Graz against Ljubicic / Ancic and the last in Belarus, where we won, have also been something special.”
Alexander Peya was number 3 in the double world rankings in 2013, and the Viennese won 15 titles on the ATP tour. The 37-year-old has been a member of the Daviscup team since 1999. He made his debut against Sweden in 1999. In April 2017 Alexander Peya was in Minsk with the team, but there he was unable to compete due to an injury. In 2016 he took an active part in the action in Portugal, where he won the double with Dominic Thiem after a 2-0 deficit. Alex Peya took part in 22 country fights for Austria, the single balance is 4:6, the doubles 7:10.
“The Daviscup has always meant a lot to me, it was my dream as a teenager to play for my country. I grew up in the era of Muster / Skoff / Antonitsch, I don’t know how often I watched the videos. I never asked myself whether I was available, it was always a matter of course. You don’t just play for yourself, you play for your country. You don’t feel such a tingling sensation at tournaments, and the atmosphere is incomparable. The audience is not neutral, whether out or at home. It has a great appeal.”
“When I started on the team, I was 19, very young. And then you have to fight against people like Kulti, Tilström or Kucera! We had a real negative run for a long time and were the underdogs everywhere. It wasn’t until 2003, at 5-0 in Norway, that the knot broke. That was the first highlight, followed by the 3:2 in St. Günther. Anton against Finland, where everyone in the team has contributed something to the victory. It doesn’t happen that often. The double with Julian Knowle in Pörtschach was outstanding against Henman / Rusedski, they never lost in the Davis Cup.”