Hardly anyone else knows the new coach of Angelique Kerber as well as Dirk Hordorff. Rainer Schüttler (42) has been in charge of the Bad Homburger team throughout his professional career. Today Hordorff is the godfather of Schüttler’s two-year-old son Noah. In the tennisnet interview, the DTB Vice President talks about his former protégé – and a special sore muscle trick.
By Ulrike Weinrich
tennisnet: “Mr. Hordorff, why do you think the collaboration between Angelique Kerber and Rainer Schüttler could be a success story?”
Dirk Hordorff: “Rainer is certainly one of the tennis experts you can only wish for when you’re looking for a coach. He played 20 years himself. And he has gained enough experience at the Grand Slam tournaments, those tournaments where Angie wants to play well. They speak the same language.”
tennisnet: “For many the choice of Kerber came as a surprise. What do you think spoke for shakers?”
Dirk Hordorff: “If there is anyone who has experienced tennis in all its facets, it is Rainer. At that time he had one of the longest careers in the men’s field. I think they’re a good human match, too. “I’m actually just positively convinced that this is going to work.”
tennisnet: “Schüttler has no experience as a women’s coach. Is this a shortcoming – or can it also be an opportunity?”
Dirk Hordorff: “The only one I remember who last trained a woman (Simona Halep/Anmerkg. d. Redaktion) and had no previous experience on the women’s tour was Darren Cahill. It came from Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi. And then he found out that the ladies have two legs, two arms and play tennis with round yellow balls.”
tennisnet: “…so you don’t expect any adjustment problems?”
Dirk Hordorff: “No, I don’t see his lack of experience in the women’s sector as a problem at all. Rainer will very quickly know which player in the WTA circuit has which strengths and weaknesses. If he doesn’t even know it now, because he is a meticulous worker who has always done his homework in the past.”
tennisnet: “More and more ex-professionals seem to be taking on coaching tasks…”
Dirk Hordorff: “I would say that it was a coup from Aljoscha Thron (Kerber-Manager/Anmerkg. d. Redaktion) in Rainer’s case to get someone from the men’s to the women’s tour. I don’t think there’s any player other than Angie who could have done it with Rainer.
tennisnet: “Angie Kerber is still on holiday in the Maldives. At the end of November the preparation will start. What will be in the foreground at the beginning of the cooperation?”
Dirk Hordorff: “The two of them know each other. There will be a normal season preparation, in which you do a lot of basic work. Of course Rainer will have ideas – and Angie, too. They’ll both have discussed it by now. You certainly have a few things in mind that you want to improve, because standstill always means regression.”
tennisnet: “Do you think it’s an advantage that shakers and notchers are similar player types – combative and with an outstanding physique as a basis?
Dirk Hordorff: “It may be helpful, but it is not necessary. As a coach, it’s the biggest mistake you make when you try to impose on your protégé the tennis you played yourself. Rainer won’t do that. He’s an absolute expert in all areas, he studied sports and last year he did his master’s at the university.”
tennisnet: “When will you be able to recognize the handwriting of shakers in the Kerber game?”
Dirk Hordorff: “You can’t talk about a handwriting there. Angie is an existing champion. That’s different than the collaboration between Rainer and me. He was 16 years old at the time, you make a player. When André Agassi was 33 years old and hired Brad Gilbert as his coach, it fascinated me. He listened to him as if he were a teenager meeting a coach for the first time. Afterwards he told me that of course he knew 99 percent of what Gilbert told him. But if he hadn’t listened attentively, he might not have heard the one decisive percent.”
tennisnet: “You yourself are a trainer fox. Where will Schüttler start with the Wimbledon winner?”
Dirk Hordorff: “Angie will not get Rainer’s explanation for playing tennis. It’s about trifles in this sector, but of course Rainer had an iron discipline as a player in terms of work, fitness, body, health that comes close to Angie’s attitude. They can work in an optimized way. But of course Rainer also knows that Angie’s serve is not her greatest strength. “I’m sure they’ll work on it.”
tennisnet: “How would you characterize Rainer Schüttler?”
Dirk Hordorff: “I have rarely experienced such a well educated, correct and honest person as Rainer. I guess there’s nobody who doesn’t like him. This is always a good basis to get the trust of the person you are working with. Angie will certainly also consider and appreciate these characteristics as important. That certainly played an important role in her decision.”
tennisnet: “Rainer could also get loud on the court. He usually called himself names…” Dirk Hordorff: “Angie sometimes has this self-criticism. They both know that doesn’t help. Angie’s even more positive than Rainer was on the court. That’s why she may have achieved more than he…”
tennisnet: “They coached the Canadian Vasek Pospisil together with Schüttler. What kind of trainer is Rainer – analyst or belly man?”
Dirk Hordorff: “Both. Rainer, of course, has a self-image for tennis and great experience. But he’s also very analytical. Rainer is someone who prepares himself very carefully and deals with the subject matter. After 20 years on the Tour, he naturally understands tennis.”
tennisnet: “Kerber would like to complete her career Grand Slam. She still needs the title in Paris. But the French Open was the weakest major in Hessen. A problem?”
Dirk Hordorff: “Sand was never Rainer’s strength. I always said his best surface was grass. I was wrong, but his semi-final move into Wimbledon in 2008 saved my argumentation a bit afterwards. Rainer was always fast, but you can’t take advantage of that on sand.”
tennisnet: “Does this mean that Schüttler Kerber can’t coach to win the French Open?”
Dirk Hordorff: “He doesn’t have to play himself. When Rainer himself was still playing, I never had the hope that he would win a French Open. Angie, on the other hand, has already won three Grand Slam tournaments, which is quite remarkable. If you win three Grand Slams, you can win four.”
tennisnet: “Schüttler is also tournament director at the ATP event in Geneva. Will there be any collisions?”
Dirk Hordorff: “I don’t think so. “I’m sure he won’t be hosting Angie in a tournament that week.”
tennisnet: “You know Rainer Schüttler like no other person. Can you finish by telling us an anecdote…?”
Dirk Hordorff (laughs): “There are about 50 anecdotes about Rainer. I met him when he was 16 years old. Then he came to me and asked what advice I could give him. And since he wasn’t perfect on the course in terms of balance, I recommended a very strenuous exercise and said: ‘You do it three times every other day’. Then I met Rainer a month later and his balance had improved. But since he wanted to improve himself further, I simply said out of humor: ‘Do the exercise ten times!
tennisnet: “…and what happened?”
Dirk Hordorff: “When I saw him two months later, Rainer asked how long he would have to continue the exercise? And he said that for the last eight weeks he could only walk down the stairs in the school backwards because everything hurt him. This story characterizes him quite well, so he is…”