Dubai tennis: Kohlschreiber reveals his funnier side

Dubai - Kohlschreiber never looked in trouble in his 6-4 7-6 (7/1) first round win over eighth seed Muller

Veteran German player Philipp Kohlschreiber showed his funny side at the draw for the 25th edition of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships when TV presenter David Mercer complimented him on getting better and better with age.
Mercer's were nice words.
But the response from the 33-year-old German was cheeky. "Yeah first of all thanks a lot David for reminding me that I have been on the Tour for so many years now," Kohlschreiber said.
"This tournament is very special. I am happy with how I have played here. But you can always dream bigger. And now I am very close to the trophy," Kohlschreiber joked, pointing at the majestic Dubai tournament trophy placed in front of him at the draw.
Kohlschreiber, who first played here in 2004, has never reached the final in Dubai. His best run came in 2014 when he reached the semis and last year he lost to the eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarters.
The former Wimbledon quarterfinalist never looked in trouble in his 6-4 7-6 (7/1) first round win over eighth seed Gilles Muller in the opening match of the tournament at the centre court on Monday.
His baseline play and that one-handed backhand gave some serious trouble to Muller and later in the post-match press conference the Augusburg-born player admitted that he always tries to joke with players when he is not engaged in racquet battles with them.
"You mean I am the funny guy? Well, that's normal for a German," he smiled.
"I try to be always the guy who makes other people smile, you know. Sometimes I do few things too much, you know. But I just try to be funny. That's all. I'm a happy person. For me, it's a very good environment. Many players on tour, you know, after spending so many years, become friends. People you see almost every week. So it's a good connection," he said.
Kohlschreiber says his sense of humour has never landed him in trouble.
"No. Maybe some others have landed in trouble," he laughed after completing his 398th career match win on Monday.
On the women's tour, players rarely get along well - even though there are exceptions like Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki.
Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard even went to the extent of saying they don't play to make friends
"I mean, it's, of course, not about making friends. But if you spend so many years together, you have your practice partners over the years, people speaking the same language, like Gilles, so you talk, you practice, like I mention, and play cards. You become friends," Kohlschreiber replied. "I mean there are friendships on the tour. You have very close friends. I would say that's gonna be tough to have somebody on tour. But you have a lot of people with a great relationship."
But Kohlschreiber admitted his best friends are still in the same place where he grew up.
"That's true, they are the best friends. They understand your work and if you come back after a long time, it's like nothing happened. You know you talk about your journey in tennis. And they talk about their jobs or other stuff," he said.
"These friends are great because you have a great connection with them. Everybody knows how tough tennis can be sometimes, you know, winning matches, losing. They know that situation, and it's great to come home and meet them. They always understand you."
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com