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Munich (dpa) - Philipp Kohlschreiber did not look like he had already given up his tennis career.

After almost two and a half hours of his opening match in Munich and a painful defeat, he didn't go to the hotel or home in frustration.

No, the 37-year-old packed his things and marched from the center court straight to a side seat at the BMW Open to follow up with a short training session.

"I am not thinking of quitting," emphasized the German veteran.

Kohlschreiber wants to know again.

The first round off against Dominik Koepfer (6: 4, 4: 6, 3: 6) "hurts", said the once best German tennis professional.

But that doesn't change his attitude to the sport and his goals for this season.

"I'm still having a lot of fun," he said.

«The ambition and the desire are there to play good tennis again.

I have resolved to give everything this year and at the end of the year it will be settled: Am I still good enough or not? "

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The old class also flashed against Koepfer here and there, especially on his favorite surface sand, Kohlschreiber still dares to do a lot.

But rhythm and feeling suffered during the Corona period.

In February 2020 Kohlschreiber survived the first round in Dubai - since then he has not won a game on the ATP tour.

However, he only appeared in five tournaments, which was due to the slipping in the world rankings: At the US Open and French Open it was enough for the large 128 field at Grand Slams.

In Kitzbühel and Hamburg he was allowed - as now in Munich - thanks to a wildcard.

At other events, he did not want to do the qualification, in pandemic times he preferred to set up in the newly built house.

"I've spent more time at home than ever," he said.

"After October I didn't play tennis for three months."

The break was necessary “to give my body time to give it a break”.

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Now he is fit again, which underlines the extra shift after the tough match against Kopfer.

And Kohlschreiber doesn't just want to pick out the tournament pearls in his last year.

The Challenger in Heilbronn at the beginning of May is his next stop.

“I have to go on, keep working on myself,” he announced.

For him, it's about building up self-confidence for the French Open.

There he can run in the main field because he has a so-called protected ranking - his current world number 114, which he may not be able to hold until then, is therefore not an obstacle.

In Paris "I have little to lose".

Maybe a surprise will succeed.

Incidentally, Koepfer was also asked about Kohlschreiber on Munich's Aumeisterweg.

Just the Black Forest man has possibly screwed up the record winner of the BMW Open - three successes and three more finals - the last appearance at the home tournament.

"He has had an incredible career," said the 26-year-old, but of course did not mean this as a swan song and therefore added: "He still plays very good tennis."

Kohlschreiber wants to prove that this year.

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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210427-99-378412 / 2

Portrait of Kohlschreiber on the ATP website

BMW Open