BLOG DE NICOLAS KIEFER
Düsseldorf 2008


blog : http://www.arag-world-team-cup.com/1/en/news/stories/blog.asp

Sunday, May 18, 2008


Hello everyone,



In the next few days I am going to tell you my experiences at the World Team Cup here in Düsseldorf. Because of my injury, it has been two years since I have played here. I am looking forward to it and I am happy to be here. I think that this week will be great for our team.

I was a little tired when I arrived yesterday after my time in Hamburg. Friday night I went home and slept in my own bed. Now I am more relaxed and rested. It was great for me. It is important for me to be well rested.

I relaxed again after my arrival here, and then went into the forest with my trainer Sascha Nensel to do some jogging. That is a tradition for me here in Düsseldorf. Afterwards, I relaxed for half an hour and got a massage. It did me well after three energetic games in Hamburg.

In the evening we went to the offical Opening Party and it was very nice. It in a new location for the first time. In previous years it was at SAMS, a disco in the city. The party yesterday was the best. Perfect atmosphere, good music and delicious food. Unfortunately we had to leave early, but that was alright because I was still tired from the past few days. And we have a big week planned.

This morning I arrived on site very early. I did some training with Christopher Kas. Afterwards there was a big suprise event with two circus elephants who were brought to the area by the Rochusclub. Very funny. Fortunately I played better than the elephants. It was really awesome. He even picked me up in his tusks. At first I wasn't too comfortable with the situation, but when I was up on his tusks I felt better.

Philipp has put us into an advantage over Spain. It is a good starting position for me in my match against Lopez. This evening we are going to have dinner with our whole group. I am going to take it easy. I am excited for tomorrow. I am hoping for a good start for the week.

See you tomorrow,

Kiwi

Monday, May 19 2008



At the beginning of this blog I have to apologize: Sorry for not playing today. I just wasn’t able to play because I was feeling sick. It was smarter to give Denis a chance to play. Now I am really happy that we won the match against Spain. My compliments to Philipp and Christopher who were able to deal with the pressure of winning the match.

Looking back to Sunday night: Day 1 at the tournament. We had dinner with the entire team. We ate together and talked, but I went to bed early. The last few tournament days in Hamburg were harder than I thought. I slept really bad last night.

I got up very early to hit some balls with Denis, but I quickly realized that I didn't feel healthy and I was ill. The doctor confirmed that I have an infection and he put me on some medicine and advised me to stay in bed for the entire day.

I was thinking a lot about what to do next. I also talked a lot with Patrik. Sadly the risk was too big. I would have to take a break for a longer time if I was to play. Therefore, they strongly encouraged me not to play. That was definitely a hard decision for me. I’m really disappointed about this situation. I really like to play at the Rochusclub and I had a really good experience last year at the Rochusclub. I am especially sorry for the fans. I played really well in Hamburg and I would have liked to show this in Düsseldorf too.

I will definitely get a lot of sleep and drink enough fluids. I hope I will play on Wednesday. That is the plan.

Luckily Denis Gremelmayer supports us as the fifth man of the German team. He is definitely an enrichment for us and our team.

Maybe I will make it to the poker night tonight at the clubhouse of the Rochusclub. I will get some sushi and hang out with the guys.

Kiwi

Tuesday, May 20 2008



Yesterday I used my time to get back into shape. A few hours of sleep and a lot of water made me feel better. At night I went out with our team and we ate sushi. I love sushi.

I wasn’t able to join the poker night because I did not want to stress my body. Therefore, I went to bed really early and I slept very well.

This morning I hit some balls and that went very well. Afterwards I did some easy jogging in the forest. I am really excited about playing my first match and I can’t wait to perform in front of the best fans here at the Rochusclub.

So far my teammates have impressively shown that we are able to compete with the best teams this year. Philipp again put us in front by winning his match against Italy and we are very happy about it. All of us.

It will be my first match ever against Bolelli. I need to see how it is going to work out because I have never played against him. I hope for the best.

The biggest winner is definitely Christopher Kas, who was as happy as a lark. That was his first match and his first win for Germany, but above all it was a great success for all of us. It is really important for our success that we present ourselves as a well performing team because you can’t win the title all alone. Only as a team we are strong! Everybody on our team has internalized this.

Kiwi

Wednesday, May 21, 2008



I am really disappointed about today's play development. In my singles and also in the doubles there were enough chances to win against Italy.

Especially I am very upset about my singles match, because I didn't play well and Simone optimized his chances better than I did.

The most positive thing about today: my health is on top again and the illness is gone.

The atmosphere in the stadium was great, similiar to the one in Hamburg, but I didn't play as well as in Hamburg.

After that I needed to take a run in the forest to calm my frustration. I always do that if I feel like that, because the trees don't respond to me.

I am really glad that I met Timo Boll and we directly set up a day for jogging in Beijing. We are united by a strong friendship through sports.

We can't wait until Saturday where I want to win the third team Championship and Timo wants to win the German Team Championship for the first time with Borussia Dusseldorf.

Kiwi

Thursday, May 22, 2008



Tomorrow the audience is going to play a very important role. We need your help and you need to push us into the final.

It is a great pity that we aren't leading 1-0 for the first time during this tournament. I will try to turn things for us into a positive outcome.

This morning I have had a hard workout with my coach Sascha and after that I cheered for Kohli. Afterwards, I got some care and I went back to the hotel to catch some sleep because tomorrow will be a tough day and I will need all the energy possible.

Last night, my team and I went to the "Night of Champions" where the Fair Play Trophy was awarded. It was a really wonderful evening. For us as a team, such events are very important for the feeling of belonging together, but it is even more important that we as players can give something back to the sponsors and the many cooperators through our presence.

After this event we went back to the hotel and got drawn into the Champions League final; we were hoping that Ballack was going to win with his team. We are looking forward to doing better than Chelsea in the final.

Kiwi

Friday, May 23, 2008



Last night we sat together with the whole team and discussed options of how we could still make it into the finals. Unfortunately, we did not make it. It really was a tight match today, but not the way I wanted it to be like. It's a pity to lose in 3 tight sets.

Even though we lost, the crowd gave us great support and created an outstanding atmosphere. It was not a beauty contest today. All that counted was winning or losing. Both teams wanted to make it to the final, no matter what. Now, for us the disappointment is huge. The chance to make it into the final was never before better than this year.

I will proceed to Paris now. So far I haven’t had this on my mind at all. I focused 100% on the ARAG World Team Cup. The only thing I heard about Paris is the draw. I have to play Jarkko Niemienen. He is a good friend of mine on the ATP tour – simply a good guy.

Kiwi