March 17, 2010
Interview with Timo Boll
Timo Boll
Courtesy of Butterfly-World
Timo Boll before the German Open in Berlin (March 18-21, 2010)
The number four of the world ranking list, Timo Boll, is one of the favorites at the German Open in Berlin (18th-21st of March) together with the entered Asian aces. The Butterfly star comments about his chances in Berlin in an interview and about his form after he was prevented from playing for three weeks in February because of a thigh injury and a tooth operation.
Playing for the title – but the favorites come from China
Timo Boll, you were forced to take a break for three weeks because of a muscle injury in your thigh and a wisdom tooth which had to be extracted. How are you now?
Boll: “I am fine apart from a little cold which I caught a week ago in Qatar during a camp with the national team. Since six days I have been coughing but apart from that I was able to practice full power in Qatar after the German Championships in Trier. It is a pity, of course that I could not practice for three weeks, because I was in good shape as you could see during my victory at the Europe Top 12 in Duesseldorf at the beginning of February.”
How were your days in Qatar?
Boll: “In the mornings we always practiced at the table. In the afternoons we usually worked on strength and stamina.”
During the past years you have been unlucky in spring time and got injured, which twice cost you the participation in the WC. Is the muscle injury from February healed completely or might it come back again?
Boll: “No, there is no danger of that. It was a completely normal strain in my thigh, which caused me problems and pain for three days, but nothing dramatic.”
…and how is your back?
Boll: “My back doesn’t cause me any trouble at all and has been okay for three quarters of a year. Thank god, there are no problems at the moment and everything looks fine.”
You had to cancel both of the lucrative tournaments in Qatar and Kuwait because of injuries. Did that bother you and does that change your plans for the year concerning the Pro-Tour-starts because the Grand Final must surely be a target for you?
Boll: “Yes, everything was prepared for my participation. Then I had to cancel Qatar because of a strain. Kuwait I cancelled just in case because I had an overdue wisdom tooth which had to be pulled out. So I solved two problems in one go. If that will have consequences for the future planning of tournaments for the year to be able to qualify for the Grand Final has to be seen.”
The GC in Trier was your first tournament after the break. You became second after Christian Suess and it was obvious that Timo Boll was not yet 100 percent fit. How do you estimate your own level at the moment?
Timo Boll: “Well, I think I am back to about 70 to 80 percent. But I would like to point out that Christian played really well. Now I need competitions to get back to my best level. I was faced with the same situation several times and always managed to come back quickly: My talent, my willpower and my excellent material, which is always reliable, help me with that.”
The German Open, a highly rated tournament, is starting soon. You are the number four on the world ranking list and the winner of the two previous years and obviously one of the top favorites. But some strong Asians have entered too, among them the number one of the world ranking list Ma Long. Who are your favorites and where will Timo Boll end up?
Boll: “Naturally that is very difficult to predict. The clear favorites are obviously the Chinese, who dominated the last tournaments. I am afraid that it will be similar in Berlin. But the Germans definitely want to use the home advantage and deliver good results.
Where I personally will end up, let’s see. I want to win the title, of course, but I still look at the tournament as training after my injury. My target is to get into good form for the Team – WC in May in Moscow.”
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