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26th June:
He's been on the scene for a while, but Joe Kneipp is one of those
players who seem to improve with age, and as he broke into the top ten for
the first time, at the age of 30, Framboise caught up with Joe at the
Broadgate Arena ... |
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from May 2004
 Joe
KNEIPP:
THE AUSTRALIANS ARE LIKE THEIR WINE,
THEY MATURE WELL…
They do, don’t they? John White
became world number one at 30, and look at Joe Kneipp.
A huge film fan (his favourite film is “Amelie”, the French film, bless
his little Australian heart), a party lover who had to cut it down to
further his career, he has been on the circuit for 10 years, worked hard,
trained hard, and finally at 30 reaches top 10, and the Super Series
Finals. And I don’t think he is thinking about retirement either…
When did you start establishing
yourself at the top of the game?
In 2000, I went from top 30 to top 20. For about 18 months, I’d been
sitting at 12 or 13, and in 2004, I got into the top 10.
What is your principal fault?
I always have good wins, bad losses. I will lose against somebody way
below my ranking, and then beat somebody way above me. Apart from Peter,
I’ve beaten everybody else. But I don’t hold the result day after day,
match after match.
Why?
Because I’m not … because I should be in a funny farm.
Maybe you don’t have
enough support on the tour?
Funny you say that. Just before you arrived on the scene (glad to know
that even in Amsterdam, squash players are connecting to our
website), my brother spent two years travelling on tour with me, and
actually deferred his university studies to do so. But last year, he had
to go back and finish his diploma. For two years he was with me every day,
travelling with me everywhere, and that was great. But now, I’m back by
myself again.
Do you miss him?
Yes, a lot. I was always trying to win for me and for him, not just for
myself, because he was putting so much effort into me, helping me. I’m
used to lose quite a lot, but I always wanted to win for him, to thank him
for his presence and his help. So I was playing for two.
Do you have a coach?
No, because in Amsterdam, I don’t have anybody who I would like to have as
a coach. But in the summer, I’m back in Australia, and I’m about to start
with the Australian Institute of Sport for the first time.
What is your goal at this point of your career?
A huge achievement for me was to get to the top 10. That for me was an
indication of being a success as a squash player, and that was massive.
Now, my goal is to get to the top 4 or 5, and to win a 32 draw tournament
with everybody in it, with all the best playing.
Why do you put yourself through
all the pain, and the training?
Well, for me, 90% nowadays is hard work, and 10% is when you manage to
have a good day, and everything goes together, and then it seems that the
enjoyment level is 90% and the hard work is 10%.
Today for example [against Lee Beachill], was the best squash I've played
for a long time (and it won Joe the award of Player of the Day from the press).
It’s very hard to play at your best, but when you succeed, it makes the
rest look so much more worthwhile…
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"Joe"
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from May 2004 |
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