personal

hobbys

My weakness for speed

As you might know, my middle name is Mario. My parents named me after Mario Andretti, the former World Champion in motor sports. Especially my dad is a huge motor sports fan and I guess I inherited this passion from him. Not only do I follow Formula One regularly, I also like sports cars in general.

Music and movies for relaxation

I also listen to lots of music and enjoy watching heaps of movies. Doing this is well possible during the tournaments on the ATP-tour. Also, 5 to 6 new movies arrive in the cinemas every week in the United States. A lot more than in Europe. When I am in Florida, Thursday is usually my cinema day. And step by step, my DVD collection is growing, too: I have nearly 200 movies sitting on my shelves at home.

The amount of CD's is fairly similar. When I first came to Florida to the Bollettieri Academy, I extended my vocabulary through listening to English song texts. I listen to music a lot and know some bands personally. The son of the Bee Gee Barry Gibb, Ashley, went to the Bollettieri Academy with me. Once after a concert, we were invited to their private party. It's a weird and spacy world in which lots of musicians are living in. In 2003, I went to a concert of the German band 'Scorpions' in Florida. I got to know their lead singer, Klaus Meine and was also introduced to the band 'AC/DC'. We found out that their singer Brian Johnson lives very close to where I live. Since then, we have been out for lunch together several times.

In Sarasota I drive a Porsche 911. You can often read that I own Ferraris but this is not true. However, my dad has some good contacts to Ferrari. When I am in Germany, they sometimes provide a red runabout for me. This is an absolute dream for me since I love driving fast.

Unlike in Germany, you are not allowed to drive as fast as you want to in the United States. And still. I love the force of accelerating sports cars.

Generally, I am fascinated by speed. This starts with roller-coasters in theme parks and has had its highlight in a jet of the 'Blue Angel' squadron in 1998. During my injury-related time-out in 2003, I went to the legendary car race at Daytona for another time. Besides, in the end of 2002 I allowed myself a jet ski. From time to time I ride it on the ocean.