ATP Hamburg: Dominik Koepfer is looking forward to the Rothenbaum
Dominik Koepfer is looking forward to the support of his family and a clever schnitzel before the home game at Hamburg's Rothenbaum.
by SID / red
last edit: Sep 21, 2020, 10:34 am
"After all the pasta in Rome," Koepfer told SID, it was finally time for it. At the Masters in the Foro Italico, the 26-year-old caused a sensation: As a qualifier, he reached the quarter-finals and forced the world number one Novak Djokovic into the third set. With the victories in Rome, among others against top people Alex de Minaur and above all Gael Monfils , Koepfer improved to a new career high of 66th place in the ATP world rankings. And thus to third place in the internal German rankings behind Alexander Zverev (ATP position 7) and Jan-Lennard Struff (32).
The red sand courts, as they are traditionally found on the European mainland, had become alien to Koepfer. In the United States, where he attended college in New Orleans and now lives in Tampa / Florida, hardcourts are the main players. Until the traditional tournament in Rome, Koepfer had not won a game on the ATP tour on clay.
First home game on the ATP tour for Koepfer
With the new self-confidence, the demands for the appearance in Hamburg have changed, where he meets the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round. If the match is scheduled on the center court, Koepfer can present himself in front of up to 2,300 spectators, so far the Black Forest player has only known the home game at the second-rate Challenger tournament in Heilbronn.
In Hamburg Koepfer also wants to get the finishing touches for the French Open in Paris (from September 27th), where he is in the main field for the first time. At the climax of the clay court season, which was postponed due to the corona pandemic, "I'm making some calculations," he said: "The belief is slowly growing that I can keep up with the top people." Last year Koepfer reached the round of 16 at the US Open, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev . The Russian is also at the start as the top seed in Hamburg.