French Open: No wildcard for Swiss "defending champion" Dominic Stricker
In Geneva he really attracted attention these days -Dominic Stricker is still not allowed to compete in Paris.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: May 23, 2021, 10:59 am
Dominic Stricker had surprised in Geneva with victories over Marin Cilic and Marton Fucsovics - at his first appearance at the ATP level . The reward: On Monday, Stricker will move from place 419 to 334 in the world rankings.
A trip to Paris is not possible despite the promotion: Because Stricker was denied a wild card - the 18-year-old cannot participate in the main draw or in the qualifying tournament. The French Tennis Association has given eight wild cards for the main field and nine for qualification, all with one exception to French players (one wild card goes to Australia as part of a cooperation). And his ranking is not yet sufficient for direct qualification.
All the more bitter for Stricker, as that he is the reigning French Open champion in the Juniors - in singles and doubles! In the individual, Stricker was the first Swiss junior since Stan Wawrinka (2003) to win the title.
Stricker: "Working on it so that I can go to Grand Slams in the future without a wildcard"
"It is incomprehensible to me that a junior double Grand Slam winner does not automatically qualify for a wildcard. That is a very, very shame," Stricker's father is quoted as saying in the Swiss view .
A title defense, at least indirectly, is therefore canceled. Instead, Stricker will play the Kiseljak Open, an ITF tournament in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Stricker himself sees the matter pragmatically: "It's a real shame. Of course it would have been cool to compete in Paris. I just have to keep working hard and climb the ranking so that I can go to a Grand Slam in the future without a wildcard," he said .
Should he continue as he did last, the question of a wildcard in 2022 should actually no longer arise.