Next Gen ATP Finals: A little "declaration of love" to Dominic Stricker
The exceptional Swiss talent Dominic Stricker knows how to convince at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and should soon catch up with his peers Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune .
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit:
Nov 11, 2022, 12:36 pm
In a press conference shortly before the start of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Dominic Stricker said that he actually saw no difference between his level of play and that of his quasi-age colleagues Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune. A very confident announcement that the 20-year-old is currently more than a hundred positions behind the two top players mentioned in the ATP ranking.
If you watch the more than talented Swiss at work at the unofficial U21 tennis world championship, you are inclined to believe every single word he says. Both playfully, tactically and mentally, Stricker has been enthusiastic at all of his previous three appearances in the modern Allianz Cloud Stadium in the Italian metropolis. Commentators and experts are positive that the young man from the canton of Bern will also be able to win the young talent event.
The next triumvirate after Djokovic, Federer and Nadal?
And Stricker is not only an enormous asset for our valued Swiss readers and tennis friends, but for the entire sport of the yellow felt ball. The former Roland Garros (2020) junior champion moves across the pitch with an almost frightening presence and clarity. Forehand whips and soulful volleys are also part of Stricker's repertoire, as is a non-stop flow of aces - he prefers to shake them up in tight situations.
There is great anticipation - at least for the author of these lines - for future duels between Stricker, Rune and Alcaraz, which could possibly form a triumvirate à la Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. But admittedly, these are enormous house numbers and of course there is also a large amount of imagination involved. But why shouldn't it actually happen?
We will all only be smarter in the coming years and until then we will still be enjoying the current generation of tennis players - who knows what champions like Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas still have in them. And then there are the living legends Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic...