Nicola Kuhn back to the DTB? "Would be very motivated to play for Germany again"
When the wildcards for the main field at the Hamburg European Open were awarded and the names appeared on a large tableau on the roof terrace of the Rothenbaum Stadium in the course of the draw, Nicola Kuhn's in particular caught the eye.
by Florian Heer from Hamburg
last edit: Jul 11, 2021, 09:39 pm
The name Kuhn was followed by the country code "ESP". The fact that Kuhn is playing for Spain may not be new to tennis fans. However, signs are approaching that this will soon change. As a player from the Iberian Peninsula, you rarely get a wildcard at the most traditional German tennis event. Unless your name is Rafael Nadal.
"Good discussions with the DTB"
"There are good discussions going on with the German Tennis Association and I would be very motivated to play for Germany again," said Kuhn during the draw on Saturday. He couldn't reveal more about that yet.
The 21-year-old is what one would commonly describe as a player “with an international background”. Kuhn was born in Innsbruck to a Russian and a German child. He grew up mostly in Ludwigshafen, but spent time early in Alicante, Spain, where his parents own and live a holiday home. He spent five years at Juan Carlos Ferrero's Equelite Sport Academy in Villena, but competed for Germany until 2015 and won titles at the U-14 World and European Championships, among others. Finally, he decided to represent Spain in 2016.
Title wins on the Challenger Tour
In Braunschweig 2017, the blonde celebrated his first success at the ATP Challenger level. Just three years earlier, a certain Alexander Zverev managed to win his first title on the professional tour in the same place. Kuhn was not able to achieve the same rocket-like breakthrough as the Hamburger, but in the years that followed, he kept showing his fine hand on the tennis courts of the world. After a broken foot in 2018, he fought his way back and won his second Challenger title in the summer of 2019. This time on hard court in Segovia, Spain. He then achieved his best place in the ATP ranking with 174th place.
The DTB has never lost sight of Kuhn's talent over the years. “There are indeed good discussions going on. He has already played very successfully for Germany in his youth, he has a German passport and decides for himself which country he wants to play for, ”reported DTB Vice President Dirk Hordorff.
First appearance in Hamburg
In Hamburg, Kuhn will make his debut at Rothenbaum against qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild (from 12.30 p.m., here in the live scores). "I hope to be able to play consistently again," says the current number 255 in the world as a motto.
“I've played very well over the last few weeks and also confirmed that I can keep up on the ATP tour. Due to injuries in the past, I was able to play more this season than in the previous three years. However, I'm still in the development phase. The focus is on improving my tennis day by day. The ranking will come accordingly. "
A first step in this direction could follow in his then probably old, new home in the coming week.
Here is the single draw from Hamburg
hamburgmap