Because the current success should only be a stopover on the way to a bigger career. Schwärzler wants to start with the men this year. Next week he will start his season with an ITF tournament in Monastir, Tunisia.
Schwärzler managed to jump from second place to first place without competing in the Australian Open junior tournament. “What could be better than doing that without doing anything for it?” Schwärzler joked afterwards, only to then get serious. “I played really, really well at the end of the year. Of course I would have liked to have played much better at the youth Grand Slams. I’m extremely happy that I’m now number one in the world. This is a dream that every young person has.”
“Main focus in men’s tennis”
For ÖTV sports director Melzer it is a “huge success that we can build on”. “It would be nice if he could win another youth Grand Slam this year.” A feat that Melzer achieved at Wimbledon in 1999. “But the main focus is definitely on men’s tennis.”
GEPA/Walter Luger Jürgen Melzer already has his protégé’s future career plans in mind
Schwärzler has a lot planned. “Of course, play as far forward as possible, play really well in the Futures and then also in the ATP Challengers and just make the jump to men’s tennis. And I am convinced that I can and will do it,” he said confidently. The basis was laid in an eight-week training camp in which everything went according to plan. “I am developing very well physically, the level has increased, especially in terms of stability,” explained Schwärzler.
Wildcards for Challengers
As last year’s top ten player among juniors, Schwärzler has secured eight wildcards for Challenger tournaments this year alone. He will probably get one or two tickets in Austria too. Kitzbühel tournament director Alexander Antonitsch recently reported on an ATP innovation that makes direct entry possible for Schwärzler even without a wildcard in 250 home tournaments.
Schwärzler is not Austria’s first number one among the juniors, Thomas Muster also achieved this in 1985 and his Styrian compatriot Gilbert Schaller in 1986. Muster became Austria’s only number one among men to date on February 12, 1996, and Schaller also climbed to 1,000 in his ATP career in 17th place. Dominic Thiem, who took third place in his highest ATP ranking, climbed to second place as a junior.
2024-02-05 18:26:19
#Tennis #Schwärzler #ready #bigger #tasks
