Mikael Ymer wants to inspire next generation, be remembered as a man of the people

Sweden's Mikael Ymer says he wants to inspire the next generation of kids and be remembered as a man of the people, in a recent interview to the ATP Tour website.

Mikael Ymer says he wants to inspire the next generation

The 21 year old Mikael Ymer, whose older brother Elias is also a professional tennis player, spoke to the ATP Uncovered show recently and said, "I’m playing for myself, I’m playing for my family, I’m playing for my country, but I also think I’m playing for the next generation. That’s something I think about a lot. Not only the next generation of tennis [players]. I’d be very happy if I can also affect normal kids in Sweden to fight or have a dream and go for it, to believe that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what your background is or your economics. It’s that you can take a risk and go for it.”

Ymer says besides being known for his on-court abilities, he also wants to be remembered as a man of the people. "I think you have a mentality [as a tennis player] a little bit [where you are] thinking about yourself, but one of the most important things for me is to be remembered as a good guy. That’s very important for me, to have been nice to everyone. I’m only 21, so I think it would be a little bit surprising if I knew everything today. These are the things I’m working on when I’m not on court and trying to figure out exactly what kind of role model [I want to be]. There are of course some basic things that I live by, but hopefully I can leave tennis being more than just a guy who came and hit yellow balls. Exactly how, I’m not sure yet, it will take some time of course to figure out. But the main thing I would say is being a man of the people.”

Mikael Ymer is a Swedish tennis player whose parents emigrated from Ethiopia to Sweden. He is currently ranked No. 68 in singles, which is one spot below his career-best world ranking of No. 67. He has also won one ATP Doubles title in his career - at the 2016 Stockholm Open with brother Elias Ymer. He has won four ATP Challenger Tour titles last year and also qualified for the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals. As a junior, he peaked at No. 3 in the world and reached the Wimbledon boys' singles final. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/32VPVw3