Dominic Stricker, 18, on hitting with several top players at ATP Finals

Promising Swiss Dominic Stricker absolutely enjoyed his chance of being a hitting partner to some of the world's top players at this past Nitto ATP Finals.

Stricker, who recently won the French Open boys' singles title, was invited to the Nitto ATP Finals, and after it was all finished, he had zero regrets about accepting the invite.

Stricker had a chance to hit with eventual Nitto ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev, eventual runner-up Dominic Thiem, as well as to Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev.

"It was unbelievable at the ATP Finals,” Stricker told the ITF website. “I was there for two weeks and it was an amazing experience to hit with Thiem, Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Rublev – four of the best players in the world. I really enjoyed every practice and learned so much.

“When the e-mail from the ATP arrived saying they were looking for hitting partners and asking me to go to London, I was planning to play some tournaments as I was in good shape after Paris.

“I had to decide what do to but it was definitely the right decision to go to London. We were in lockdown there of course and in a bubble so I had a lot of contact with players and were close with them around the place.

“It really was something special. I learned so much: how players of that calibre play the day before a match, go about things the day of the match and how they warm up. I feel it will help me, for sure. I really did enjoy every single minute.”

Stricker preparing for the ATP Tour 

Stricker enjoyed a successful junior career and now he is hoping to continue improving and make himself a good career on the ATP Tour.

"It was a special season and a hard one for everyone as nobody really knew how many tournaments there would be or, at times, if there would be much tennis,” Stricker said. “Looking back, though, it was a very good year for me and I have improved a lot.

“I was so glad to get the chance to play one last Junior Grand Slam after the junior events at Wimbledon and the US Open were cancelled. I just went out there to try my best and I won it, which was a great achievement.

“While I don’t think there has been a huge difference, life has definitely changed since winning in Paris and a lot more people tend to recognise me on the Tour as a Junior Grand Slam champion. It’s been a memorable year.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/37dfVnr