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Dominic Stricker is already one of the names of this US Open 2023. He has earned it hard, passing the previous phase after some moments with high doses of epic and slipping into the third round of one of his favorite Grand Slams. If, in addition, we include a victory against a top-10… better impossible.

It is possible that many tennis fans already knew Dominic Stricker before today. Being Swiss is a double-edged sword: no one is more accessible to share time on the track with names like those of Stan Wawrinka o Roger Federer… but you have to carry the pressure, the expectations and the background noise just for the mere fact of sharing origins and belonging to a generation after them. Being brilliant in the junior days and having undeniable talent are ingredients that make the mix even more complicated, and Stricker has experienced months of ups and downs, with a manifest irregularity in his results, but several peaks more than enough to belong consistently to the ranks. 150 best in the world.

All that remained was to make a big change in their routines to finally storm the top-100. Except for a major surprise, Dominic will be part of the hundred best in the world in two weeks, when the US Open 2023 come to an end. And while we’re at it, New York means dreaming. dream beyond Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he defeated in an epic match, after being two sets to one behind on the scoreboard and seeing a whole top-10 serve to win the match. None of that intimidated Stricker. “I felt great from the first point and I enjoyed it from the beginning, I am speechless. He had never beaten someone like Stefanos, the 7th in the world. It’s a very special day for me, and confidence is going to increase a lot after something like this, it’s great to see that I have this level at five sets.”

Contextualizing this victory is easy. As simple as going to two moments that have changed, to a greater or lesser extent, Stricker’s career. The first takes place in the middle of the year: the Swiss decides to carry out a drastic change in your diet and in his off-court preparation, a tailored plan that varied routines as simple as what he did in the moments before a game. “Off the court, everything has become much more serious. Maybe I’m working a little harder than a year ago, everything is much more professional than before, and that helps me.”, says the Swiss, who has not been alone in this regard. This change is impossible to understand without the second change: his new mentor, the German Dieter Kindlmann, former coach of names like Sharapova, Keys or Sabalenka. The German dissected into ATP the structure he has brought to Dominic’s professional life.

“I see a lot of talent in him, but also a lot of things that need to be worked on. Not only on the court, especially off it, in terms of professionalism, what it means to be a top-100, top-80 or top 50. Step by step he has to learn what it means to work in the gym, work with the physio, do prevention, go into more detail, work on a structure, plan the year as a whole. I try to teach him what it means to be professional every day“, maintains a Kindlmann convinced of Dominic’s potential. And where is the diet in all this?

“LESS CHOCOLATE, LESS SUGAR”

After defeating Stefanos, Stricker himself reflected on his new habits, which include that famous change in diet. “It’s not that it meant a huge change in inflection, but I did think it would help me in games as long as this one. I haven’t done anything crazy, but I have changed my diet: I eat less sugar, less chocolate and less things like that. I have changed a lot. My team is doing it too, so it’s great to feel that support from them. It’s great to see that my body is capable of supporting four hours of top-level tennis. I feel better on court than last year, my game has improved. I know that if I keep doing things this way, my ranking will also improve soon.”. For now, welcome to the top-100, Dominic… and maybe beyond.

2023-08-31 01:14:58
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