Stricker self-critical before Basel: ‘Recently one or two percent was missing in my head’

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The world has looked different for Dominic Stricker since he sensationally defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open, performing the Whitney Houston hit ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ during the match and ultimately reaching the round of 16. The 21-year-old from Bern is suddenly in everyone’s attention. Media, sponsors, advertising partners – they all knocked on the door of father and manager Stephan Stricker in Grosshöchetten.

The left-hander also speaks of more encounters with fans and a “different perception” among his opponents: suddenly he is the hunted in Challenger tournaments. A role that on the one hand he likes, as he says himself. But it is also one that he first has to get used to: “A lot has happened since New York. That’s great, you realize you’ve done something right.” But then Stricker also adds: “Because of all these things, I’ve been missing one or two percent in my mind lately.”

Stricker hasn’t even won a single match since the US Open. Neither in the Davis Cup, nor later in Mouilleron le Captif (Fr), Bratislava or Antwerp. In the all-important autumn, when it’s all about maintaining your new top 100 position, nothing has happened so far. This also led to clear language being spoken within the team: “Coach Didi Kindlmann is responsible for that,” says Stricker, laughing: “But I know exactly what he means. He has his demands, just like me.” Kindlmann was able to bring in all his experience – from previous positions with Maria Sharapova (36), Angelique Kerber (35) and Aryna Sabalenka (25).

Saudi Arabia and Australia in mind

Stricker is currently number 90 in the world, but still has 61 points to defend compared to last year. There are 45 in Basel alone because he reached the second round here in 2022.

The Swiss shooting star hopes to start a run at the Swiss Indoors to collect important extra points for the world rankings, the race for the NextGen final in Saudi Arabia (at the end of November) and ultimately for a permanent spot at the Australian Open . He says: “I think my head is back where I need to be. I feel really good.” The first test awaits in Basel on Tuesday – the opponent will be a qualifier.

Source : Blick