Dominic Stricker is getting back on track. The 22-year-old Bernese (ATP 317) beat the American Aleksandar Kovacecic (ATP 90) in the first round of the Stockholm indoor tournament, in three sets (6-4 5-7 6-4).
Stricker, who missed the first half of the season with a back injury, had only won one match on the ATP Tour this year (in August in Winston-Salem). This victory allows him to reassure himself after his abandonment two weeks ago in the first round of the Tiburon Challenger (United States), where he thought he would relapse after the appearance of severe back pain.
The eighth finalist of the 2023 US Open showed resilience against an opponent he had already beaten during a Challenger in Bienne in 2022. He successfully pounded the one-handed backhand of the American from 26 to take the first set before conceding the break and the set at the end of the second set.
In the deciding set, Stricker corrected his shot and converted one of his six break points to finally win in 2h20′ of play. In the second round, the Bernese will face an Italian: Matteo Berrettini (ATP 42) or Luciano Darderi (ATP 44).
ats/adav
