Don't know if there will ever be another player who plays as well as Roger Federer, says Swiss prodigy Dominic Stricker
Teenage phenom Dominic Stricker recently showered lavish praise upon his compatriot and idol, Roger Federer. The young Swiss sensation also expressed his desire to emulate the 20-time Grand Slam champion, who he considers to be the greatest player in the history of men's tennis.
Dominic Stricker's rapid rise on the ITF tour has given many Swiss hope of a new player to root for after Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka retire. The 18-year-old recently asserted his status as one of the brightest prospects in men's tennis by winning the boys' singles and doubles trophies at the 2020 French Open.
In doing so, Stricker became the first Swiss since Roger Federer himself to win both the junior events at the same Slam. Federer had accomplished the feat at Wimbledon 1998, beating Irakli Labadze to win the boys' singles event before paring up with Olivier Rochus to take home the boys' doubles trophy.
Today, Roger Federer has eight senior Wimbledon titles to his name in addition to 12 other Majors, making him the most decorated player in the history of men's tennis.
In a recent interview Dominic Stricker talked about how he wants to follow in the footsteps of Roger Federer, even if it is unlikely for him to reach the same heights.
“I don't know if there will be another player in the history of men's tennis who will play as well and win as much as he does,” Stricker said. “But you see Federer, and of course you want to be what he is."
Roger Federer had congratulated Dominic Stricker after his 2020 French Open exploits
Dominic Stricker’s run at the 2020 French Open didn't go unnoticed by the giants of Swiss Tennis. Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka had both conveyed congratulatory messages to the teenager for his win over another Swiss - Leandro Riedi - in the final.
In an interview from October this year, Stricker had revealed how Federer and Wawrinka had reached out to him as well as Riedi after the match.
“Roger and Stan both texted,” Stricker had told itftennis.com. “Roger texted the coach of Leandro and said to pass on his congratulations to both of us, telling us to enjoy what we’d achieved. Stan also messaged both of us yesterday in a chat to wish us good luck.”
In fact, Roger Federer also gave a word of advice to Dominic Stricker ahead of his French Open campaign, instructing him to work on his serve.
“Roger actually said I should improve my serve. That's what I did actually,” said Stricker. “I think my serve is pretty good now. It helped me a lot here.”