Dominic Stricker (ATP 317) reaches the round of 16 at the ATP 250 tournament in Stockholm with a 6:4, 5:7, 6:4 victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic (USA/ATP 90).
This is only the second time this year that the 22-year-old from Bern has reached the second round of a tour tournament - after qualifying for the round of 16 in Winston-Salem in mid-August.
Dominic Stricker's victory over the out-of-form American Kovacevic (six defeats in a row) was a timely relief. Stricker wants to score points in the indoor season. In the last three years, he has always won at least 15 singles matches indoors on the tour. Due to the lack of tournaments in the first few months of the season, he is unlikely to break this mark.
However, Stricker needs to find his form and fitness to be able to play successfully at all. The match against Kovacevic gives hope in this respect. Stricker played well, served well and should have won in two sets with more efficiency on break points. On the other hand, the Swiss was able to maintain his level for two hours and 20 minutes until he converted his first match point.
Stricker is now only ranked 317th in the rankings and was allowed to go straight into the main draw in Stockholm due to his injured status. Stricker only started the season on grass in June due to acute back problems. Renewed problems forced him to retire at the beginning of October at the Challenger tournament in Tiburon, California, in his match against the American J.J. Wolf.
