Joel Schwärzler’s Rise in the Junior Tennis World and Hopes for the ATP Tour

With his sensational victory at the ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu last week, Joel Schwärzler followed in the footsteps of players like Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune.

The 17-year-old from Vorarlberg is now number three in the junior world.

The youngster, coached by ÖTV sports director Jürgen Melzer, is of course also aware that the road to the top of the world on the ATP tour is still a long one.

Already in the town hall next year?

“Without a wild card I probably won’t be able to play in the town hall,” said Schwärzer at an ÖTV press conference held during the Erste Bank Open, asking whether he might be able to be seen at the ATP 500 tournament there next year.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to play here next year if I get a wild card. But I also have to earn this wild card by playing well. Because Austria also has other good players who would deserve it, like one Lukas Neumayer.”

No attack on number one

Of course, there is no question that the next step will be on the ATP tour. Schwärzler will compete in two future tournaments in Greece this year.

The Vorarlberger is foregoing a trip to Mexico in order to possibly be the first Austrian to make it to number one in the junior world rankings at a junior tournament in favor of extensive preparation for 2024.

The season goal for 2023 has been achieved anyway. Thanks to the fixed top 10 place, Schwärzler gets eight Challenger wild cards. In doing so, he hopes to be able to make bigger leaps forward in the ATP rankings. Ultimately, young players often run the risk of burning themselves out in the future tournaments.

Almost win against top 100 man

The main focus in 2024 will be on the men’s tour. For the juniors, Schwärzler will only play in Roland Garros, Wimbledon (including the preparation tournament in Roehampton) and the US Open. If he were to win a Grand Slam title, he would immediately withdraw from the junior tour. “The goal is then achieved and then you look further,” is the motto of the ambitious young man from the countryside.

Schwärzler has already had a bit of a taste of the ATP tour in the past few months. At the Challenger in Bad Waltersdorf in September he narrowly lost in three sets against former top 20 player and current top 100 man Albert Ramos Vinolas. “And I lost because I made more mistakes in the end and not because he played so well.”

What else makes the difference to the “adults”? “They are mentally stronger and physically fitter because they are older. There isn’t much difference in the punches. It’s just a lot in the head,” says Schwärzler, knowing that he will still have to gain some experience.

Playful similarities to Coach Melzer

His coach Jürgen Melzer has more than enough of these in his luggage. The former world number eight has been looking after Schwärzer in the southern city for almost three years; the Davis Cup captain and ÖTV sports director shares the job as touring coach with Philip Gille.

The coach-protégé team has worked excellently so far. Maybe also because Schwärzler has a similar playing style to his supervisor.

“I play very, very aggressively and therefore make more mistakes than others. Fast and aggressive – similar to my coach Jürgen,” says Schwärzler, who is now usually ahead in occasional sparring sessions, at least on clay. “It still rattles on hard courts,” smiles the youngster.

Occasionally there are also training sessions with Günter Bresnik, who also has his academy in the southern part of the city. Dominic Thiem’s ​​long-time coach recently confirmed Schwärzler’s top 50 potential.

“For me, he’s amazing in terms of play. He’s left-handed and has similar abilities to Jürgen. He has a brilliant backhand and is one of the few who can still complete the ball today,” enthused the successful coach.

Schwärzler is happy about the praise: “I get along really well with him. Of course it’s nice to hear that he trusts me to be in the top 50.”

Schwärzler sees pressure as positive

The fact that Schwärzler is now widely known and that some experts are convinced of him also creates a certain level of expectation among the public. However, he doesn’t think that could become a problem.

“I see pressure as positive because it means that a lot of people believe in me. The question is how you deal with it. But I think I can do it,” says the teenager, who is his role model Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are confident.

With Galo Blanco, Schwärzler, who is already supported by Red Bull, has a well-known manager at his side. The former top 40 player has already worked in this role for Jürgen Melzer and Dominic Thiem.

“Jürgen knows Galo Blanco very well. It was just the best fit. We have close contact and I think that’s important,” says Schwärzler, explaining his reasons.

Melzer is also convinced that he “definitely has what it takes to play in Vienna one day. But he also asks that “the church be left in the village.” The road is still long.

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2023-10-27 21:05:46
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