Tennis
Updated on November 5, 2024, 6:30 a.m
Justin Engel” width=”950″ height=”534″/>
Tennis player Justin Engel aims high.
© IMAGO/Jürgen Hasenkopf
The 17-year-old tennis player Justin Engel confidently formulates big goals. The German has his sights set on the top.
Top tennis talent Justin Engel wants to aim high – and makes no secret of it. “I’m firmly convinced that I’ll be number one. I’m doing a lot for it, I’m working hard for it and hoping for the best,” said the 17-year-old, who got off to a brilliant start on the professional tour in October Sport focus.
The man from Nuremberg has no problems with the newfound attention. On the contrary. “I’m training for that too. I really like that I’m the center of attention now. I enjoy it too and that’s why I work so hard for it,” said Engel, who recently became a former German top 20 player Philipp Kohlschreiber is trained.
Engel hopes that the new coach will bring more variability to his game. “I am firmly convinced that he can really take me to the top in the world. Philipp is a guy who can perhaps bring the game intelligence to me on the pitch,” he said: “I’ve always been someone who gives a lot Just a hard hitter. Philipp is the kind of guy who helps me be more variable.”
Engel wants to break into the top 200 next year
In the long term, Engel dreams of titles at the Grand Slams – he is particularly fond of the Australian Open, where he already played as a junior. In the short term, Engel is hoping for a wildcard for the ATP tournament in Munich. “Maybe I can achieve an even bigger result, let’s see how it turns out. I definitely want to make the top 200 next year, that would be my goal,” said Engel.
At the beginning of October, shortly after his 17th birthday, Engel played his first game on the ATP professional tour in Almaty/Kazakhstan and immediately celebrated a success against Coleman Wong from Hong Kong. He became the youngest winner of an ATP match since top star Carlos Alcaraz in 2020. He then also held against world number 31. Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina did well and lost 4:6, 6:7. (SID/edited by lh)
“This is how the editorial team works” informs you when and what we report on, how we deal with errors and where our content comes from. When reporting, we adhere to the guidelines of the Journalism Trust Initiative.
