After the great season 2022 and his sensational performance at the Next Gen Finals in Milan, with the 3 wins against ATP Top 100 players, the organizers of the invitation tournament of the Diriyah Tennis Cup, became aware of Dominic.
Dominic subsequently received an invitation to participate in this tournament. And what this meant, nobody knew at that time.
12 players plus 3 substitutes were invited to Riyadh for the tournament. The incredible field of participants was: Daniil Medvedev, Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie and Dominic Stricker. In addition, the first substitute player was none other than Grigor Dimitrov ATP No. 28. The tournament organizers and we were thrilled with such a field of players and it turned out to be a great week of tennis for Dominic in Saudi Arabia. Why: Dominic played and trained for a whole week with the best in the world. So he was able to train with Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Wawrinka, Thiem, Norrie and Hurkacz during that week.
The tournament formula took some getting used to. The top 4 players were seeded and the others played a match over 2 winning sets (champions tie-breaks) in the first round. The draw, which was made by approaching hawks, showed that Dominic had to play there against H. Hurkacz ATP 10. Unfortunately, Dominic, in this short match, could not yet match his performance from Milano. He lost the match 7:10 / 5:10. In the 2nd round, Hurkacz lost narrowly against the later winner T. Fritz.
And so the draw wanted Dominic to play together with Hurkacz in the doubles. There they met in the 1/2 final none other than Tsitsipas/Kyrgios. And they fought like hell. The numerous spectators were treated to tennis at the highest level. 2 times the tie-break had to decide and both times Dominic and Hubert kept the upper hand. What an achievement to win against 2 such singles but also doubles specialists (Kyrgios among others doubles Grand Slam winner). All players and the audience agreed after the match. Best player on the court was clearly Dominic.
In the final, the two met Berrettini /Rublev. “Strickaz” and “Rublettini”, with such choruses the respective fans called and supported, the two doubles pairs. And it was all on offer. Pure spectacle and chicken skin. 1 set tie break 6:3 ahead. 3 set points. All gone. Then suddenly 6:7 set point “Rublettini” and Berrettini with a slight volley mistake. But then again advantage “Strickaz”. And they won the set with 9:7. In the second set one break was enough and “Rublettini” won it with 6:4. So the Champions Tie-Break had to decide. There “Rublettini” were always one/two points ahead. 6:7 then a long rally to 7:7 and an unbelievable point from Dominic with a run around backhand, with his forehand longline, full on Berrettini and he was so amazed and surprised by this fast ball that he could not react anymore. 8:7 Service Hurkacz. Coach Stephan looked and spoke to the coach of Hurkacz: please now 2 good services. He just said: “yes, two bombs” and Hurkacz served well and Dominic closed the first service with a smash to 9:7. Then another service winner from Hurkacz and the victory was perfect.
All players were happy about the great support of the crowd: “It was amazing for me to play with you guys and share the court with three great tennis players that I look up to,” Dominic said after the final. “It was really fun to play with Dominic, he really played fantastic. He’s going to be a top player very soon. It was a lot of fun, we had a good time on the court and harmonized great,” my Hurkacz after the match. And Berrettini also said, “It was a very high level match and I think everyone enjoyed it as well.
Tournament officials wrote the day after: This is a historic day for tennis in Saudi Arabia! Dominic Stricker (Switzerland) and Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) are the winners of the first professional doubles tournament in the Kingdom. After their victory in the semifinals against Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the pair defeated Matteo Berrettini and Andrey Rublev 7:6, 4:6, 10:7 in the final on Saturday. It was a very close affair between “Strickaz” and “Rublettini”. In the first set only a tie-break separated the two parties, but then Rublev/Berrettini fought back and won the second set. In an exciting match tiebreak, both teams played their best tennis. Especially Stricker and Hurkacz served very well and took the trophy in the end.
Best thanks to the tournament organizers: Reichel Michael, Iuliano Massimiliano and Reichel Sandra, for the invitation and organization.
Photo Credit 📸 : Alexander Scheuber / www.scal-pictures.de
Youtube Links: both match to watch