Leandro Riedi immediately makes one thing clear: “I’ve never, never been jealous of Dominic. But his successes motivated me a lot. ” The two 20-year-olds Riedi and Dominic Stricker are the biggest hopes for the future of Swiss tennis. For a few weeks now, they have been on an equal footing again.
Stricker and Riedi have been together for ten years and have already pushed each other in the various youth categories. “It’s ‘hönne cool’ that we’ve both come this far,” enthuses Riedi, almost falling into the Bernese dialect. The highlight of this common path was the junior final at the French Open, when they wrote Swiss sports history in the sad Corona autumn of 2020. For the first time, two Swiss faced each other in the final of a (junior) tournament of the Grand Slam. Stricker won and subsequently became Swiss Young Athlete of the Year, then they split.
Grew up in Florida
Stricker started March 2021 with his first tournament victory at Challenger level in Lugano and then worked his way up to the current position 118 in the world rankings. Only three players are ranked ahead of him who are younger than Gross Höchstetten’s lefty. Riedi, on the other hand, was a bit lost. “I really didn’t know where I was,” he admits. “I made too high demands on myself, so I had to bite.” The successes of the former “twin” have put him under a bit of pressure.
The breakthrough came in late 2021, when Riedi traveled alone to a small academy in Delray Beach on Florida’s east coast from November to January to “clear his head,” as he puts it. “That’s when I grew up.” A first leap in performance followed in the spring with the first Challenger final, also in Lugano. The Zurich native, born in Frauenfeld, really turned the turbo up in November. In Helsinki and Andria, Italy, Riedi triumphed in two Challenger events and made a giant leap up the ATP rankings to his current 158th place. He started the year outside the top 700. “The two Challenger victories are you are extremely exciting,” says Blick returns and smiles.
It means that he can play qualifying for the Australian Open for the first time in January – and thus perform on the same level as Stricker again. He too is happy. Because now the two can train together again and, if the situation permits, play doubles together from time to time.
The money should be invested
The last few weeks have also been exciting for Stricker, but his outstanding experiences have not affected his world rankings. He made his debut at the Next Gen Finals in Milan, the Masters for under 21s, and reached the semifinals. Then he received an invitation to an exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia full of big stars, where he also won in doubles. “Being able to train with all these players has helped me a lot,” he says. In addition, both tournaments also awarded several hundred thousand dollars in prize money and an attendance bonus, money that Stricker wants to use to strengthen his coaching staff (physiotherapy and fitness).
Riedi parted ways with coach Yves Allegro shortly before two victories in the November tournament. Cyril Cornu accompanies the Zurich player to tournaments. Additionally, he plans to work more closely with Swiss tennis coach Phillip Wallbank.
Federer’s advice
Stricker and Riedi were not only emotionally touched by their own successes, but also by Roger Federer’s resignation in September, which brought them both to tears. Both have had the opportunity to train with the 20-time Grand Slam champion in the past. “He gave me a lot of things,” says Stricker. “The most important advice was to work on my serve. It worked very well.” Riedi is left with Federer’s no-nonsense. “What stands out to me is how kind and friendly he was to everyone.”
They don’t care about the huge footprints they have to fill. “It’s not a burden for me,” assures Riedi. There will be no other Federer anyway. For now they are satisfied to be able to board the plane to Australia just after Christmas. Before qualifying for the Australian Open, Stricker will be in action in the Swiss mixed team at the new United Cup; Riedi is still playing a Challenger tournament in Canberra.