Joel Schwärzler couldn't believe the good news at first: “No, no, no! That's not true - is it?” However, when Herwig Straka once again confirmed his decision to award Schwärzler the third wildcard for the main event after Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori, the 18-year-old from Vorarlberg was beaming all over his face. This means that Schwärzler will make his debut at the Erste Bank Open next week and also at ATP 500 level.
“You could see how happy and amazed I was when Herwig told me that I had been given a wildcard for the main event. I couldn't believe it at first, it was a dream come true for me. I was actually expecting a qualifying wildcard, which would have been great. After all, the last few weeks haven't been such that you would have to say that Schwärzler absolutely has to get a wildcard for the main competition. I'm extremely grateful to Herwig for putting his trust in me and giving me this wildcard,” said Schwärzler happily.
The Austrian tennis hope for the future is in any case combative ahead of his Vienna premiere: “I don't just want to play, I also want to win my first match in the Stadthalle. I know that I will have to play very well and do my job very well, but the chance is definitely there,” emphasized Schwärzler, who won his first Challenger tournament in Skopje in May this year. The Austrian will be coached in Vienna by Spanish coach Juan Ozon-Llacer, who previously worked successfully with Chile's Nicolas Jarry. “We are in a kind of test phase and are currently getting to know each other better. It's working very well so far,” says Schwärzler.
“We want to give Joel Schwärzler the opportunity to present himself on the biggest domestic tennis stage. We are convinced that he will be able to gain very important experience that could be very valuable in the course of his future career,” explained Tournament Director Herwig Straka, who has also awarded the three wildcards for the qualifiers starting tomorrow, Saturday, to the Lower Austrian Jurij Rodionov, the Frenchman Richard Gasquet and the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
“You could see how happy and amazed I was when Herwig told me that I had been given a wildcard for the main event. I couldn't believe it at first, it was a dream come true for me. I was actually expecting a qualifying wildcard, which would have been great. After all, the last few weeks haven't been such that you would have to say that Schwärzler absolutely has to get a wildcard for the main competition. I'm extremely grateful to Herwig for putting his trust in me and giving me this wildcard,” said Schwärzler happily.
The Austrian tennis hope for the future is in any case combative ahead of his Vienna premiere: “I don't just want to play, I also want to win my first match in the Stadthalle. I know that I will have to play very well and do my job very well, but the chance is definitely there,” emphasized Schwärzler, who won his first Challenger tournament in Skopje in May this year. The Austrian will be coached in Vienna by Spanish coach Juan Ozon-Llacer, who previously worked successfully with Chile's Nicolas Jarry. “We are in a kind of test phase and are currently getting to know each other better. It's working very well so far,” says Schwärzler.
“We want to give Joel Schwärzler the opportunity to present himself on the biggest domestic tennis stage. We are convinced that he will be able to gain very important experience that could be very valuable in the course of his future career,” explained Tournament Director Herwig Straka, who has also awarded the three wildcards for the qualifiers starting tomorrow, Saturday, to the Lower Austrian Jurij Rodionov, the Frenchman Richard Gasquet and the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
