“Roger Federer has inspired the next generation of Swiss players” – says Marc-Andrea Huesler
ATPFriday, 07 October 2022 at 00:30
Updated at Thursday, 24 August 2023 at 14:25
A week can be a long time in tennis. Two can feel like an
eternity.
Just over two weeks ago, the great Roger Federer said
goodbye to his coaches, to his on-court friends, to his fans, to the world and
to tennis.
At around the same time, little known Marc-Andrea Huesler
was sitting watching his idol retire, licking his wounds from a straight sets
last-16 defeat in San Diego to Daniel Galan.
But fast forward a fortnight, and Huesler is a first-time ATP
champion, at a career high ranking of World No. 64 and the new Swiss No.1
player of the men’s game.
The 26-year-old won his maiden tour title when he won the
Sofia Open on Sunday, stunning teenage hotshot Holger Rune in two blistering sets
of tennis.
En route to the final he toppled some much fancied players,
such as Pablo Carreno-Busta in round two and Lorenzo Musseti in the
semi-finals.
Huesler started 2022 at World No. 186 but has seen a strong
and steady rise through the rankings to reach the top 100.
And the man from Zurich told ATPTour.com that everything he is
building in the sport can be traced to one man, his idol Roger Federer.
He said: “It’s hard to fill his (Federer) footsteps
for sure. He’s done so much for the sport.
“Watching him play on TV, in Davis Cup, no matter
where, I honestly didn’t know half the time where he was playing, but he was
basically just winning and made it look so easy.
“He just made the sport so interesting for so many
people around the world who were just glued to the TV whenever he was playing.
That’s still the case now."
Huesler was brought back down to earth with a bump on
Wednesday when he lost in two to Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori but insisted he can
be the man to replace the hole left in Swiss tennis fans thoughts now that his
idol has hung up his racket.
"Obviously it’s not going to be easy [following
in his footsteps]. There are going to be Swiss people who [have been] spoiled
by his results," Huesler continued.
"But on the other hand, now I also won an ATP
tournament, so maybe some people will change their mind. Anyone who knows
something about tennis knows that it’s not just a walk through the park to get
to the Top 100. I feel like we have a couple of really, really good young Swiss
players who are coming up the rankings. And probably also them seeing what I
can accomplish pushes them on as well."
Huesler tops a list of emerging tennis pros from Switzerland
such as 20-year-old Dominic Stricker - ranked at No. 133 – who has won two ATP Challenger
titles this year.
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