Maximilian Marterer played his way into the round of 16 with remarkable performances at the French Open. Now a career highlight awaits him against Rafael Nadal.
Maximilian Marterer has already played Rafael Nadal at the French Open. That was in 2013, and the then 17-year-old was allowed to serve as an impact partner for the Spanish world star in several training sessions. On Monday, at the age of 22, the Nuremberg native meets Nadal again in Paris (from about 12.30 pm in the live ticker). However, this time it is the eighth-finals of the major tournament – and for torturers the absolute career highlight.
But the Franconian has actually become somewhat cautious with such superlatives. “I’ve seen so many matches this year I’ve said about: That’s the match of my life,” he said after convincingly beating Estonian Jürgen Zopp 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in round three: “But it feels like it’s still being beaten a bit. Now by a Grand Slam duel with his youth idol.
Marterer’s career has gained enormous momentum in recent months. After losing his first 14 matches on the ATP tour in 2017, he qualified for the Australian Open in January with good results at smaller tournaments. There he surprisingly reached the third round, then reached the semi-finals of his home tournament in Munich and was nominated for the Davis Cup team for the first time.
“I am someone who perhaps does not set his goals too high, but continues to improve,” said Marterer with a view to his recent, almost picture-book-like constant ascent. After the French Open he will be among the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time. This opens up new possibilities at tournaments and thus also provides financial planning security. The basic requirement for a young tennis professional.
First, however, it is important to enjoy the performance on the big stage of Paris extensively. “Rafa was always the one I looked up to. I see it as a huge opportunity to prove how well I can play,” said Marterer. The left-handed man, supervised by Davis Cup team boss Michael Kohlmann, does not want to freeze in awe: “It certainly does not speak much for me. But what I can afford, I have already shown this week.”
If this succeeds again, Nadal Marterer’s face should also remember a little better. No, he admitted, he did not remember the meeting five years ago. Torterer’s surprising second round victory over the super-talented Canadian Denis Shapovalov (19) had impressed him all the more. “It’s always hard to win against Shapovalov, so he’s a tough opponent,” the Spaniard said. How hard, torturers may prove that now on Monday.