There haven’t been many positive headlines about Mikael Ymer in the last year.
But now he is praised to the skies – after a super shock at Wimbledon.
– It is huge, says SVT expert Magnus Gustafsson.
Mikael Ymer has been at the center of events in Swedish tennis in the past year, to say the least, but often it has been about things that happened outside the tennis court. Among other things, Ymer has chosen to skip the Swedish Open two years in a row, with the motivation that “Zlatan does not play in the Allsvenskan”.
Super scary
When he won the Swedish Open this year, he also chose to go on a furious attack against the competition leadership.
– It is true that Båstad offered me an extremely large amount of money this year. I was shocked when I saw the check but my voice and integrity are not for sale. Christer Hult and his team can put their money up their tails. God is greatest, he said.
The statement made many in Sweden really angry.
But now there are even happier headlines around Ymer – after a huge upset in the historic Wimbledon.
Ymer was not an immediate favorite when he entered the second round, against world number nine Taylor Fritz. Fritz also had 2-0 in the set, when Ymer was responsible for a slightly sensational turn, and made it to the third round. Now Ymer is hugely praised by a collective body of experts.
– It’s huge, of course. “Mickey” has really shown that he can beat the best players. He moves so amazingly well and returns well. Despite a 2-0 deficit, he manages to come back, it’s very strong mentally, says SVT’s tennis expert Magnus Gustafsson.
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Highly praised
It was the first time Mikael Ymer defeated someone ranked top ten in the world, and also the first time he reached the third round at Wimbledon. And the fact that he managed to turn the game around only makes the achievement even stronger, says Gustafsson.
– It is strong mentally. It has always been his disadvantage, he has difficulty staying focused for a whole match. There are always periods where he plays worse and loses focus. But as he played in the final sets, it was almost flawless tennis.
For Mikael Ymer now awaits, in the third round, Daniel Elahi Galán, ranked 85th in the world. The match will be played on Friday afternoon, with a scheduled start of 15.00.
– I definitely think he can beat Galán. It’s a pretty open match, they play pretty evenly. I think it will be a battle of the brains, whoever thinks best and stays focused wins, says Gustafsson.
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