STARNBERG, March 29, 2020

Jurij Rodionov has been one of the breakout stars on the ATP Challenger Tour this season so far. The 20-year-old Austrian clinched two of his three ATP Challenger career titles this year. Rodionov lifted the trophies of the RBC Championship Dallas, United States, and at the Morelos Open in Mexico. He is currently ranked on a career-high World No. 166.

After a difficult 2019 season, in which Rodionov also struggled mentally, the NextGen ATP star has started to work with Wolfgang Thiem, Dominic’s father.

“I have very experienced people around me who can help me in many ways. I have great confidence in Wolfgang Thiem, Florian Pernhaupt, my athletic trainer, and Javier Frana, my touring coach. This team gives me a lot of confidence, which also helps me on the court,” Rodionov told German tennis website tennisnet.com in an interview.

His good run of form, however, came to an abrupt end due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Rodionov was playing the Nur-Sultan Challenger in Kazakhstan when the event was suspended after the third round. It was the lefty’s eighth tournament of the season.

“When I flew to America, I didn’t expect to win two Challengers and to reach another semi-final. That’s why I just enjoyed every game, match and victory. Due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, it’s difficult to talk about the further schedule. Players will not compete in a tournament for over two months. The plan is to play many tournaments but we have to wait until the season continues. After the corona crisis, I want to play more ATP 250 tournaments and maybe some Challengers.”

And what is his main goal?

“Definitely establishing myself inside the Top 100, playing playing my game, constantly good tennis and just having fun. And maybe earn a little bit for the pension,” Rodionov said.