ESSEN, December 1, 2018

Niklas Guttau is this year’s U18 German Junior Tennis champion. The 18-year-old, playing for NTSV Strand 08, continued his great run of success at the National German Junior Championships in Essen the past weekend.

Guttau, who was born in Eutin and resides in Grube, has become Schleswig-Holstein’s first German champion in this class since Michael Stich in 1986. Top seed Guttau beat Benedict Kurz in the singles final 6-1, 6-0. He also finished runner-up in doubles alongside his partner Bastian Presuhn.

“Niklas has shown a great performance and deserved to win the title. This marks a great success for Schleswig-Holstein’s tennis, which shows that we are on the right track,” said Arne Weisner, Vice President of Schleswig-Holstein’s Tennis Federation.

“I felt comfortable right from the beginning of the tournament,” Guttau said after the biggest triumph of his young career. “The first three rounds went smoothly, and I was able to fight until the end.”