"For sure, it helps" - says Stricker after seeing Federer watch him play

Dominic Stephan Stricker has been making headlines at the Geneva Open but his relationship with Federer is something important to him.

It has been a great week at the Geneva Open for 18-year old Swiss player Dominic Stephan Stricker. He earned his first ATP level quarterfinal after defeating Marin Cilic in R1 and Marton Fucsovics in R2. Following his 2nd round win he said:

“I think everything is working pretty well. I’m serving good here, and I improved a lot on that."

Serving is something that has been a big focus for the youngster especially after he spent 3 weeks practising with Federer in Dubai. On that experience he said:

“He told me some stuff, like how the serve is important and it’s the only shot in tennis that you can do by yourself. You can’t learn it too much, so I just worked really hard on this shot. It’s getting better and I’m winning many points on serve.”

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When asked if he practice with Federer at the Geneva Open Stricker said:

“We saw [each other] here and we were talking a little bit, just saying hello but not too much. We didn’t practise here but we practised a lot at the start of the year."

The Swiss maestro was in the stand to watch the youngster play against Marin Cilic and for Stricker seeing that means a lot. When asked about it he said:

“For sure that helps me to see how good he is and just to see that I’m actually close to his level – maybe not at his level, but I’m just trying to get there. It helps me to see it. I’m getting better and trying to get to this level where these guys are.”