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Now Lower Austria will face Norbert Gombos in the second round on Wednesday (second match after 11am, live on ORF Sport +). You can also calculate your chances against the Slovaks. Gombos had surprisingly eliminated the Croatian Borna Coric, seeded 24, 6: 4 3: 6 6: 3 6: 4. Rodionov has against the current number 106 of the world. not yet played.
“As in the first round, I have nothing to lose,” said the 1.91m tall southpaw from Lower Austria. The result also surprised him a bit. “I don’t really know Gombos, I once saw him play Andy Murray in Mallorca in a Challenger.”
Rodionov pays chances against Gombos
At the French Open in Paris, Jurij Rodionov expects a duel with Norbert Gombos of Slovakia to reach the third round.
Relaxation is the order of the day
The most important thing for Rodionov was recovering from the mentally and physically stressful 4:36 hour match against Chardy. Since entering the main competition on Sunday, he has the advantage that he does not have to play again until Wednesday. “I will make the best use of my body time to get me back in shape.” The hardening of the adductors should be over by then.
“I have trained very hard in recent years, and it is good that the work is now paying off,” said the Nuremberg native of Belarusian parents. Rodionov has been Austrian since 2015, but has lived in Lower Austria since he was two years old.
“Hopefully it’s just the beginning”
Some more people will know him now, he said. But I always try to take it very objectively and modestly. Hopefully this is just the beginning, hopefully not my last Grand Slam victory, ”Rodionov said. In Paris, he already has a gross cash prize of 84,000 euros, which is roughly half his previous career salary. “I’m trying to stay with myself,” said the young man, who narrowly escaped the fate of defeat at the big opportunity.
This trip to Paris could be a turning point in your career. “It was my biggest win so far in my career, especially for the five-set game, match point saved, first Grand Slam main draw. But I think I have to give myself a little more time to think about what I can do today, ”said Rodionov, the protégé of tour coach Javier Frana is under Wolfgang Thiem’s wing. “I hope I can take the momentum, not just in the next game, but in the months ahead.”
But Rodionov already knows one thing: the decision to move to the Alt Erlaa training center, where Dominic Thiem, Dennis Novak, Sebastian Ofner and Lucas Miedler also practice, was the right one. “In Austria or Central Europe I won’t find better training partners like Dominic, Dennis, Ofi, Luci, and that’s why I’m very happy there. He also improves automatically, only if he trains with these players every day, ”said Rodionov.
Two-handed backhand as a trump card
In addition to a strong serve and the left-hander’s natural advantage in the right-handed-dominated field, Rodionov also relies heavily on his two-handed backhand. “In general, I feel safer with my backhand than with my forehand. My forehand has more potential, but some days I don’t really feel it or I don’t have enough confidence in myself. ” On the other hand, he assured him that his backhand will not disappoint even on bad days.
In addition to the prize money, Rodionov has also secured his first foray into the top 150 places in the world rankings. A win over Gombos would push him into the top 130 and could improve his income to € 126,000 gross.
