Last October, Marc-Andrea Huesler was competing in the Sofia Open final when his opponent, Holger Rune, missed a final forehand return. Huesler tossed his racquet to the side, fell to his knees and buried his head in his hands as he took his bandana off.
When the Swiss lifted his head, he wore a priceless smile stretched wide across his face. Huesler had turned a dream into a reality.
“That was just overwhelming in a sense that you’re completely fufllled by joy. It’s just complete joy and you just get emotional,” Huelser told ATPTour.com. “Also thinking back, when I see videos sometimes looking back I also get emotional pretty fast. It’s something I’ll never forget [in] my life. That’s an amazing experience.”
It was the high point of a breakthrough season for the lefty, who climbed from just inside the Top 200 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to the fringe of the Top 50, claimed his first tour-level crown and competed in his first two Grand Slam main draws.
“If you look at it as a whole, a lot has changed, but at the same time I had a whole year and it was always one step at a time,” Huesler said. “[I was] trying not to think too far ahead because you never know how far it will happen. I never thought that I’d be now playing United Cup in position two of Switzerland a year ago, even if it existed. It’s an awesome chance for me.”
Marc-Andrea Huesler” />
Photo: Tennis Australia
As he said, Huesler is now one of the stars of his country’s United Cup team, which is 1-0 in Group B. A lot of the World No. 56’s success can be credited to his grounded mindset.
“I think as a professional tennis player it’s important that you try to find ways where you feel at ease in uneasy moments or at least try to because you’re not always going to be in a comfortable situation on the court, also in life in general,” Huesler said. “I’m trying new things out over the years and usually the match gets decided in the important points, so it’s important to have a clear mind then, but also be able to accept that if it does not go your way, it does not mean that you did anything wrong necessarily.
“Just try again next time and hopefully keep a stable mindset throughout the whole season.”
Huesler’s biggest moment was his triumph in Bulgaria, but it was far from a one-off moment. The lefty won two ATP Challenger Tour titles in April in Mexico and battled to his second ATP Tour semi-final in August in Winston-Salem.
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