Liam Gavrielides: From Weilimdorf to the tennis world
Even as a little boy, Liam Gavrielides dreamed of being able to play at the ATP Challenger in Heilbronn. Last weekend, thanks to a wildcard for the qualifying tournament at the prestigious NECKARCUP, the time had come.
by Florian Heer from Heilbronn
last edit:
May 12, 2022, 03:58 pm
The 18-year-old from Ludwigsburg competed against the Spaniard Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo in front of family and friends. Even if the scoreboard on the well-attended Court 2 showed a 6:7, 3:6 from the German's point of view, the spectators were able to observe a courageous performance and a match that could have gone the other way.
“Of course it would have been cooler if we had won. Still, it was a great experience to compete here. Everything is bigger and more professional than on the junior tour,” Gavrielides was visibly impressed after the game.
He wasn't really nervous before the match. "With the exception of a little nightmare, I actually slept well," Gavrielides describes the nights before the match against number 287 in the ATP world rankings, the highest-ranked player the youngster has faced in a match.
Training base in Oberhaching
Gavrielides started playing at the age of 10 in Weilimdorf, followed by first experiences in the adult league in Bietigheim. He then moved further south to Spain, where the son of a Cypriot father and a German mother lived with his mother and trained in Benidorm between the ages of 14 and 16. "This was an important step in my development, also as a person"
In the meantime, Gavrielides has arrived at the TennisBase in Oberhaching, Bavaria. There, none other than the German head of men's tennis and Davis Cup captain Michael Kohlmann took him under his wing.
"Of course that's something special," reveals number 1391 in the ATP ranking. “You also have top-class training partners like Yannick Hanfmann, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe or Philipp Kohlschreiber. The seats are excellent. It's really fun."
Kohlmann will also accompany the young talent from Baden-Württemberg as a traveling coach on the tour as often as he can. How does Gavrielides currently assess his own game? “My serve is strength and construction site at the same time. The rate is too low. There is still room for improvement when it comes to placement. My backhand is more solid than my forehand.”
High-class role models
He also draws a gentle comparison with Alexander Zverev's playing style, and also sees other parallels by often classifying his position on the pitch as "too far behind". The number three in the world rankings is clearly a role model on the pitch.
Influences from his time in the Iberian Peninsula are still present. Gavrielides particularly admires the mental strength of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal. "That's the ultimate," is his conclusion.
Germany's representative at the Junior Grand Slams
He is regularly on the junior tour and has already won five tournaments, which put him in the top 40 in the world rankings. A highlight was taking part in this year's Australian Open, where he was the only male representative of Germany in singles.
“The first thing I could see after arriving in Melbourne was the match between Hanfmann and Nadal. Of course, being able to watch this from Yannick's box was amazing. Getting in touch with the pros at all was cool,” says Gavrielides enthusiastically.
Of course, before you can realize your dream of traveling the world as a professional yourself, you first have to finish school. “Last week was the last written Abitur exam. That wasn't easy, since the junior tournament was also taking place in Offenbach at the same time. But now I'm more or less done. That's a relief," said the Mannheim high school student.
The Juniors Tour will continue in the next few weeks. The timetable includes a tournament in Milan and the French Open in addition to all other school obligations.