Danish Tour Veteran’s Take on the New York Open

By Brent Shearer

(February 13, 2020) UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – In an exclusive interview, Tennis Panorama News talked with veteran Danish ATP player Frederick Nielsen about where the New York Open and other ATP 250 events fit into the men’s pro tennis ecosystem. Nielsen will be playing doubles at the NYCB Live’s Nassau Memorial Coliseum this week with partner Roman Jebavy from the Czech Republic.

“These 250 events are a big opportunity for young guys or players who are trying to regain a high ranking. You probably aren’t going to run into top ten players in the first round.”

Nielsen, 36, has mainly played singles on the Challenger Tour, but he has had more wins in doubles on the main tour. He is a former Wimbledon men’s doubles winner and has ranked as high as No.17. He and partner Jonathan Marray were the first wild card entrants to win a major with their triumph in London in 2012.

He said that for a young player like the New York Open’s No. 6 seed Miomir Kecmanovic, ATP 250 events are an important potential stepping-stone in their careers. This was the case for last year’s New York Open winner, Reilly Opelka, for whom the event was his first pro title.

Assessing the event at its mid-point, Nielsen said it was obviously a big setback when the charismatic Australian, Nick Kyrgios, pulled out, but the event still has many exciting match-ups.

As for his plans for his post retirement career, Nielsen said he will probably go into coaching since whatever he does he wants to continue working on court. He was adamant about not being interested in some of the other career options open to former players such as tournament director (New York Open tournament director Peter Lebedevs is a former ATP player) or a position in the governance of the sport with the ATP, the WTA or the ITF.
He also noted that the future of tennis in his country is bright as Danish junior Holger Rune is ranked near the top of the ITF junior field.