Ymer’s brothers’ dreams of putting ex-powerhouse Sweden on the world tennis map – The New Indian Express
Express news service
CHENNAI: The recent success stories for ATP from Italy and Russia are well described. There are four Russians among the top 30 (best along with Spain) and eight Italians among the top 100 (one of the highest in terms of representation from a single country). They have both had major champions on the men’s side before, but they have not had much presence in the sport’s top party at the same time.
A country like Sweden experiences the opposite effect. Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, Thomas Johansson and, more recently, Robin Söderling … between them they produced several Slam champions or final appearances. But after Söderling’s French Open race in 2010, one of the assembly lines closed.
Sweden has only two in the top 200. Admittedly, the couple, Ymers, have received a lot of attention since they started playing professionally. Mikael, World No 83, is no stranger to tennis fans. The 23-year-old has enjoyed a few runs but is still waiting for a “take note of me” moment. Mikael’s brother, Elias, is also waiting for such a moment that could potentially push him into the wider tennis community.
Currently in India for the Tata Open, Elias ticked a box when he qualified for the main draw of the ATP 250 event after a relatively easy 6-4, 6-4 win over Marc Polmans in the second qualifying round.
In a way, the Ymers stories are unique because of how they ended up in Sweden and ended up becoming professional tennis players. A little background: Elias’ father, Wondoesen, who moved to Sweden from Ethiopia when he was 18, was a professional runner. And he wanted to make both Elias and Mikael professional runners. Something Elijah hated.
“My parents, they come from Ethiopia where there is a tradition of running,” said the 25-year-old. “When I was 5, my dad wanted me to run all the time. I cried every day because I did not like running. I did not know how tennis happened to be honest. What he remembers, however, is that his father used to watch a lot of tennis on TV after moving to Sweden.
Select result (Rd 1): Yuki Bhambri bt Josef Kovalik 6-7 (10), 6-2, 7-5, Qunetin Halys bt Ricardas Berankis 6-1, 6-2.