Norway makes its mark on the international tennis scene. Now, it’s not just Casper Ruud and Ulrikke Eikeri who are delivering the best international results. Emily Sartz-Lunde and especially Nicolai Budkov Kjær have very strong results in this year’s Wimbledon tournament.
Sunday 14 July could be a new anniversary for Norwegian tennis. Then Nicolai Budkov Kjær can write himself into the history of Norwegian tennis and become the first person to win a Grand Slam in over 100 years. The last Norwegian Grand Glam winner was Molla Bjurstedt in 1917.
The game will be broadcast live on Discovery+ at 11:00 Norwegian time.
President of the Norwegian Tennis and Padel Association Lars Gjerdåker is very impressed:
– What Nicolai Budkov Kjær is performing now is really amazing. He also reached the semi-finals of the Junior Australian Open this year. He now loves to win the overall Wimbledon for the juniors. The others who have done it are Roger Federer, Gaël Monfils, and Iga Swiatek.
National team manager Fredrik Loven says this:
– What an achievement! I am very impressed with Nicolai’s development over the past six months. The results speak for themselves. The vast majority of children and young people around the world dream of playing a final at Wimbledon. With his place in the final, Nico continues to write Norwegian tennis history. It will be exciting to follow him individually and on the Norwegian men’s national team in the years to come.
In the final, Nicolai Budkov Kjær will meet the Dutchman Mees Rottgeringer. In terms of ranking, Kjær is the best, but Rottgeringer won’t be an easy nut to crack – would you believe dad Alexander Kjær:
– Mees Rothering and Nicolai have trained together several times for junior Grand Slams and know each other well in terms of tennis. Roththering is a left-handed player who has a very good ball-striker and can play at high pace.
Alexander Kjær continues…
– We are looking forward to the great experience to be here on the final days at Wimbledon. Everyone knows that competing in the finals in these stadiums at a young age is a tough task. But at the same time, these are the experiences that everyone dreams of being a part of. Nicolai is ready and waiting.
Ulrikke Eikeri in the mixed semi-finals
Ulrikke Eikeri and her partner, Ingrid Neel from Estonia, lost the second round in doubles. In mixed doubles, on the other hand, he had a semi-final match with his “regular” Argentinian partner Maximo Gonzales. Unfortunately, there was no final match. The Mexican pair of Gonzales/Olmos became too strong. But another semi-final place in the Grand Slam is very strong.
Regarding Eikeri’s efforts, national team manager Fredrik Loven says:
– Eikeri shows that hard work over time produces results. Patience in development and training work is essential for the vast majority of people. Ulrikke is just a great example of this.
Our best junior player on the girls side, Emily Sartz-Lund lost a close first round match to Poland’s Stankiewicz. Poll later lost in the quarter finals. In the doubles, Emily won in the 1st round with her Moroccan partner El Allami, but stopped in the second round against the British pair Xu/Stojsavljev.
Norwegian tennis star Casper Ruud lost in the 2nd round against Italian Fabian Fognini. In doubles, Ruud played with the American William Blumberg. Here was a 1st round loss against 3rd seed Ram/Salisbury.
Contact persons:
National team manager Fredrik Loven
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 974 79 947
Secretary General:
Aslaic J. Paulsen
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 992 39 505