Daniel Merida was competing in just his seventh tour-level event at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. That did not stop the 21-year-old Spaniard from going all the way to the title.
Merida overcame Damir Dzumhur in a three-set final, during which the Spaniard served for the title in the second set before needing a decider. After securing his biggest career trophy, Merida reflected on his week in Umag and much more in an exclusive interview with ATPTour.com.
What does it mean to win your first ATP Tour title?
It’s amazing. It’s something different when you win an ATP title. It’s something really big, so I’m just super happy to win my first ATP title and I’m motivated to keep working.
Who have been the most influential people in helping you reach this moment in your career?
I have a lot of people. My father, my girlfriend — who is here with me this week — my mom, my brother. They always support me a lot, so I cannot pick one. All of them.
How did you begin playing tennis and what made you fall in love with the sport?
I fell in love with tennis as a kid. I [spent] most of my time on the tennis court. I love tennis, I love to play tournaments. It’s something really, really important for me.
What are some of your favourite memories of when your father would take you to tennis as a kid?
I have a lot of memories with him. First, he started with me in padel and then we went to the tennis court. I have a lot of photos, a lot of memories. He was always with me in the practices and travelling and helping me.
What lessons did you take away from your first ATP Tour final in Bucharest?
I took a lot of lessons, but for me the most important was to start playing aggressive, to start playing with my shots and that helped me a lot today.
How would you describe yourself as a player and how would you describe yourself off the court?
As a player, I describe myself as an aggressive player. I like to hit the ball as hard as I can. Off the court, I’m just a relaxed guy. I like to have time with family and friends when possible and have some dinner with people I’m close with.
What are your favourite things to do outside of tennis?
I like video games. I love to watch people playing video games. I like to play [video games] with my friends, I think that’s the thing I do the most outside of tennis.
If you were not a tennis player, what do you think you would be doing and why?
For sure something about video games. Streaming or something else, because all day I’m with the computer playing video games.
How are you going to celebrate your first ATP Tour title?
I’m going to celebrate with my girlfriend today. Tomorrow we are going to have some lunch together, some dinner. Tomorrow we are flying to the next tournament, but for sure we are going to try and do something special tomorrow.
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