In June 2019, a 17-year-old Jannik Miscreant was strolling around the players’ on location inn at the Land Wortmann Open in Halle, where he was contending as a special case in qualifying. Abruptly he was blocked by Severin Luthi, the mentor of then nine-time Halle champion Roger Federer.
“I recollect Luthi halting me on the steps of the inn and inquiring as to whether I could warm [Federer] up for his match,” Heathen told ATPTour.com on Saturday preceding the current year’s release of the grass-court ATP 500. “I said, ‘obviously, yes.’ It was an excellent inclination, a unique inclination.”
Swiss legend Federer proceeded to lift his tenth and last title in Halle that year. Heathen this year contends as the favorite and, without precedent for his profession, as the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Regardless of whether the pair never got to go head to head in a cutthroat match, the 22-year-old Italian actually holds the counsel passed down to him by Federer.
“I didn’t get the opportunity to play against Roger in an authority match, and this is the kind of thing that I will continuously miss, yet I truly do recollect the training meetings with him,” reflected Miscreant. “I didn’t have many, so I in all actuality do recall each and every one, pretty much. He offered me only sort of mental guidance: Attempt to appreciate it and continue anticipating really buckling down. That is the main thing he told me, and offering a court to him was extremely great.”
