ITF World Tennis Tour Player of the Month: Martin Krumich
Martin Krumich has been named ITF World Tennis Tour Player of the Month after a stand-out October in which he won 14 matches and all three tournaments he contested.
The 20-year-old Czech won consecutive clay court events on Bulgarian soil at M25 Pazardzhik and at back-to-back M25 tournaments in Telavi, Georgia as part of a hugely positive month that saw him climb 55 places in the ATP rankings to a career-high No. 381.
He was the only player to win three titles during the month, and collected the most main-draw match-wins of any player on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
“It was a great three weeks for me,” Krumich told the ITF on Wednesday. “It was tough to stay in a good level for 15 matches so I’m really glad that I could manage it and I can’t wait for the next tournaments.”
Krumich’s recent rise is all-the-more impressive given that an ankle injury kept him away from the tour for the first six months of the season.
Being able to return from injury and compete in men’s events on the ITF World Tennis Tour has been crucial for him – and indeed for players generally as they look to hone their talents and climb the ranks of the professional game.
“[The events] are really important,” he said. “If you want to go up and play big tournaments you need to play on this level and to take important points.
“I think for every player it’s important to be able to play a good level, and to win a lot of matches, a lot of tournaments. That can give you a lot of confidence for bigger events.”
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Krumich is working with former world No. 136 Jan Satral at the TK Sparta Praha tennis academy in Prague, where he has been able to train at a high-level alongside the likes of world No. 64 Tomas Machac (the current Czech No. 2).
A talented junior, having reached as high as No. 21 in the boys’ rankings, Krumich was also able to see the top pros at close quarters at the junior Grand Slams – a key benefit of being a successful junior player and something that he believes has played a significant part in his tennis development.
“I think [Juniors] was for sure important,” he said. “I had the chance to play two Grand Slams – the Australian Open and French Open [in 2020]. I didn’t play Wimbledon and US Open because it was in covid times and the tournaments were closed, but it was good motivation, seeing the top players, seeing how they prepare, how they practice.
“It’s a big motivation for everyone who plays juniors to go on and be a top player.”
Krumich counts Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev amongst his favourite players – so does he strike a ball like them too?
“I try…” he joked, but it is clear that it is his own future, not the abilities of others, that is the focus of his attentions in the months ahead.
“Now my ranking is 381 so I want to start getting into the qualies of [ATP] Challengers and adapt to that level," he said. "Then try to go step-by-step and go up in the rankings.”