Meet Michael Agwi - Ireland's first ITF singles champion in five years
Michael Agwi, 20, earned a slice of history this weekend after becoming the first Irish player in five years to win an ITF singles title.
A milestone in the development of any aspiring young tennis player, Agwi’s first professional singles title at M15 Oberhaching capped a strong start to 2024 that saw him reach his first two ITF singles finals and draw attention for a fine display (in which he held set points) against former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem while on Davis Cup duty.
Agwi, who was born in Ireland but grew up in Germany, tells ITFtennis.com about taking his first steps on the ITF World Tennis Tour, hitting with the likes of Thiem and Dan Evans, and his desire to play without pressure.
Two ITF finals, your first pro title, and a very positive showing against Dominic Thiem and Lucas Miedler in Davis Cup - 2024’s going pretty well isn’t it?
Yeh, it’s kind of surprising that I'm playing this good. It's just not like one week or two weeks… it's been the whole month. I’m happy, but surprised also!
How important a milestone was it to get that first ITF singles title at M15 Oberhaching on the weekend? Does that help your confidence going forward?
Yeah, of course. My goal is not to stop there and to improve, to play all tournaments successfully. I don't want to set goals to win more tournaments, I just want to set goals to play my best. If I reach the potential I can reach then I'm happy.
If that’s to get further in the rankings, even if it's only 700 or 600 in the world, I would be happy if that's really my potential, and it’s the maximum I can reach. I just want to be happy on the court and happy to be grinding. That's basically the goal.
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You’re only 20 years old, and clearly still improving. Do you have any kind of sense of what your potential might be? Or what you might want to achieve?
Last year I set my goal to reach the top 1000, and I didn't manage it until now. I put pressure on myself, and I don't want to do that again, even though the last few weeks have been really good. I just want to just improve by myself and play for myself without any big pressure that I need to get into the top 200 or 300 in the world by a certain point.
How easy is it to play without pressure in a highly-charged, individual sport?
Last year, after not reaching the goals I’d set, I kind of lost the pressure and that's why I feel more free on the court. And basically, my mindset has changed a bit into a better direction. I started to feel more comfortable and play better and improved quite quickly over those like four or five weeks, mentally especially.
Your were born in Ireland but moved to Berlin with your parents at an early age. What does it mean to represent Ireland – especially in Davis Cup?
It’s a privilege to represent your country. Davis Cup was something bigger than all the tournaments I've played so far. It was really special with the home crowd and atmosphere and it was so great being with the team, enjoying those days and practice sessions. There was so much positive energy to take on to the next tournaments.
As well as Thiem, you also enjoyed practice sessions with another top player in Dan Evans last year. Is it a significant step change playing those guys?
The level was just different. It was more solid, faster, just better. Now if I play against those guys, it's like, I'm not feeling that much pressure. I feel like I can play against those guys and I'm not too afraid anymore. Of course it’s still there - all those guys have a huge name and a huge reputation. But I try to enjoy it and don't let myself put on too much pressure.
You played very little ITF Junior competition – just three tournaments. Was that a conscious decision, to focus on training and development instead?
Not really, I would like to have played more but I didn't have the financial support to travel or to play outside of Berlin. I played national tournaments in Berlin. And now my hometown club is helping me to play [on the ITF World Tennis Tour].
You’ve now played 25 ITF singles over the last couple of years, how is the ITF World Tennis Tour helping your tennis development?
It’s all really good experience for me. In the beginning I had a lot to learn from the wins, and also from the losses. It was just a different level than all the national tournaments I'd played. In my mind, it's changed my approach quite a lot.
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How do you sum up your game?
My serve is good. I win a lot of points on my serve and I can use it really well in matches. I also really like my forehand and my backhand. I need to improve at the net. I’m a player who attacks, gets straight into points and moves forward. Sometimes I can’t finish balls at the net – that’s something I need to work on.
You thanked your ‘Mama’ on Instagram after your first pro title win. How much of an influence has she been in your career?
Yeah, I mean, she works at night in a hotel just to be with me in the day, for training, cooking, to travel with me around Germany for [ITF] tournaments. She’s giving all she can give. Basically I’m where I am because of her. I’m really grateful.
What are your interests outside of tennis?
I love to follow Formula One, and I play a lot of video games with friends.