{"id":19474,"date":"2019-08-31T20:26:18","date_gmt":"2019-09-01T00:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordontennis.com\/?p=19474"},"modified":"2019-09-01T09:08:09","modified_gmt":"2019-09-01T13:08:09","slug":"dominik-koepfers-unreal-journey-from-germany-to-the-us-open-via-tulane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2019\/08\/31\/dominik-koepfers-unreal-journey-from-germany-to-the-us-open-via-tulane\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominik Koepfer’s Unreal Journey, from Germany to the US Open via Tulane"},"content":{"rendered":"

The current edition of the US Open<\/a> has hosted several career-boosting runs from qualifiers. Players infamously referred to as \u201cjourneymen\u201d or \u201cminor-leaguers\u201d<\/a> by John McEnroe. Taylor Townsend is taking the women\u2019s draw by storm with her go-for-broke attacking style. The Chicago native is coming to the net an average of over 30 times per set, catching the opposition totally off guard en route to the round of 16. Meanwhile, on the men\u2019s side, this year\u2019s Cinderella Story Award goes to Dominik Koepfer.<\/p>\n

Over the past two weeks, Koepfer has sturdily subdued all six of his foes.\u00a0 Ryan Harrison, Nicolas Mahut, Yasutaka Uchiyama, Jaume Munar, Reilly Opelka and No. 17 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili all bent the knee<\/a> against the former college tennis star. Astonishingly, none of his wins was ever really in doubt. Koepfer won his first two sets in all three of his main draw duels.<\/p>\n

If Koepfer was not on your radar before this fortnight, pay close attention. His background story is incredible.<\/p>\n

Far from a can’t-miss junior prospect<\/h2>\n

According to Oliver Heuft, his coach between 7 and 14 years of age, Koepfer shattered even the most optimistic expectations when he reached the final of the 16 & Under German National Championship while practicing just twice a week<\/a>. Isn\u2019t that mind-boggling?<\/p>\n

On the back of that result, Koepfer earned a nomination to compete at the European Championship<\/a> in Moscow. In what\u2019s his lone Tennis Europe event on record, the German lefty was steamrolled 6-2 6-2 by No. 2 seed Miki Jankovic in the third round.<\/p>\n

One would imagine that Koepfer would drastically step up his results on the ITF Junior Tour<\/a>. Nevertheless, he lost in the first round of qualifying in the only tournament he ever entered, a grade 4 on carpet.<\/p>\n

Tulane and Dominik Koepfer, a mutually beneficial story<\/h2>\n

In 2012, Koepfer elected to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and play college tennis. He was far from a blue chip recruit. Joining a major powerhouse such as USC, Virginia, Ohio State or Wake Forest, to name a few, was a pipedream.\u00a0 Instead, he wound up at Tulane University, a private institution located in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n