Budkov Kjaer swings into Vienna with hammer forehand
A 19-year-old Norwegian with Challenger momentum and elite practice ties arrives at the Erste Bank Open, where his explosive forehand faces a test against a familiar rival in the ATP 500 spotlight.
In Vienna‘s humming arenas, where indoor hard courts reward bold strokes and quick feet, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer enters his first ATP 500 tournament carrying the quiet intensity of a breakthrough season. The 19-year-old Norwegian, armed with just one prior ATP Tour victory, steps in as a wild card amid a stacked field paced by Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev. His path here traces a rapid ascent, fueled by four Challenger titles in 2025 and a climb from World No. 518 to No. 136 by October 13, yet the real challenge lies in translating practice poise into match-day fire.
Forging bonds amid elite rhythms
Budkov Kjaer’s familiarity with the top echelon stems from extensive hitting sessions, particularly with Sinner over the past year, sessions that have etched his presence into the minds of tennis’s leading figures. During media day in the Austrian capital, Sinner’s coach, Darren Cahill, greeted him with encouragement, highlighting the teenager’s potential in a way that bridged their shared court time. Those interactions, including his role as a hitting partner at last November’s Nitto ATP Finals, have sharpened his game against world-class pace, teaching him to absorb heavy inside-out forehands while probing with crosscourt backhands.
Guided by his father, Alexander Kjaer, the young player focuses on refining his weapons for the indoor hard’s low bounce, where flat drives penetrate and slices skid unpredictably. Cahill‘s feedback during practice emphasized early preparation to maximize his forehand’s power, a tactical nudge that resonates as Budkov Kjaer adapts his one–two patterns to the surface’s speed. This coaching dynamic blends familial insight with professional validation, building a mindset geared for the transition from rally partner to rival.
“I practised a lot with Sinner over the past year, so we know each other a little bit. As close as we can get to the World No.1 I guess,” joked the Norwegian. “Darren has said to me that I have a good game and good potential. I have a big swing on my forehand, so he said, ‘Try to prepare early and then your forehand is a hammer’. [I found that] quite funny actually.”
Wildcard surge meets familiar challenge
The whirlwind shift to the main draw arrived abruptly, upgrading Budkov Kjaer’s qualifying wild card to a direct entry after Matteo Berrettini gained automatic qualification, a twist that flooded him with raw excitement on a routine morning. He recalls leaping with joy upon the call, his preparations for qualifiers evaporating into the thrill of ATP 500 action. This momentum carries into his opener against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, an Argentine whose steady baseline game tested him in a tight Davis Cup qualifier loss back in February, where a 7-6 third-set tiebreak slipped away.
Etcheverry’s crosscourt topspin rallies demand patience, but Vienna’s swift surface allows Budkov Kjaer to counter with aggressive inside-in serves and down-the-line forehands, aiming to disrupt the rhythm that edged him before. His sole ATP win this July came against Thiago Monteiro in Bastad, a gritty baseline battle that previewed his ability to sustain pressure over sets. With a 5-6 tour-level record, he approaches this rematch not with caution but with the fire of unfinished business, varying underspin to draw errors and accelerate through the points.
The indoor hard’s grip sharpens angles, favoring his power game as he mixes deep returns to set up that hammer forehand, potentially turning prolonged exchanges into decisive breaks. The crowd’s energy in the arena—rising with each crisp winner, falling silent before a pivotal serve—amplifies the stakes, pushing him to channel the season’s 34-16 Challenger success into live-wire intensity. Etcheverry’s familiarity offers tactical edges, like reading serve patterns early, but the psychological lift from the wildcard upgrade steels him for the fight.
Racing toward Next Gen contention
Budkov Kjaer’s 2025 trajectory has rewritten his ambitions, starting from a low ranking that kept events like December’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF far from view, only for early Challenger wins to ignite a chase now placing him sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. This surge, nearly 400 spots in the rankings, unlocked a Next Gen Accelerator spot at last week’s BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm, where similar hard-court tempos let him test adjustments against stronger fields. Coached to stay present, he takes matches point by point, ignoring seasonal tallies to focus on the immediate swing.
The 20-and-under finale’s fast courts align with his flat-hitting evolution, demanding the same adaptive returns and net poaches he’s honing in Vienna. Missing it now would sting after such momentum, yet he embraces the pressure as fuel, refining his backhand slice to skid low and force weak replies. As the Erste Bank Open unfolds, the Norwegian’s debut carries the weight of potential, his forehand hammer poised to echo through the draw and solidify his spot among the rising elite.
With each practice rep and point won, Budkov Kjaer edges closer to turning shadows of practice into sunlight of victory, the Vienna courts a launchpad for what promises a defining run in the tour’s next generation fray.
