![\"Nicolai](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sinner-budkov-kjaer-turin-2024-practice.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Player Features
\n Budkov Kjaer, Sinner’s practice partner, ready to unleash the \u2018hammer\u2019 in Vienna<\/p>\n
#NextGenATP Norwegian will play Etcheverry on ATP 500 debut Tuesday in Austria<\/p>\n
October 20, 2025<\/p>\n
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Corinne Dubreuil\/ATP Tour<\/p>\n
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer (right) practises with Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals.
\n By Andy West<\/p>\n
He may be 19 years old and have just one ATP Tour match win to his name, but Nicolai Budkov Kjaer<\/a> is already a familiar face to many of the tennis elite. <\/p>\n The #NextGenATP Norwegian is this week at the Erste Bank Open<\/a> in Vienna, where he will make his ATP 500 debut as a wild card in a draw that is spearheaded by Jannik Sinner<\/a> and Alexander Zverev<\/a>. While speaking to ATPTour.com as part of his media day duties in the Austrian capital, Budkov Kjaer was greeted warmly by Sinner\u2019s coach, Darren Cahill<\/a>, a reminder of links already forged between the teenage Norwegian and some of the sport\u2019s biggest names. <\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d joked the Norwegian, a former junior World No. 1 who last November was a hitting partner at the Nitto ATP Finals<\/a>. \u201cDarren has said to me that I have a good game and good potential. <\/p>\n \u201cI have a big swing on my forehand, so he said, \u2018Try to prepare early and then your forehand is a hammer\u2019. [I found that] quite funny actually.\u201d <\/p>\n Praise from a top coach in a practice session is one thing, but Budkov Kjaer knows he has a lot to learn when it comes to going toe-to-toe on a match court with the ATP Tour\u2019s finest. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been a hitting partner at many events before, so I\u2019m kind of used to being the guy that practises with the players, but not playing against them,\u201d said the Norwegian, who is coached by his father, Alexander Kjaer. \u201cI\u2019m not used to that yet, but hopefully in some time I will get used to it.\u201d <\/p>\n Budkov Kjaer has already experienced a whirlwind few days in Vienna, even without stepping foot on the match court. On Friday, he was awarded a qualifying wild card at the indoor hard-court event. By Saturday morning, that had been upgraded to a main-draw wild card after Matteo Berrettini<\/a> earned direct entry into the field. <\/p>\n \u201cI woke up in the morning as I usually do for matches and I was preparing for my qualifying match when suddenly my dad told me that Berrettini might go in the main draw and I could receive a main-draw wild card,\u201d recalled Budkov Kjaer. \u201cThen I got the phone call. <\/p>\n \u201cI was really excited. I\u2019ve never played at the 500 level, so obviously I was very excited and extremely happy. I just jumped a bit and was just full of happiness.\u201d <\/p>\n Budkov Kjaer has won four ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2025 and won his maiden ATP Tour match in July against Thiago Monteiro<\/a> in Bastad. The in-form teenager may be a relative newcomer to the biggest events on the circuit, but he was handed a familiar opponent in Saturday\u2019s Vienna draw: Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry<\/a>, who edged the teenager in a deciding-set tie-break in a Davis Cup Qualifier in February. <\/p>\n \u201cWe played each other once already, so we know each other\u2019s game styles,\u201d said Budkov Kjaer, who holds a 5-6 tour-level record, according to the Infosys ATP Win\/Loss Index, when asked about Etcheverry. \u201cWe played a Davis Cup match in February. I lost 7-6 in the third, so it was a bitter loss, I guess. I\u2019m going to approach [this match] with excitement.\u201d <\/p>\n Having racked up a 34-16 record at Challengers this year, Budkov Kjaer is sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and well placed to secure a spot at December\u2019s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF<\/a>. It would be a significant achievement for a player who did not consider the prospect of competing at the 20-and-under season finale when he began his season. <\/p>\n \u201cI started the year so low-ranked that it didn\u2019t strike my thoughts at the start of the year,\u201d said the Norwegian. \u201cAs I won a Challenger early in the year, I kind of thought maybe I could qualify. Then a few results here and there, and suddenly I\u2019m in the race. Now, it would be really disappointing to not play there. I have a good chance now.\u201d <\/p>\n You May Also Like: #NextGenATP Budkov Kjaer surging towards Jeddah with standout Challenger season<\/a><\/p>\n![\"It](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761039492_623_it-all-adds-up-banner.jpg\"\/)
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