CHENGDU, China – Senior co-captain,
Henry von der Schulenburg, of Harvard Men's Tennis took home the gold medal at the FISU World University Games yesterday as he represented Switzerland in men's tennis singles play. When talking about his experience over the last two weeks, the Switzerland native said, "It was an unbelievable experience, especially playing for your country...Playing for Harvard, for example, it already adds so much more because you're playing for something bigger than your own ranking and then playing for your country is even bigger than that. You have all these different athletes coming to watch and supporting you and screaming, 'Go Switzerland, go Swiss', and it really makes all the hard work you've put in for the last 20 years of your life worth it."
En route to the finals, von der Schulenburg looked dominant, cruising to straight set wins in all five matches prior to the final. The Crimson senior began his week in Chengdu by not dropping a single game in his opening round match. To cement his spot in the finals, von der Schulenburg defeated Sergey Fomin (Uzbekistan), 6-3, 6-4.
In the final, the Crimson standout faced off against Kasidit Samrej (Thailand). The 22-year-old Thai player has a current ATP rank of 687 and a career high of 575. von der Schulenburg began the match by holding strong in the nearly 70 minute first set, taking the set, 7-6 (5). After a rain delay in the second set, Samrej evened the score, taking the set 6-4. Buckling down in the final set, von der Schulenburg stormed ahead to take the third set in dominating fashion, 6-1. Following the final von der Schulenburg the atmosphere and his experience throughout the match, "While I was playing the final and sometimes while you're waiting to return the serve you realize this is what the big pros feel like and when they're out on the court and playing the grand slams on center court with everyone watch and that's really what I felt like."
Along with his individual gold medal, von der Schulenburg and the rest of the Switzerland squad, earned the team silver medal.
About the FISU World University Games
The FISU World University Games takes place every two years at a different city around the world. The Crimson senior described the feelings of the opening ceremony and the games as a whole for himself saying, "China made it so special and the organization that went into it was out of this world. Xi Jinping was at the ceremonies and opened the games for us and it just really felt like you were at the real Olympics and it made you feel so special and thats why it means even more that I was able to play so well and actually win the tournament." Thousands of university level student-athletes come together to compete in 17 different sports. This year, the games took place in Chengdu, China and welcomed student-athletes from hundreds of different countries around the world.
FISU World University Games Full Results
Round 1
Henry von der Schulenburg (Switzerland) def. Leandro Marinho Atayde Cabral (Brazil), 6-0, 6-0
Round 2
Henry von der Schulenburg (Switzerland) def. Joshua Maxwell Charlton (Australia), 6-2, 7-6 (2)
Round 3
Henry von der Schulenburg (Switzerland) def. Lleyton Cronje (South Africa), 6-4, 7-6 (0)
Quarterfinals
Henry von der Schulenburg (Switzerland) def. Francisco Alberto De Amorim Rocha (Portugal), 7-6 (7), 7-5
Semifinals
Henry von der Schulenburg (Switzerland) def. Sergey Fomin (Uzbekistan), 6-3, 6-4
Final
Henry von der Schulenburg (Switzerland) def. Kasidit Samrej (Thailand), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1
