Dominic Stricker sings along to Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' at the US Open
Dominic Stricker, of Switzerland, returns a shot to Stefanos Tsitsipas, of Greece, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in New York. Credit: AP/Manu Fernandez
NEW YORK — Closing in on the biggest victory of his tennis career, Dominic Stricker was having a terrific time at the U.S. Open — so much so that he sang along to Whitney Houston's “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” as it rang out from the stadium speakers during a changeover Wednesday.
Stricker needed to go through qualifying just to get into the field at Flushing Meadows and the 21-year-old from Switzerland moved into the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time by beating No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Music often plays during breaks between games at the U.S. Open, and Houston’s 1987 hit was the choice while the players sat on the sideline at 5-2 in the fifth set of the 4-hour, 4-minute contest.
Between sips of an energy drink and bites on a snack, Stricker bopped his head and bounced his legs to the beat of the song and then began mouthing the lyrics. He appeared to know all the words.
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