IRVINE, Calif. - Recent UC Irvine men's tennis alum Nico Mertens has been making some noise in his short time on the international pro circuit.
 
After graduating in 2016, Mertens spent the summer playing with his club team in his hometown of Hilden, Germany. He then came back to UCI for one more quarter where he practiced on campus and played in several local tournaments.
 
Following his second stint in Irvine, Mertens returned home to focus on tennis. In the spring, he won a few national tournaments and played another club season, along with current Anteater Sebastian Heim (Speyer, Germany).
 
That set Mertens up to start his international career in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France, where he has competed in eight Futures, which are smaller tournaments that count toward world rankings. He saw early success, earning his first point in June and beating two highly ranked opponents, including one that was No. 150 in the world.
 
Mertens has qualified for the main draw in each of the Futures he has played. His best finish so far came at the Belgium F12 and Netherlands F7 where he advanced to the quarterfinals. Although he has only played in a handful of events on the pro circuit, Mertens has already started his ascent up the rankings.
 
"Currently, I'm ranked 1200, and my next goal is to be in the top 1000, which would allow me to play in the main draw every time," Mertens said. "A bigger goal is to get in the top 500, and like every tennis player, I dream of competing in a Grand Slam."
 
Mertens hasn't reached the level he is at today without some help. He has a coach in Germany, who he has been working with for over 10 years, but he also credits UC Irvine head coach Mike Saunders and his time on campus for preparing him for the professional level.
 
"Coming to UCI helped me improve my game to compete on the pro tour," Mertens said. "Coach Saunders invested a lot of time in me and helped me with his experience from coaching extremely successful professional players. He also has a great understanding of the game and helped me play smarter."
 
"When I first met Nico, he was passionate in a way I deeply respected, but his emotions often held him back," Saunders said of Mertens. "He suffered from what I call tortured artist syndrome; he was driven by his intense desire to achieve perfection, which is admirable, but often resulted in self-sabotage and undermined his ability to be the better competitor.

"With a shift in perspective from result driven to process driven, and some basic mindfulness tactics, he has grown into a fierce, courageous, resilient competitor, which is clearly benefiting him out on tour."
 
Mertens was one of the team's top players during his tenure with the 'Eaters (2014-16). He was a two-time first-team All-Big West selection in singles, and finished his two-year career with 36 wins. As a junior, Mertens helped UC Irvine claim a share of the Big West regular-season title, while leading the squad to an appearance in the conference tournament final.
 
"Nico has one of the strongest minds I've ever coached," Saunders added. "He is a natural leader and the kind of teammate who inspires greatness out of those around him. He won numerous huge matches for us while shaping the culture of our team and indelibly influencing our program. It was a joy and privilege to have the opportunity to mentor him."

In addition to pursuing a professional tennis career, Mertens, who earned Big West All-Academic honors in 2016, will also be continuing his education in the near future.
 
"I enjoyed the great academic standards at UC Irvine and had the chance to take classes with some great professors," Mertens said. "I will start my master's in economics next year, parallel to playing. I still enjoy competing a lot, and I hope one day I will be able to give back to UCI and the tennis program that offered me the opportunity to have so many great experiences."
 
In the meantime, the Anteater men's tennis program will be following and supporting their prized alum as he continues on his professional journey.