“It’s still getting better, but I’m still satisfied with this week,” said Schwärzler. “I can definitely take something positive from here, I played good games and was able to build up confidence.” Marco Hammerl, who accompanied him to Vrsar as a touring coach, was also very satisfied: “That was a great tournament from Joel. Victory in doubles and final in singles, we would have taken that before the week.” Schwärzler “played four flawless games, especially in the quarterfinals against Branko Djuric. He also played very well tactically throughout the week. Today was a very long day and a make or break battle. Even after the rain break, the final was extremely competitive and balanced from the very first ball. It got really close. Unfortunately, the second tie-break didn’t go well for Joel, and in the third set things were a little out of breath. He still played very well and sold very, very well,” said Hammerl – and emphasized that Schwärzler was the only 2006 vintage in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Back home via Venice
Meanwhile, Schwärzler wants to “do it even better at the next tournament”. It is not yet clear where his next appearance will be. Late on Sunday evening he first took the bus to Venice. He would like to take a closer look at the world-famous lagoon city on Monday. In the evening we fly home to a training week. He will then either contest another ITF J300 youth tournament in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) or an ITF M15 men’s tournament in Antalya (Turkey) – where he also got his first ATP points. The decision about the further tournament schedule will be made on Monday, after consultation with his team in the ÖTV performance center in the southern part of the city.
Here are all the results of the ITF J300 youth tournament in Vrsar.
