Herwig Straka, tournament director of the traditional ATP 500 tournament in Vienna worth 2.559 million euros, commented on Saturday’s draw with a “laughing and a crying eye”. “You have top encounters from day one. The draw is rather uneven, there are a few players against each other where you say you would rather see an Austrian against them in the first round. There are hammer lots, that’s the beauty or not of a draw.”
The tournament boss also believes that both Austrians can pull off a surprise, even with the home crowd behind them. “Dominic against Stefanos is a duel of equals for me, even if Stef is better again now. “It’s far from the case that he’s the overwhelming favorite,” believes the 57-year-old Styrian. It is more difficult for Ofner to get into rallies. “It’s more about the serve, where the audience is usually less supportive.”
The overall summary of the field for the tournament boss, who has been in this position since 2008: “It is good for the tournament and will probably also mean that we have a very prominent winner. This is to be expected with a seeding list in which the best eight players are in the top 14 in the world.” Top star Daniil Medvedev from Russia is opening his way to defending his title against Frenchman Arthur Fils.
Ofner confident despite negative balance
Ofner, who was present at the draw in front of almost 80 spectators, is playing in the main draw of the largest tennis tournament in Austria for only the second time and for the first time in six years. “I think there would have been very few good draws in the tournament. I’ve already played against him twice. Maybe the third time it’s time for me to win a match like that. But I don’t put any pressure on myself,” the 27-year-old Styrian was quoted as saying in the APA.
The two previous duels with the German Olympic champion and current ninth in the world rankings were both at Grand Slam level: in the third round of Wimbledon in 2017 and in the first round of the French Open last year; he has not won a set so far. “In any case,” he is a different Sebastian Ofner since last year’s duel with Zverev. “A lot has already happened to me. Certainly with him too, but I think I’ve made a bigger leap.”
IMAGO/Jürgen Hasenkopf In the previous duels, here in 2017, Ofner (l.) was left behind against Zverev
Ofner, who like Thiem secured his place in the main draw thanks to a wildcard, is grateful for the “free ticket” for the tournament. “Incredible, I was really happy when I heard that I got the wildcard. It is the biggest tournament in Austria, the last time was in 2017 – that was a very long time ago. I’m really looking forward to it.” Alexander Erler, Jurij Rodionov and Filip Misolic first have to fight their way into the main field through qualification.
In any case, Ofner gives his stablemate Thiem a good chance against Tsitsipas. “I think that Tsitsipas might suit him a bit in terms of the game, because the games this year were always on a knife’s edge. I’m sure he can win the match.” Thiem completes the dozen in the main competition in the town hall; for the 2019 champion, it will be the eleventh duel with the seventh in the world rankings from Greece. Thanks to two very narrow victories in Madrid and Wimbledon, 7:6 in the third and fifth sets respectively, Tsitsipas has leveled at 5:5 head-to-head.
Thiem’s date isn’t quite fixed yet
Whether Thiem will actually be able to play on Tuesday depends on many factors. If Tsitsipas reaches the final in Antwerp on Saturday evening, a Tuesday start would not be ideal for the Greek. According to the regulations, explains Straka, he should play on the same continent on Tuesday. The events in the town hall can be seen live on ORF1 and in the live stream on Tuesday from 5.30 p.m.
Last year’s surprise winners will face compatriots in the first round: The unseeded Alexander Erler/Lucas Miedler will meet the second Austrian duo Ofner and Philipp Oswald, who have a wild card, at the start. Also at the start with a “free ticket” is Sam Weissborn with his standard partner Romain Arneodo from Monaco. At the start, the duo meets the US-Brazilian team Mackenzie McDonald and Marcelo Melo.
Erste Bank Open in Vienna
Starting table: Daniel Medvedev (RUS/1) Arthur Fils (FRA) -:- -:- Grigor Dimitrow (BUL) Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) -:- -:- JJ Wolf (USA) Jiri Lehecka (CZE) -:- – :- Karen Chatschanow (RUS/8) Roman Safiullin (RUS) -:- -:-
Dominic Thiem (AUT) Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE/4) -:- -:- Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) Qualifier -:- -:- Aslan Karazew (RUS) Borna Gojo (CRO) -:- -:- Tommy Paul (USA/6). ) Qualifier -:- -:-
Sebastian Ofner (AUT) Alexander Zverev (GER/5) -:- -:- Cameron Norrie (GBR) Qualifier -:- -:- Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) Qualifier -:- -:- Andrej Rublev (RUS/3) Alexei Popyrin ( AUS) -:- -:- Frances Tiafoe (USA/7) Daniel Evans (GBR) -:- -:- Gael Monfils (FRA) Daniel Altmaier (GER) -:- -:- Mackenzie McDonald (USA) Francisco Cerundolo ( ARG) -:- -:- Jannik Sinner (ITA/2) Ben Shelton (USA) -:- -:-
qualification
First round:
Alexander Erler (AUT) Emil Ruusovuori (FIN) -:- -:-
Yuri Rodionov (AUT) Tomas Machac (CZE) -:- -:-
Filip Misolic (AUT) Juan Pablo Varillas (PER) -:- -:-
Double
First round:
Alexander Erler (AUT) / Lucas Miedler (AUT)
Sebastian Ofner / Philipp Oswald (AUT)
-:- -:-
Sam Weissborn (AUT) / Romain Arneodo (MON)
Mackenzie McDonald (USA) / Marcelo Melo (BRA)
-:- -:-
2023-10-21 11:41:27
#Tennis #ÖTV #top #duo #celebrates #hammerlos #Vienna
