Filip Misolic, Joel Schwärzler, Lukas Neumayer and Gerald Melzer are one round further.
ÖTV players Joel Schwärzler, Lukas Neumayer and Gerald Melzer are from the red-white-red perspective of Filip Misolic at the Danube Upper Austria Open powered by SKE (5th – 12th. May) followed to the round of 16. Dennis Novak, on the other hand, had to admit defeat to Lucas Pouille after three exciting sets and missed promotion. The number 1 of the tournament, Francisco Comesana (ARG), also celebrated a perfect start and easily mastered the first round against Joris de Loore (BEL).
The pressure and expectations from outside were great, and the nervousness in advance was definitely noticeable. But Joel Schwärzler was unimpressed on the center court at the ATP 100 Challenger in Mauthausen and celebrated a perfect start. After an even first set, the Vorarlberger kept his nerve in the tiebreak and took set one. After a break at the beginning of the second round, the 18-year-old fought back and shone with precise shots. In the end, the red-white-red future hope prevailed against the German Mats Rosenkranz in two sets with 7:6 and 6:4. In the round of 16 we now face the Spaniard Martin Landaluce. “The relief is very great. Mats is a similar type of player to me, he also takes a lot of risks. There were few long rallies, so it was difficult to find a rhythm. Of course you have more pressure at home, but I see it as positive and want to use it to my advantage. What was crucial was that I stayed calm in the important moments and maintained my level. “I have a lot planned for this week, I feel very comfortable here and believe in myself. But the foundation is that I have to play well,” says Schwärzler.
ÖTV sports director Jürgen Melzer added: “We know that Joel can play better. Today it was important that he won the game. That’s what counts. His opponent didn’t give him any rhythm, so I’m very happy that he finished it in two sets. You don’t always have to win with a perfect performance, you have to accept the situation and win even on days that aren’t so good – he did that well today. In the end the better player prevailed.”
Into the next round with high intensity
While Schwärzler played on the center court, Lukas Neumayer fought on court 1 against the number three seeded Canadian Gabriel Diallo. The Salzburg player kept the number of hits high, even if he didn’t yet know how to take advantage of his chance in the first set. The 21-year-old then turned up the heat, dictated his opponent with his dominant game and was rewarded by winning the second set. In the third round, the Canadian had to retire due to an injury when the score was 4:6, 7:5 and 4:2. In the round of 16, Neumayer will face the Bulgarian Dimitar Kuzmanov.
“It was a game with extremely high intensity. I did well from the start, but didn’t take advantage of my chances. Things got better in the second set. I fought well and was clearly the better player. The relief was of course very great. I played cleverly in the important points and carried the energy well. “I’m pleased that the effort was rewarded today,” sums up Neumayer.
The center court was a good place for Austria’s tennis aces on Tuesday
After Joel Schwärzler’s well-deserved success, Gerald Melzer ensured a positive conclusion. The 33-year-old got off to a phenomenal start against Jerome Kym and quickly secured the first set. However, the 21-year-old Swiss didn’t let up, took the second round and thus forced the decisive third set. A nerve-wracking game and rallies worth seeing developed there. Melzer remained confident with his serve and took advantage of one of the few opportunities that arose. In the end there was a deserved win with 6:2, 3:6 and 6:3.
“You don’t always have to play well to win. In the last two days I didn’t get much rhythm in the game either. It was similar today. Jerome is a big player who plays brutally aggressive and is pretty aggressive on the ball. It was an exciting game, although I was lucky twice in the third set when I held my service at 0:30. I wanted to drag out the match as long as I could and wait for this one moment. I got my chance and took advantage of it. With the new balls I didn’t let anything burn when I served them. When it comes down to it, it still really burns,” says Melzer.
In the round of 16, the 33-year-old will now face number 2 seeded Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga. He had his hands full in his opening game and won 3:6, 6:3 and 6:4 against the Swede Elias Ymer after just under two and a half hours.
Tough fight: Pouille survives the start against Novak
The opening game by Frenchman Lucas Pouille was tough. Together with Dennis Novak, the former number 10 in the ATP rankings had an open exchange of blows over three sets. The momentum moved back and forth and both players treated the visitors to high-class tennis. In the decisive phase of the match, the 30-year-old was ice cold, used his first match point when Novak served and won 6:3, 3:6 and 6:4. In the round of 16, Pouille will face Briton Jan Choinski on Wednesday. “It was a great game and really close. Dennis had some good chances but missed them. In the end, that was the ‘turning point’ for me; I scored the points in the crucial moments. I’m really glad I made it through the first round. A really cool feeling. I like Austria, I won in Vienna a few years ago – those are nice memories. I feel very comfortable here in Mauthausen, it’s a top tournament,” said Pouille.
Sebastian Sorger, who slipped into the main draw with a wildcard, had to admit defeat to the German Max Hans Rehberg 1:6 and 2:6.
Danube Upper Austria Open powered by SKE im Livestream
During the entire tournament week, all games from Center Court will be broadcast live on www.oetv.tv.
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All information about the Danube Upper Austria Open powered by SKE can be found at www.danube-ooe-open.at.
2024-05-07 17:06:15
#ÖTV #ATP #Challenger #Austrians
