Youngster Joel Schwärzler reaches first ATP Challenger final after battling through semifinals

The ÖTV youngster also prevailed in the semifinals after being behind by a set.

Joel Schwärzler’s current rapid rise in men’s tennis continues in this vein. The 18-year-old reached his first ATP Challenger final at the Macedonian Open in Skopje on Friday late afternoon. The Vorarlberg native (ATP 664), who only had a junior reserve place in the main competition, defeated the 19-year-old South Korean Gerard Campana Lee (ATP 349) 6:7 ​​(4), 6:3, 6:2 in the semifinals of the category 75 clay court tournament after a battle lasting around 3 hours and 5 minutes. This was the third time in the tournament that the highly talented ÖTV contract player, who is trained by ÖTV sports director and Davis Cup captain Jürgen Melzer in the association’s performance center in the southern part of the city, has turned a set deficit into a win. On Saturday, the current number one in the youth world rankings will fight for the biggest coup in the adult category so far: Schwärzler’s opponent in the second match after 11:00 a.m. will be the Polish alternate Kamil Majchrzak (ATP 351). The former world number 75 is currently trying to work his way back into the extended world elite after a 13-month doping ban.

Having fought through it several times: “Proud of myself”

Schwärzler is competing in only the eighth ATP Challenger of his young career in Skopje. Before that, his best results at this level had been two quarterfinals in Tallahassee and at the Danube Upper Austria Open powered by SKE in Mauthausen. In the Macedonian capital, he was able to top his semifinal debut again. At first, it didn’t look like it: in the first round, he had already turned a 5:7, 2:5 deficit and fended off a match point, and he also had to concede the first set against Campana Lee after a 1:16 hour fight. After quickly making up a 0:2 deficit, he didn’t allow any more break chances there, but even at 2:2 he missed a 0:40 and another break point at 4:4 and came up short in the tiebreak. In the second set, his 3-1 lead was gone again despite match points to make it 4-1, but then Schwärzler found his way back into the game, winning five games in a row across sets until he was 2-0 in the third set. And in the finish, after Campana Lee was 40-15 down, he made the decisive double break to make it 5-2. The young Harder then served out the win with a dry finish.

“I’m super super happy,” admitted Schwärzler about his first final appearance – “also because I didn’t play my best tennis this week. I really fought my way through here. I played well in the second round, but in the first round and in the quarter-finals I fought my way through. That’s something I’m proud of myself for.” The fight in the semi-finals was by no means easier: “It was a really tough match today, especially in the first set we both played at a really good level, long games – it felt like it lasted an hour and a half. I sat on the bench and thought: ‘I don’t know how much longer I can hold out, I’m going to fall over.'” The break leads in the second set gave him “more energy again. And from then on I played much more aggressively – and in the end I was just one or two classes better. He got a bit tired, also because he was behind. That’s always difficult when you’re behind and the match goes on for a long time. When you’re at the front, you automatically feel like you have more energy.”

Schwärzler among the top 500 for the first time

Schwärzler said of his rise to Challenger level: “I’m super happy that I can now regularly win matches at this level. I already knew that I had the level – but also that I didn’t have the necessary consistency. That has now changed.” He is looking forward to the title fight with excitement. He “didn’t watch Majchrzak much, actually not at all – I only saw a few points from the semi-final match. But I know that if I do my thing well, I can win. Nevertheless, he goes into the match as the favorite. He was in the top 100, wasn’t on the court for very long this week, but it will definitely be a good match tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.” In any case, he is certain to make the next huge leap forward in the world rankings. While he had always been outside the top 1000 until April 1, 2024, he is now in the top 500 for the first time, with a final defeat dropping him to 469th place. If he even manages to win his first title, Schwärzler will also crack the top 400 and could look forward to a rank of up to 387.

2024-05-24 21:00:00
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