The TV Varel Advent tournament impressed with exciting matches and surprising twists. Who lived up to the role of favorite in the end and why the organizers’ conclusion was so positive.
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Varel – Crunchy baseline duels, skilful serve-and-volley play and a few surprises: The traditional Advent tournament at the Varel tennis club, which was also able to look forward to a top-class starting field and a good audience response at the 33rd edition, created a great atmosphere for participants and organizers alike over the weekend.
“There were no major delays in the schedule and the tournament ran smoothly thanks to those responsible Marc-Andre Hase, Alexander Krafft and Feelgood manager Oliver Deters,” TVV spokesman Lukas Cremers concluded with complete satisfaction: “We saw consistently exciting, high-class and fair games. The head referee only had to go onto the pitch once.”
Strong cast
In addition, the strong line-up attracted many Varel onlookers to the tennis rooms. “The hall was always very full, and sometimes it was only possible to watch with limited visibility,” explained Cremers. It was all the more pleasing from the hosts’ point of view that five local heroes came into focus at the beginning.
As expected, youngster Florian Schamer’s final stop was on the first of three days of the tournament. Despite a good performance, the 18-year-old had to admit defeat to the top seeded Jason Jeremy Hildebrandt (Club an der Alster), who is ranked 102nd in the German rankings (DRL), 2:6, 2:6. Experienced Alexander Krafft (Men’s 30) also lost out in the first round against Lucas Ariel Herrera Sanchez (HTV Hannover) in a duel between two forehand specialists 4:6, 2:6.
Things went better for Artis Libergs, who also had a wild card. In an encounter characterized by good serves, the 18-year-old defeated Rouven Diekmann (Club zur Vahr) with nerves of 2:6, 6:2 and 10:8 in the match tiebreak. “A great performance!” praised Cremers. Before this first round duel, only Papa Martins Libergs, a former third division handball player for HSG Varel, expected it. “Artis also held up really well in the second round,” added Cremers. There, however, the talent had to bow to Julius Schliemann (DTV Hannover) with 1:6 and 4:6. In the quarter-finals, the Hanoverian made it quite difficult for fourth-seeded Vincent Strauch (TC Garstedt) to reach the semi-finals with 7:6, 2:6 and 10:7.
The “Vare local at heart”, Marc-Lennart Harms, survived the first round against Luk Jakob Maack (Club zur Vahr) 6:3, 6:1. In the round of 16, the ex-TVV top performer, who now plays for TC Hiltrup, had to pay tribute to his lack of match practice from the previous months. In a thrilling game, Harms narrowly lost 4:6, 5:7 against Elias Heine (Oldenburger TeV). “Heine, on the other hand, caused the eventual tournament winner Hildebrandt the most worries in the quarter-finals with 5:7 and 6:7 in a very exciting game,” analyzed Cremers.
The bigger surprises were in the bottom half of the table. Bela Porsch (TC BW Soest) defeated Jan Heine (OTeV), who was seeded third, a previous Advent tournament winner. “Meanwhile, Florian Rittler from TuS Wettbergen Hannover played his way into the semi-finals like he was in a frenzy, eliminating number two and number six with outstanding performances,” said Cremers: “Visibly marked by the previous matches, Rittler unfortunately had to give up in the semi-final against Porsch, while in the other semi-final Strauch had to pull the ripcord in the second set due to injury. This meant that Hildebrandt and Porsch were able to use all their strength again in the final.” The top seed retained the upper hand with 6:1, 6:4 and secured the winner’s check and the most ranking points.
Successful title defense
In the women’s category, the four top seeds secured their ticket to the semi-finals. There Lorraine Lißmann (Braunschweiger THC) fought against Manon Singer (HTV Hannover) with 6:2, 6:7 and 10:4, while Shaline-Doreen Pipa (TV Lohne) won smoothly in two sets (6:0, 6:2) against Victoria Fojcik (OTeV). In the final against Lißmann, Pipa left no doubt about her successful title defense with a score of 6:1, 6:0.
Lisa Twiling from TVV was already eliminated in round one with 2:6, 4:6 against Michelle Hübner (TC SSC Berlin). A small consolation for the woman from Varel: her strong opponent Hübner managed to win by far the most games from the big favorite Pipa with a score of 4:6, 3:6 in the quarter-finals that followed.
At the TV Varel 2023 Advent tournament, Ben Gorka (Oldenburg Tennis Club), who reached the men’s final as an unseeded player, and Elias Heine (also OTeV), who defeated top seed Mark Westphal on the way to the semi-finals, were particularly able to come up with surprise successes. In the women’s competition, Leonie Müller (Wiefelstede) stood out, defeating fourth seed Mariella Gelbke (DTV Hannover) in a nerve-wracking champions tiebreak in the quarterfinals and only being eliminated in the semifinals against SOP seed Shaline Pipa. The players mentioned impressed with victories against higher ranked and favored opponents.
Sources
The organizers of the TV Varel Advent tournament rated the event as a complete success and emphasized that it was carried out fairly and smoothly without any major delays. According to Lukas Cremers, there was a very good atmosphere with exciting and high-class games, which was well received by both the participants and the audience. The attractive and supra-regional starting field as well as the support of numerous sponsors also contributed to the overall positive atmosphere of the tournament.
Sources
The TV Varel Advent tournament is very important for the regional tennis scene, as it has become significantly more attractive due to the increase in the rankings, increased prize money and the participation of high-ranking players. The tournament specifically promotes regional talent by offering TV Varel its own young players, such as Artis Libergs and Florian Schamer, opportunities to start in a strong field of participants so that they can gain valuable competitive experience. Overall, the tournament contributes to both the further sporting development and the supra-regional visibility of the region and its talents in tennis.
Sources
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