HAMBURG, October 15, 2023
It’s not often the case that a multiple ATP Tour champion returns to the site of his greatest triumphs to participate in a Challenger tournament. However, this was the case for Nikoloz Basilashvili on Sunday. The two-time Rothenbaum champion from 2018 and 2019 was back in the Hanseatic city to compete in the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup. The 31-year-old Georgian, who has struggled with an elbow injury over the past three years and has dropped to World No. 395 in the ATP Rankings, had to go through the tough process of qualifying.
In his first match since the French Open at Roland-Garros in May, Basilashvili never really found his rhythm. Part of the credit for this also goes to his opponent, World No. 717 Jakob Schnaitter of Germany, who consistently put pressure on his opponent with an aggressive game. Ultimately, he was successful. The 27-year-old broke Basilashvili’s serve three times and emerged victorious, winning 6-3, 6-4 after 90 minutes.
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“It was important today to avoid baseline rallies,” Schnaitter analyzed his key to success against the former World No. 16. “This is the biggest win of my career. There was no player who stood as high in the rankings as he did. I watched some Basilashvili highlights on YouTube, and there was even a match against Roger Federer, which he won. That was very impressive. At the same time, I was really looking forward to the match.”
Schnaitter, who won the German national title last year in Biberach an der Riß, will now compete against Frenchman Tristan Lamasine for a spot in the main draw.
SUNDAY RESULTS
Qualifying Singles – First Round
[1] D. Jorda Sanchis (ESP) d [WC] N. Larwig (GER) 36 63 64A. Santillan (AUS) d [3] [WC] L. Wessels (GER) 61 62[4] T. Lamasine (FRA) d [WC] J. Sperle (GER) 26 62 60D. Masur (GER) d [5] A. Paulson (CZE) 63 62[6] [Alt] L. Gerch (GER) d [Alt] M. Basic (BIH) 76(5) 57 64[7] H. Habib (LIB) d J. Paul (SUI) 36 62 62[8] J. Barranco Cosano (ESP) d G. Boitan (ROU) 64 76(5)[9] M. Rehberg (GER) d [Alt] S. Agabigun (TUR) 61 63[Alt] J. Schnaitter (GER) d [10] N. Basilashvili (GEO) 63 64[11] M. Rosenkranz (GER) d T. Handel (GER) 46 76(2) 64[12] K. Sultanov (UZB) d [WC] T. Duran (TUR) 64 64[13] M. Sasikumar (IND) d E. Butvilas (LTU) 63 67(4) 61
