TULLN/STARNBERG, September 7, 2024
Home favourite Lukas Neumayer continued his fine run of form this week by reaching the final of the NÖ Open powered by EVN in Tulln, Austria. The Salzburg native, who celebrated his 22nd birthday yesterday, defeated Rudolf Molleker of Germany 6-4, 6-3 in the stage of the last four on Saturday.
Neumayer capitalized on four of his seven break-point chances and won 54 per cent of the total points played to seal victory in one hour and 19 minutes.
“It was an intense match,” said Neumayer. “Extremely windy, extremely hot, but also with extremely cool support from the amazing crowd! I’m very happy that I was able to stick to my game plan today. Who I face in the final doesn’t really matter to me. But this time, the final result will probably be more important to me than just a good performance.”
Following five title wins on the ITF World Tennis Tour, the World No. 320 is seeking his maiden trophy on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Neumayer will take on Jan Choinski in the championship match. The 28-year-old Briton edged past Czech alternate Jakub Nicod 6-4, 6-4. Choinski withstood four aces and broke his rival’s serve four times to advance in one hour and 25 minutes.
Choinski right on track 🛤
The Brit books his final spot in Tulln where he will face Neumayer for the 🏆#ATPChallenger | @the_LTA pic.twitter.com/Z88zgG7guG
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 7, 2024
“Certainly the toughest match of the week for me in terms of conditions,” said Choinski. “Especially against the wind, he put me under a lot of pressure, so it was important not to let the rallies drag on. I managed to do that fairly well. Now, I’m really looking forward to playing at this great tournament, hopefully in front of many fans, against the local hero.”
Choisnki is bidding for his third Challenger career title, his first since Meerbusch, Germany last year. Neumayer and Choinski will meet for the first time.
Karol/Sachko triumph in doubles
In other action, Milos Karol of Slovakia and Vitaliy Sachko from Ukraine captured the doubles title. The pair defeated the No. 2 seeds from Poland Karol Drzewiecki and Piotr Matuszewski 6-4, 2-6, 11-9 in one hour and 15 minutes.
By winning their maiden Challenger team title, Karol and Sachko split € 6,845 in prize money and earned 100 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
