ECKENTAL, November 5, 2017
Maximilian Marterer captured his fifth ATP Challenger title, winning the 43,000 Bauer Watertechnology Cup in Eckental on Sunday. The 22-year-old German fought past Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 in the singles final.
Marterer only struggled in the second set as well as in the beginning of the third when he was one break down. The Nuremberg native, however, found his rhythm again and secured victory in just under two hours of play.
“I ran a bit out of steam in the second set,” Marterer told afterwards. “It was a pretty long week with a couple of tough matches but the crowd helped me to keep my head up.”
Marterer takes away €6,190 in prize money as well as 80 ATP ranking points and will reach a new career high on Monday sitting at World No. 90.
“I have established myself on the ATP Challenger Tour. Now it’s time to do so at ATP World Tour level,” Marterer is looking forward to the new season. Next up, however, will be his last ATP Challenger event of the season at Mouilleron-Le-Captif.
Arends, Jebavy Clinch First Team Title
Sander Arends and Roman Jebavy (photo: Florian Heer)
Earlier in the day, Sander Arends from the Netherlands and Roman Jebavy from the Czech Republic captured their first team title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over British brothers Ken and Neal Skupski. The doubles final lasted 55 minutes.
“We played a great match right from the beginning, gaining a lot of break points. I enjoyed it a lot today,” Jebavy told Tennis TourTalk afterwards.
“I enjoyed my stay here in Eckental a lot. There are so many nice people involved in the tournament here. The atmosphere on court is also very nice. It’s a pleasure to play here,” Arends added. The 26-year-old Dutch has earned decent results in recent times by winning the ATP Challenger trophies in Ortisei as well as in Brest last week.
“I came back from a six months injury, which was a tough period. However, I learnt a lot of things during this time about eating more healthy and physical things. It gave me time to work on particular things to improve my tennis. Winning three titles in the last couple of weeks makes me really happy.”
Jebavy was also pleased with his season.
“This has been my best season in my career so far. I won two ATP titles, five Challengers, made it into the Grand Slams and played the Davis Cup. Simply fantastic,” he commented.
The pair will move on to Bratislava next, finishing the year at the Slovak Open.
