SEEFELD, June 25, 2015

The start of the All England Tennis Championships in Wimbledon is only a few days away and the extended grass court swing is right under way, but there are still a couple of players, who found their way to a small town in Austria taking part in two US-$ 10,000 ITF Future events on green clay.

This place is Seefeld in Tirol, an old farming village, which has become a major tourist resort in the Innsbruck-Land District in the Austrian state of Tyrol. About 3,500 inhabitants live in the town, located on a plateau between the Wetterstein Mountains and the Karwendel.

This year the ITF Future Circuit returns to Seefeld for the third time, as part of four tournaments of this category in Tyrol. The others take place in Telfs, Kramsach and Bad Waltersdorf. The first week in Seefeld started on June 22, followed by the second week from June 29 to July 4. Players can enjoy a lot of activities off the courts, which are free of charge, like swimming, playing golf and hiking in the beautiful mountainous area.

ITF Future Seefeld tournament venue

ITF Future Seefeld: Official Poster featuring the defending champions

But of course, there is also some on-court-action. The winners will take away 18 ATP ranking points and prize money of US-$ 1,440. Local hero Bastian Trinker, who practices in Seefeld, and 30-year-old Czech Daniel Lustig are the defending champions of last year’s two weeks. Of course, the 25-year-old Austrian has returned to the tournament, although he has already played on higher levels. The world number 396 played his first ATP World Tour match at the BMW Open by FWU AG in Munich this season. Trinker entered the main draw as lucky loser but lost in the opening round to Fabio Fognini in straight sets. Trinker, who is coached by one of the tournament’s organizers Hakan Dahlbo, has already claimed four titles on the ITF Future Circuit and wants to step up to the ATP Challenger level next. To pursue this target, the Austrian moved house from his home town in Klagenfurt to the Tennis Academy in Seefeld in 2010. One step into this direction could be taking another title – or maybe even two – on home soil.

Bastian Trinker at this year’s BMW Open in Munich

On Thursday’s quarterfinal’s Trinker, who is seeded third the first week, defeated the tournament’s number seven Andrea Basso, winning 6-2, 6-3. Seefeld’s other two top-seeds also advanced to the semi-finals. World number 327 and number one seed, Gavin van Peperzeel beat Pascal Brunner 6-3, 6-4 and third favourite Kirill Dmitriev took out Dmitry Popko, winning 6-3, 6-3.

Photo Gallery ITF Future Seefeld I: