AUGSBURG, August 10, 2019
Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland and Yannick Hanfmann will compete in Sunday’s singles final of the Schwaben Open. Due to bad weather, matches started with a delay of about two hours, but Ruusuvuri set the tone early in his first meeting with Julian Lenz from Germany, winning 6-3, 7-5.
The 20-year-old Helsinki native saved five of the six break points he faced, capitalizing on three of his own five chances to advance after one hour and 26 minutes.
Following his maiden triumph in Fergana in June, @EmilRuusuvuori 🇫🇮 advances to his second @ATPChallenger career final in Augsburg. #SchwabenOpen pic.twitter.com/kjp1c7Kden
— TennisTourTalk (@TennisTourTalk) August 10, 2019
“I was staying aggressive, served well and tried to dominate the match. That was key today, as otherwise he can be a very dangerous player,” said Ruusuvuori, who also plays club matches in Germany for Blau Weiss Neuss. The Scandinavian seems to feel comfortable in Augsburg.
“The tournament is very good. The hotel is situated in the city centre and people are really nice. I don’t have anything to complain about.” Ruusuvuori is coached by Italian Federico Ricci, who is traveling the tour with him. They started their partnership about three years ago.
“It was one of the goals this year to get to this kind of level and winning more matches at Challengers. I have been able to do that, as I got the ranking to enter these kind of tournaments. It looks good and and I am still working on my game figuring out, how I could win the points, in particular on clay. I lost a couple of close matches against good players but somehow small things just started clicking and the results have come afterwards,” the Finn said, who is currently sitting at a career-high ranking of World No. 237.
Following two titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour this season in Oslo and Sunderland, Ruusuvuori will compete in his second final on the ATP Challenger Tour. He celebrated his maiden triumph in Fergana, Uzbekistan two months ago. “I prefer playing on hard. This has been my best result on clay so far.”
Hanfmann in cruise mode
Later in the afternoon, sun came out at the Tennis Club Augsburg Siebentisch and Hanfmann remained untroubled in his match against Facundo Mena of Argentina. In front of 500 spectators, the No. 15 seed broke his opponent’s serve five times and won 67 per cent of the total points played to secure a 6-1, 6-1 victory in just 49 minutes of play.
Yannick Hanfmann 🇩🇪 eases past Facundo Mena 🇦🇷, winning 6-1, 6-1 in Augsburg and is seeking his fourth @ATPChallenger career title on home soil (Ismaning 2017, Braunschweig 2018, Ludwigshafen 2019). First meeting with Emil Ruusuvuori. #SchwabenOpen pic.twitter.com/hseF6jLSKG
— TennisTourTalk (@TennisTourTalk) August 10, 2019
“I really don’t know what happened on court today,” Hanfmann told Tennis TourTalk afterwards. “Maybe he was a bit injured but I did a good job. I already got used to the conditions, as I also played the last match of the day in the previous rounds. Rain delays are always a bit annoying but I spent the time pretty good with my coach and my team. It was a relaxed atmosphere.”
Hanfmann and Ruusuvuori will meet for the first time. The World No. 234 from Karlsruhe is seeking his fifth ATP Challenger career title, three of them came on home soil at Ismaning 2017, Braunschweig 2018 and Ludwigshafen earlier this season. “I really enjoy playing here but it will be very difficult tomorrow. I watched his match and I was pretty impressed by his performance. He is a really good player. I am looking forward to the final.”
A look ahead
Sunday’s action will start at 12 noon with the doubles final. Top seeds Andrei Vasilevski from Belarus and Igor Zelenay of Slovakia will take on the all-Croatian duo Ivan and Matej Sabanov followed by the singles championship match not before 2 pm. For tickets please visit the tournament’s official website.
