ISMANING, October 16, 2019 (by Dietmar Kaspar)
Second round action at the Wolffkran Open 2019, an €69,280 ATP Challenger event held at the venue of the Tennis Club Ismaning, was headlined by the dramatic victory of Johannes Haerteis.
The 23-year-old German knocked off the tournament’s No. 2 Robin Haase from the Netherlands, who reached a career high at World No. 33 in 2012.
Nuremberg-born Haerteis, who made it to the semi-finals out of the qualifying at last year’s Wolffkran Open, served for the match at the score of 5-4 and missed one match point in the tiebreak of the second set and eventually had to go the distance. The World No. 392 won the tiebreak of the final set to secure a 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(2) win, outpointing Haase 107-99.
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Haerteis, who is practising at the Tennisschule Tattermusch in Bamberg, will compete versus Zdenek Kolar from the Czech Republic in the stage of the last 16.
“I played a great match, leading 6-4, 5-4. Then I had a short period of weakness, losing the second set in the tiebreak. In the third set I was mentally strong and I am happy to get the win,” Haerteis said.
Asked about his attitude before the match, the German stated: “I tried, not to think about the big name of my opponent. Some weeks ago, I played against Ramos-Vinolas and I lost because I overpowered too much. Today my match plan worked out.”
23-year-old Kolar edged past French No. 13 seed Tristan Lamasine after one hour and 22 minutes. The World No. 277 broke his opponent’s serve four times to claim a 6-4, 7-5 victory.
Vesely survives opener
The tournament’s top favourite Jiri Vesely, who is ranked ATP No. 120, opened his title bid on Centre Court against Lucas Miedler from Austria. The 26-year-old Czech struck 15 aces and won 77 per cent of his first-service points to prevail 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3 after two hours and eight minutes. The member of the Czech Davis-Cup team will next take on Italian No. 14 seed Stefano Napolitano.
“It was a tough match,” Vesely said. “Lucas played really well and moved very fast at the baseline. I missed my break point chances early in the second set and Lucas competed fantastic in the tiebreak. In a deciding set you will never know what happens, so I am happy that I have won the match. I have not played on carpet for about seven years, so I have to get used to the surface.”
Baldi continues his winning streak in Ismaning
Defending champion and World No. 163 Filippo Baldi, who was awarded a wildcard by the organizers tennisspirit GbR, closed Centre Court action today. The 23-year-old Italian came back from a set down to secure a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win against Geoffrey Blancaneaux from France.
No. 3 seeded Baldi won 88 per cent of his first-service points to advance in one hour and 36 minutes.
“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the match, because I want to play a good tournament that I won last year,” Baldi said. “But during the match my level of play improved and I am very happy about the win.”
Baldi will next take on No. 16 seed Lukas Lacko, who defeeated Ukrainian lucky loser Vitaliy Sachko. The 31-year-old Slovakian, who is ranked World No. 239, outpointed his 22-year-old rival 104-101 to prevail after one hour and 56 minutes with 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
Cressy with successful indoor debut
Of special interest was the first appearance of US-American No. 12 seed Maxime Cressy against Uladzimir Ignatik from Belarus. The No. 214 of the World has not played any tournaments outside of North America for more than two years. He studied financial business and played College Tennis at UCLA in California.
The 23-year-old fired 17 aces to celebrate a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory after one hour and 53 minutes. The Hermosa Beach resident, who was born in Paris, will next compete against Yannick Hanfmann, the 2017 champion of the Wolffkran Open.
“My game plan was to keep the rallies as short as possible and create a lot of pressure with my first and second service. First rounds are always a little bit tricky, especially here because I never played on that surface before. I think the indoor conditions fit perfect to my game style,” Cressy told Tennis TourTalk.
No. 8 seeded Hanfmann rallied past James Ward from Great Britain. The World No. 192 won 88 per cent of his first-service points to claim a 7-6(2), 6-3 win after one hour and 24 minutes. 27-year-old Hanfmann gained the only break of the match.
Lenz advances in all-German clash
German qualifier Julian Lenz benefited from the retirement of his No. 5 seeded compatriot Matthias Bachinger at the score of 5-3. The 26-year-old Giessen native, who is coached by Klaus Langenbach, will next oppose French No. 11 seed Constant Lestienne.
27-year-old Lestienne battled past German wildcard entry Daniel Altmaier. The World No. 224 capitalized on all of his two break-point chances without losing a service game to get the win after 71 minutes with 6-3, 7-5.
More second round action
Earlier in the day, 33-year-old Adrian Menendez-Maceiras opened Centre Court action against Benjamin Hassan from Germany. The Spanish No. 10 seed did not face a break point and converted four of his seven break-point opportunities to seal a 6-2, 6-4 victory after 65 minutes. The No. 233 in the ATP rankings will face the tournament’s No. 7 Quentin Halys from France.
