ISMANING, October 19, 2019 (by Dietmar Kaspar)
Maxime Cressy continued his sensational run at the Wolffkran Open in Ismaning by reaching Sunday’s final of the €69,280 ATP Challenger event.
In Saturday’s first match on Centre Court, the 22-year-old US-American faced left-handed top seed Jiri Vesely from the Czech Republic.the former college-player from UCLA in California came back after losing the first set in the tiebreak, to prevail 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 after exactly two hours of play.
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
@maximecressy fights past Ismaning top seed Jiri Vesely to reach the final of the @wolffkran_open
The World No. 214, who clinched his maiden ATP Challenger title in Cleveland earlier this season, saved all four break points he faced and converted two of his own break-point opportunities. Cressy, who is competing on carpet for the first time, is seeking his first title outside the United States.
“He served really well and it is very tough to read his service. I played only righties throughout the tournament, so he surprised me with his left handed sliders,” Cressy told Tennis TourTalk. “I needed time to adapt to his game style. He is definitely a challenging opponent for me, because he makes me move left and right with his short angles. But I found a way to keep focused on my serve and waited for my chances to get any breaks.”
Lacko survives Lenz
Later in the evening, Lukas Lacko from Slovakia defeated German qualifier Julian Lenz in dramatic fashion. 31-year-old Lacko, who reached a career high at World No. 44 in 2013, outpointed his 26-year-old rival 101-99, to secure a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(10) win after one hour and 55 minutes.
The current World No. 239, who is seeking for his 13th singles trophy on the ATP Challenger Tour, won 79 per cent of his first-service points.
“I did not feel really good on the court. My opponent mixed very good between fast and spin shots, so I was not able to find my rhythm like yesterday. But I found solutions to stay solid on serve until I served for the match. Then I joked and had to go into the tiebreak, where you never know what happens, especially on that surface. So I was lucky to get the win,” Lacko said.
Asked about his upcoming opponent in the title match, he replied: “It is funny, because we practised together on the first day. So he is the first and the last competitor I am facing here. He is a very tough opponent here because his aggressive game suits perfect to the fast surface here.”
Doubles Action
Centre Court action started with the last semi-final of the doubles-competition.
Quentin Halys and Tristan Lamasine from France rallied past Finnish Harri Heliovaara and Illya Marchenko from the Ukraine winning 6-3, 7-6(4) after 69 minutes.
In Sunday’s final, the French tandem will oppose the US-American duo Jamie Cerretani and singles finalist Maxime Cresse, who defeated Tallin Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp on Friday 7-5, 6-7(2), 10-5.
