TULLN/STARNBERG, September 10, 2021

Lefties Mats Moraing and Hugo Gaston will compete in Saturday’s singles final of the NÖ Open powered by EVN in Tulln, Austria. Moraing knocked out No. 2 seed Jiri Vesely from the Czech Republic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Friday afternoon.

The 29-year-old German fired 22 aces and withstood 20 aces from his opponent. Moraing broke Vesely’s serve two times to seal victory in two hours and nine minutes.

“I felt that Jiri was clearly better in the first set but I got better and better in the second. In the third set I was a little more consistent on the return, especially with the backhand, and he had fewer free points,” said Moraing in analyzing his match.

Earlier in the day, Gaston also had to go the distance against No. 4 seed Kamil Majchrzak from Poland. The eighth seed from France capitalized on seven of his 15 break-point chances to prevail after two hours and eight minutes.

World No. 242 Moraing is seeking his fourth ATP Challenger career title, his second of the season following his triumph in Forli, Italy in June. Gaston, currently ranked on a career-high World No. 127, could lift his maiden crown. The 20-year-old has captured four trophies on the ITF Pro Circuit.

Saturday’s action will start with the doubles final when No. 4 seeds Dustin Brown from Germany and Italian Andrea Vavassori will take on the all-Brazilian combination of Rafael Matos and Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves. The match is scheduled to start at 11 am local time followed by the singles final not before 1 pm.