BIEL/STARNBERG, September 25, 2021
Marc-Andrea Huesler and Liam Broady will compete in Sunday’s singles final of the Flowbank Challenger Biel/Bienne, an €44,820 ATP Challenger Tour tournament being held at the Jan Group Arena in Biel, Switzerland.
Local favourite Huesler rallied past Tim van Rijthoven from the Netherlands 3-6, 7-6(10), 6-4 on Saturday afternoon. The No. 7 seed struck 16 aces and won 79 per cent of his first-service points to seal victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
In the second semi-final, No. 5 seed Broady benefited from the retirement of wild card entry Dominic Stricker. The World No. 139 was leading 6-0, 2-0 when the 19-year-old Swiss was forced to stop playing due to a left knee injury.
#FlowBankChallenger Unfortunate end to the 1st semi-final of the day: @DominicStricker had to retire due to injury vs @Liambroady who is into the final. Next on court: Marc-Andrea Hüsler vs Tim van Rijthoven #SupportTheSwiss pic.twitter.com/6n8o0i7YpH
— Swiss Tennis (@swiss_tennis) September 25, 2021
Broady won the only previous meeting with Huesler in the opening round of the Sardegna Open in Cagliari, Italy in April. The 25-year-old from Zurich is seeking his fourth ATP Challenger career crown, his first of the season. Following seven title wins on the ITF Pro Circuit, Broady could lift his maiden Challenger trophy.
Bemelmans/Masur take doubles title
Later in the day, Ruben Bemelmans from Belgium and Germany’s Daniel Masur were crowned doubles champions by a walkover in the final. Stricker, who was scheduled to team up with his compatriot Huesler, withdrew from the match.
Bemelmans and Masur claimed their second team title of the season following their triumph in Quimper, France in early February. The tandem split €2,670 in prize money and earned 80 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
