ISMANING, October 30, 2021
No. 5 seed Oscar Otte and former champion Lukas Lacko are the finalists of the Wolffkran Open, an €44,820 ATP Challenger Tour tournament held on carpet at the Tennis Club Ismaning.
Otte battled past seventh-seeded US-American Maxime Cressy 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5) on Saturday afternoon. The World No. 126 from Germany won two points less than his rival but secured the tie-break in the final set after one hour and 52 minutes.
“I knew that it would become difficult today. With his aggressive style of play, it is very uncomfortable to play him here on this surface,” said Otte. “I had already won against him on clay before the French Open, but of course it’s a completely different number on carpet. In the crucial stage, like yesterday, I managed to stay calm and he then helped me with one or two double faults. I am satisfied with my performance and I will try to recover as good as possible in order to be ready for the final tomorrow.”
Lacko returns to Ismaning final
Later in the day, Lacko defeated No. 8 seed Quentin Halys of France 6-1, 7-6(5). The 2019 Wolffkran Open champion from Slovakia saved all six break points he faced and capitalized on two of his own three break-point chances to secure victory in 66 minutes.
“I didn’t feel really well before the match because I was a bit tired from yesterday’s long match,” said Lacko. “At the beginning I was a little lucky in a few situations and after he played two bad games the first set was relatively easy for me. In the second set, Quentin served and played the way I expected him from the start. My goal was then to reach the tie-break and there I could manage to win, making some good decisions.”
Begemann/Zelenay earn doubles title
In other action, Andre Begemann of Germany successfully defended his doubles crown at the Wolffkran Open, he captured with Dutchman David Pel last year. This time, the 37-year-old teamed up with Igor Zelenay from Slovakia. The top seeds eased past Czech alternates Marek Gangel and Tomas Machac 6-2, 6-4 in 55 minutes.
“That was really a very good win today. We were the dominant team right from the start. Normally, in a final on carpet, you assume a close match, as you could just see in last year’s final, which was only decided after a dramatic match-tie-break. Before this year’s final, I was particularly motivated, knowing that I had already played very successfully here and of course I really wanted to defend the title,” Begemann said.
Begemann and Zelenay split €2,670 in prize money and earned 80 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
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