SALZBURG, July 7, 2022
Austrian teenager Lukas Neumayer has recorded his first Top 100 win in his second-round match at the €134,920 Salzburg Open. In front of about 800 spectators on Center Court of the Salzburg Tennis Club, the 19-year-old wild card entry knocked out World No. 62 and top seed of the ATP Challenger Tour 125 clay-court event, Arthur Rinderknech of France, 7-5, 6-3.
On a cloudy Thursday in Austria’s fourth-largest city, Rinderknech was leading 5-3 in the opening set when the match was suspended due to rain. Neumayer used the break to find the right focus. With the support of his home crowd he managed to come back and secured victory in one hour and 26 minutes.
First Top 💯 win for 🇦🇹 teenager Lukas Neumayer, who overcomes Salzburg Open top seed Arthur Rinderknech 7-5 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals. #ATPChallenger #SalzburgOpen pic.twitter.com/va89CUkbwW
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) July 7, 2022
“I stayed calm and played my best tennis in the deciding moments,” a happy and relaxed Neumayer said afterwards.
“I am usually not a fan of interruptions during a match but it seemed to help me today, as the re-start was really good. Winning such a match shows me that hard work pays off,” added the World No. 439, who practices at the Center Court Südstadt Tennis Academy of Günter Bresnik and travels with his youth coach Gerald Kamitz.
“I had a bad start into this match and lost my serve at the beginning but then I played probably one of my best sets with a powerful forehand and a solid serve. I knew that I could beat anybody but this will give me some extra confidence. The goal is to crack the Top 300 by the end of the season. If it goes even higher, that’ll be cool.”
Moutet ousts Ymer, Neuchrist shocks Carballes
Neumayer captured his first two titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour in Antalya in February and wants to become established on the ATP Challenger Circuit as a next step. In his first quarterfinal at Challenger level, the Salzburg native will take on Frenchman Corentin Moutet, who defeated Mikael Ymer of Sweden 7-6(2), 6-3 in two hours and 21 minutes.
In the longest encounter of the day, Austrian qualifier Maximilian Neuchrist upset fourth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(12). The 30-year-old home favourite outpointed his rival 123-119 after three hours and 18 minutes. Neuchrist will next challenge either former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem of Austria or Argentine Facundo Bagnis. Their match was suspended with the South American leading 6-3, 1-2 and will resume on Friday morning.
