CADOLZBURG, January 19, 2025
German teenager Justin Engel delighted his home crowd by winning the second edition of the Cadolzburg Open without dropping a set. The 17-year-old was born in Nuremberg, situated only about 20 kilometres away from the Tennis Center Schwadermühle, where the ITF World Tennis Tour M15 indoor carpet tournament took place. Engel defeated eighth-seeded Briton Hamish Stewart 7-6(2), 6-3 in Sunday’s singles final.
With the support from 250 spectators, including his father Horst and his athletic coaches, Engel needed some time to find his rhythm as well as to deal with the strong serve from his opponent. In the tie-break of the first set, the World No. 400, however, was wide awake in the important moments and capitalized on his chances to take the set after 48 minutes.
Engel broke serve after two double faults from Stewart in the eighth game of the second set to eventually serve the match out in one hour and 31 minutes.
The sweet taste of victory at home!
Nuremberg native Justin Engel claims his 5th career title on the ITF World Tennis Tour at the Cadolzburg Open #ITFWorldTennisTour #Cadolzburg pic.twitter.com/M0THIEwmM7
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) January 19, 2025
“He had a tremendous serve, very quick. I was more focused in the tie-break, gained two mini-breaks and this set helped me to win the match,” said Engel, who enjoyed competing in front of his friends and family.
“I actually feel more relaxed when many spectators are watching my matches. I love playing in front of a big crowd. It was a lot of fun. I know a lot of people here and this is just great. I am grateful for every match win on the ITF Circuit and hope to continue like this.”
By lifting his fifth career trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour, his first on carpet, the World No. 400 pocketed €1,944 in prize money as well as 25 ATP Ranking points. Engel will next compete in the ITF M25 event in Nußloch followed by entering the Koblenz Open ATP Challenger with a wild card.
Stewart finishes runner-up for the third time
Stewart appeared in his third final and was seeking his maiden triumph on the Pro Circuit. “We both had one or two chances in the first set We both take care of them easily. Then he played a very good tie-break and I didn’t play my best,” Stewart told Tennis TourTalk.
“In the second I also had two break-point chances but he saved them well. There was not much I could do and he broke with the new balls,” the World No. 601 added.
“I will now go back to Britain playing some 25K indoors. From there I am going to see, where my rankings are and maybe play some Challengers or stick with 25 events. I just want to build on this week. I came back from an injury. I will just try to climb up the rankings,” Stewart said.
