MAUTHAUSEN, May 3, 2026

Lukas Neumayer saw his run at the Danube Upper Austria Open in Mauthausen come to an end in the semi-finals, losing to in-form Roman Safiullin. Despite missing out on a place in the final, the Salzburg native took plenty of positives from a strong week in front of a home crowd.

After the match on Saturday, we caught up with him to talk about the encounter, his recent progress, and his collaboration with Jürgen Melzer.

Tennis TourTalk: What made the difference today?
Lukas Neumayer: You could clearly see in the first set that he was playing really well and being very aggressive. He put me under a lot of pressure, and I needed some time to find my rhythm. I managed to do that in the second set, but unfortunately I fell back into old patterns towards the end.

How would you sum up your week overall?
I played four good matches against four very strong opponents. So despite today’s loss, it’s been a positive week for me. Playing in front of a home crowd is always something special. Of course, reaching the final would have been great, but I can build on this.

You had Jürgen Melzer in your box this week. How is your collaboration going?
We’ve been working together for a few weeks now. He helps me in practice, and this was our first tournament together. It’s going very well. You can already see in some points during matches that I’m able to apply what we’ve been working on. I think it will help me a lot in the near future.

Will he be traveling with you regularly on tour?
No, he doesn’t have that much time to travel. But he’s often at the training center in Südstadt, and depending on his schedule, he’ll join me at some tournaments.

You won your first Challenger title in Barletta last month. Looking back, how was that experience?
It was really special and also a relief after losing six finals before. It was important to see that I can actually do it. Just like this week, it showed that I belong at this level. Now it’s about being consistent, and then more titles will come.

What’s your schedule for the next few weeks?
First, I’ll have a week of practice. Then I’ll play the Challenger in Zagreb, and after that, it’s already time for Paris.

Thank you and good luck!

Interview: Florian Heer