HAMBURG, July 27, 2018
Top seed Dominic Thiem falls in the quarterfinals of the German Tennis Championships. The World No. 8 lost to Nicolás Jarry of Chile 7-6(5), 7-6(7) on a hot Friday afternoon in Hamburg.
The 22-year-old Santiago native won 72 per cent of his first service points and showed his fighting spirit in the tie-break of each set. Jarry was down 5-3 in the decider of the opening frame, saved three set points in the second to secure victory in one hour and 57 minutes.
First top-10 victory
“I knew that it was going to be very tough for me but I don’t think it was a real suprise,” Jarry commented after his win. “I am a player with good shots, which can help me to beat anyone. On the other hand – on a bad day – I can also lose to anyone. I just tried to stay focused in a match with a lot of ups and downs. I made the right choices at the right time.”
After reaching the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro and the title match in Sao Paulo, Jarry celebrated his first victory over a top-10 player.
Nicolás Jarry (photo: Florian Heer)
“Of course this is something special. At the beginning of the year I had my first top-20 win, now my first top-10 win here. I am just happy that I played consistently. Following my good run in Brazil, I didn’t have a good clay-court season in Europe but I worked a lot on the mental part of my game, which seems to pay off now.”
Thiem too defensive
Thiem was understandably upset with the outcome.
“I only played defensive tennis today. I often only waited for his errors. A lot of things didn’t work out well today. I am really annoyed thinking back of all the chances I had,” Thiem commented. The Austrian will next play at his home tournament in Kitzbühel.
“I will fly back to Munich tomorrow and then go to Kitzbühel. I am looking forward to the event and hope to do better next week. Now I will have some days of practice in order to get used to the altitude.”
Return to Hamburg
Thiem also mentioned that he will probably return to Hamburg next year. “I like this year’s schedule playing after Wimbledon in Hamburg and Kitzbühel on clay again. I guess, that’s a better choice for me instead of going early to America,” the 24-year-old said.
Next up for Jarry will be Nikoloz Basilashvili. The qualifier from Georgia knocked out No. 3 seed Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(3), 6-4 in one hour and 46 minutes.
Kovalik beats Monteiro again
Leonardo Mayer emerged victorious from the all-Argentine battle with No. 2 seed Diego Schwartzman. The two-time Hamburg champion won 53 per cent of the total points played to seal a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory in two hours and 13 minutes.
Mayer will next take on Jozef Kovalik. The Slovakian qualifier edged past Brazilian lucky loser Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. The last meeting between the two took place only five days ago when Kovalik also won in the final round of the qualifying.
Jozef Kovalik (photo: Florian Heer)
“It’s weird to play the same opponent twice during a tournament,” Kovalik said. “But it happened to me before in Munich, however, in a different situation when I was the lucky loser and I beat Igor Sijsling in the second round. I know it’s tough to beat a player two times but I played very well today.”
The World No. 113 will appear in his second semi-final of the season after falling to Marius Copil in the stage of the final four in Sofia. Kovalik also finished runner-up at the ATP Challenger in Braunschweig two weeks ago.
“We have worked hard, doing a lot of practice and it’s paying off now,” the 25-year-old is pleased with his season so far. “I try to stay aggressive during the matches, going for the winners. To stay focused is also important.”
Kovalik could become the third champion in Hamburg joining his compatriots Miloslav Mecir (1985) and Martin Klizan (2016). “This is still too far away. I am just thinking of the next match,” he commented.
