ÜBERLINGEN, August 24, 2018

Peter Torebko leads the semi-finals line-up of the Überlingen Open, the 13th ITF Pro Circuit men’s event held on German soil. The No. 2 seed of the $15,000 Futures eased past fellow German Christoph Negritu 6-3, 6-1 on Friday afternoon.

Torebko was in control of the encounter, didn’t face a break point and capitalized on four of his own seven chances to advance in one hour and 13 minutes.

“I felt good on court today. Christoph didn’t serve at his best and I returned pretty well. So I was able to gain an early break in each set. This made the difference today,” Torebko told Tennis TourTalk afterwards.

Earlier in the day, the 30-year-old German had to finish his second round match against wild card entry Tim Heger. Torebko won 7-5, 6-4.

“I am very pleased that I could win both matches in straight sets, which means a physical advantage. It wasn’t that hot today, which is also a benefit for me. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s match.”

Torebko faces huge challenge

Torebko will take on No. 8 seed and World No. 543 Facundo Mena of Argentina, who edged out fourth favourite Louis Wessels of Germany 6-4, 7-6(7).

“I lost to him two times in the past four weeks. It’s pretty tough for me to play against him,” said Torebko. “He is a very good player, who had been injured for a long time. He has a solid serve, good returns and a strong backhand. He actually plays better than his ranking position might show. His game, however, is not always that consistent but I need to have a very good day to beat him.”

His home crowd could help Torebko on Saturday. Stands were also packed for the quarterfinals of the 11th edition at the Tennis Club 1902 Überlingen, which is situated right next to famous Lake Constance.

“The atmosphere here is very special for a Futures event. This is my eighth or ninth time here and as long as I feel physically fit, I will return to the tournament,” Torebko is full of praise for the clay-court event.

Heller prevails, Hassan falls

Peter Heller of Germany also advanced to the the stage of the final four. The No. 3 seed rallied past seventh favourite Matthias Haim of Austria 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(10) in two hours and 13 minutes, the longes fight of the day. Next up for Heller will be Fabrizio Ornago of Italy, who knocked out top seed Benjamin Hassan from Germany6-3, 7-5 in 79 minutes.

Photo Gallery (by Florian Heer):