ISMANING, October 14, 2019 (by Dietmar Kaspar)
First-round action at the WOLFFKRAN Open 2019 kicked off on Monday at the venue of the Tennis Club Ismaning. The third edition of the ATP Challenger event offers a total prize money of €69,280 and the champion will earn 90 ATP Ranking points.
Of special interest was the battle between Jonas Forejtek from the Czech Republic and wild card entry Louis Wessels from Germany. 18-year-old Forejtek converted four of his 10 break-point chances without dropping a service game to prevail 6-1, 6-2 after 50 minutes. The 2019 US Open boys’ singles champion, who practices at the Alexander Waske Tennis University and is playing his only fifth ATP Challenger tournament, will face Italian No. 14 seed Stefano Napolitano in the second round.
Haerteis stays solid
The surprise of last year’s WOLFFKRAN Open Johannes Haerteis, who reached the stage of the final four as a qualifier, edged past Maximilian Neuchrist from Austria. The 23-year-old German didn’t face a break point and capitalized on two of his own seven break-point opportunities to seal a 6-4, 6-4 victory after 74 minutes. The Nuremberg native, who practices at the Tennisschule Tattermusch in Bamberg, will oppose the tournament’s No. 2 Robin Haase from the Netherlands.
“After my great success last year, I felt really good on court since my first practice here. I will not put too much pressure on myself and will just look from match to match,” Haerteis told Tennis TourTalk.
Miedler sets clash with top seed Vesely
23-year-old Lucas Miedler from Austria cruised past Roberto Ortega-Olmedo. The World No. 280 won six points more than his Spanish rival to claim a 7-6, 6-4 victory in one hour and 29 minutes. The Tulln-native will next take on the tournamen’s top favourite Jiri Vesely from the Czech Republic.
“I did not feel really good on court at the beginning of the match,” Miedler stated afterwards. “The hard courts in France last week were very slow, so there is a huge difference in terms of speed. My plan was to hold my serve as often as possible. It was my first win against him.”
Blancaneaux prevails in all-French affair
Geoffrey Blancaneaux emerged victorious from the all-French encounter against Hugo Grenier. The 21-year-old, who is ranked World No. 322, capitalized on two of his 12 break-point opportunities without facing a break point to secure a 6-3,6-4 victory after 66 minutes. The Paris resident will next face defending champion Filippo Baldi from Italy.
“The fast carpet surface suits my game, because I like to go to the net and finish the points there. It is not easy to play against a good friend, I often practice with him”, Blancaneaux said.
Asked about his upcoming match against Baldi, the Frenchman added: ”I lost to him at a Challenger event earlier this season, but on carpet I feel really good and we will see.”
More first-round action
On Court 1, ATP No. 293 Marc-Andrea Huesler battled past Vaclav Safranek from the Czech Republic. The 23-year-old Swiss won 82 per cent of his first-service points to get the victory after 70 minutes by the score of 7-6, 6-3. He will next compete versus No. 9 seeded Aleksandr Nedovyesov from Kazakhstan.
Luca Vanni prevailed in a tough three-set battle against Botic van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands with both players gaining one break during the two hours and 16 minutes lasting encounter. The Italian veteran outpointed his rival 109-106 to secure a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 win. The 34-year-old, who reached a career high at World No. 100, will next face No. 4 seeded Dutch Tallon Griekspoor.
Russian veteran Teymuraz Gabashvili knocked off Sandro Ehrat from Switzerland by the score of 6-3, 7-6 after one hour and 33 minutes, winning 87 per cent of his first service-points. Up next for the former World No. 43 will be Indian No. 6 seed Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Qualifying action
Earlier in the day, the two qualifying matches took place. On Center Court, Julian Lenz advanced from the all-German affair versus teenager Jeremy Schifris. 26-year-old Lenz, who played college-tennis for the Baylor University, won 81 per cent of his first-service points to prevail 6-3, 6-3 after 65 minutes. On Tuesday, the World No. 259 will compete against Lukas Klein from Slovakia to open his main draw action.
German youngster Mats Rosenkranz eased past Vitaliy Sachko from the Ukraine on Court 1. The 21-year-old, who is coached by Peter Moraing, didn’t face a break point and converted one of his own 10 break-point chances to seal a 7-6, 6-3 win after one hour and 25 minutes. He will meet Zdenek Kolar from the Czech Republic in the first round.
Further Results Monday – Main Draw First Round:
Jelle Sels – Evan Hoyt 7-6, 6-4
Vitaliy Sachko – Illya Marchenko 7-6, 6-3
Benjamin Hassan – Andrea Arnaboldi 6-2, 1-0 ret.
Cem Ilkel – Riccardo Bonadio 6-3, 6-2
Uladzimir Ignatik – Andrea Pellegrino 6-7, 6-4, 7-6
