TULLN/STARNBERG, September 9, 2021
Three seeded players will compete in the semi-finals of the NÖ Open powered by EVN in Tulln, Austria, led by World No. 90 Jiri Vesely. The second favourite of the ATP Challenger 100 clay-court tournament advanced to the stage of the last four following a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over local hero No. 7 seed Dennis Novak on a sunny but windy Thursday afternoon in Lower Austria.
Vesely struck four aces and won 79 per cent of his first-service points to advance after one hour and 20 minutes. In his first semi-final of the season, the 28-year-old lefty from the Czech Republic will take on Mats Moraing. The World No. 242 from Germany knocked off No. 3 seed Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 6-1, 0-6, 7-6(5) after two hours and 12 minutes.
In the bottom half of the draw, Frenchman Hugo Gaston ended the run of Austrian wild card entry Filip Misolic, who appeared in his first ATP Challenger tournament and upset Top 100 player Marco Cecchinato in the opening round. The No. 8 seed from France put a lot of variety in his shots and broke Misolic’s serve six times to secure a 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 victory in one hour and 31 minutes.
“I had a good start into the match, but in the second set you could see how powerful Filip can play with his backhand. Eventually, me tactic worked out,” Gaston said. “I love to play tennis and to show the audience as many variations of our sport as possible. Especially when the atmosphere is as good as here in Tulln. I really like it when the fans are so close. That’s perfect!”
Gaston will next play No. 4 seed Kamil Majchrzak. The 25-year-old from Poland defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland 7-6(5), 7-5. The encounter lasted one hour and 47 minutes.
