MOST, May 27, 2023
Six Germans entered the main draw of the ITF M25 Most and two of them have reached the singles final, as top seed Timo Stodder will take on second favourite Henri Squire on Sunday. The ITF World Tennis Tour M25 clay-court event being held at the TK Most is one of the most traditional tournaments on the Pro Circuit, taking place for the 23rd time.
On a sunny Saturday with temperatures of about 20 degrees Celsius in in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic, Stodder fought past home favourite and No. 4 seed Michael Vrbensky 7-6, 6-7, 6-2. The World No. 313 from Berlin sent down five aces and won 70 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in two hours and 48 minutes.
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“I haven’t been playing well for the last few months, but people have advised me to keep going. Today it went in my favour again. But it was also hard work. I worked more with my coach again. Before, I was on the road a lot and had little time to practice. That paid off today,” Stodder told Tennis TourTalk after the match.
The 27-year-old is based in Berlin but had played college tennis for the University of Tennessee and graduated with a Bachelor degree in Finance before making the step to the Pro Circuit. “My four years in the United States helped me build my character. You learn to integrate into a team. That was a good preparation. But then Covid came along and I more or less stopped playing tennis and gave training lessons 60 hours a week. In 2021, however, I made the leap again and really started to establish myself on the Futures Circuit.”
Stodder captured two titles in 2021 and four in 2022. In Most, he is seeking his seventh career title on the Pro Circuit.
Squire beats Voisin
Later on Center Court, Squire defeated Frenchman Emilien Voisin 7-6, 6-3. The 22-year-old Duisburg native converted all of his three break-point chances to advance in one hour and 41 minutes. Squire will appear in his second final of the season after finishing runner-up to Terence Atmane in Anapoima, Colombia. He could lift his second career trophy on the ITF World Tennis Tour following his triumph in Agadir, Morocco last year.
Stodder and Squire will meet for the first time on the tour but the pair played for the National German Championships two years ago with the latter winning the title in Biberach. “We played two times indoors,” commented Stodder on the upcoming encounter. “But this time it will be outdoors on clay, which I prefer. Let’s see what’s going to happen.”
The championship match is scheduled for Sunday 10 am local time.
