Daniel Masur with first Challenger success: "So that you don't stay a rookie for 10 years"
The day after: Daniel Masur has arrived in Lugano, Switzerland. A few hours earlier he had recorded his first triumph in singles on the ATP Challenger Tour at the Biella Challenger Indoor 4 in northern Italy.
by Florian Heer
last edit: Mar 23, 2021, 09:56 am
Much does not seem to have changed for the professionals in the traveling circus tennis even in times of the pandemic. As always, they seem to be jetting through the world. On closer inspection, however, it becomes apparent that here, too, a lot has changed. Masur was not only active for one week in Biella, but also took part in a total of four tournaments, the last of which he successfully finished with an exciting final victory over his German compatriot Matthias Bachinger on Sunday afternoon.
Masur sees it as a "privilege" to be able to practice his profession in times of the pandemic. “There is less flown and I drive a lot, but I still cross the borders of Austria, Switzerland and Italy several times. At home, on the other hand, many sit in the home office and cannot get out. Sometimes that feels strange. However, I will not try to prevent this, because the respective hygiene concepts at the events do not make the whole thing irresponsible. However, I can correctly classify the situation that tennis tournaments can take place even though the whole world is at a standstill, ”says the 26-year-old in the context of the tennis podcast Challenger Corner .
"The best Masur" on the pitch
From a sporting point of view, Masur is almost never going ahead. After eight successes on the ITF Pro Circuit, he achieved another milestone in his career with winning the title in Biella.
“Regardless of the level of the tennis tour, winning the first tournament is always a special step. After three entries into the semi-finals at Challenger events, it was my first final, so it was all the better that it worked right at the first attempt, ”says the happy native of Lower Saxony, who has been training at the Oberhaching TennisBase in the greater Munich area for many years. Lars Übel's protégé has been training hard with his coach over the past few months and fine-tuning many things, such as the second serve.
“Transferring the work from training to the matches was very successful. This also includes a little luck. But I feel very well positioned, I am healthy and over the years I have also gained experience in terms of tournament planning, regeneration times, my body and the feel of the game. In the best case scenario, that grows so that you don't remain a rookie for ten years. "
Final of two qualifiers
The physical component also seems to fit. In a high-class final against Bachinger, Masur still felt in top shape at the end of a long week of tournament.
“My return game was probably more dangerous. I was already ahead of a break in the second and third set, but he fought his way back both times. After two and a half hours, there are maybe three points that make the difference. It could have gone either way. Due to the way the game went, the result is okay ”, analyzes Masur, who, like his friend and training partner Bachinger, had to struggle through the qualification.
Success under “special” conditions
On the way to the final, he threw several well-known players from the main field with the Japanese Yuichi Sugita, who was seeded number 4, the veteran Sergiy Stakhovsky, the young Czech talent Jonas Forejtek and the Ukrainian Illya Marchenko. In the end, there were seven wins in eight days. Masur described the local conditions as "special".
"The accommodation and meals were great," said number 213 in the ATP world rankings. “However, the training grounds in the hotel were equipped with a completely different surface than the match courts. It had nothing to do with proper preparation. The two main squares were housed in two separate halls with a distance of approx. 500 meters. They were also to be played completely differently. The center court was much slower, the balls bounced higher with an enormous number of pitch errors. This was probably the worst hard court I have ever played on. This surface was probably not designed for a four-week tournament series. Overall, the conditions were difficult to which one had to adapt again and again. "
Next stop: Lugano
After four intense tournaments, the Palasport in Biella is now getting its well-deserved break. The professionals have now moved on from the Piedmont region to Lugano. Masur didn't have time to celebrate his first Challenger success.
“Maybe I'll catch up on that in the coming week,” says the elected Tutzinger happily. Then it goes home for regeneration and further training units. The next tour experience will certainly not be long in coming.