Generali Open Kitzbühel: The hour of the qualifiers
Six qualifiers started the main draw at the Generali Open on Tuesday. With Yannick Hanfmann , Laslo Djere and Marc-Andre Huesler , three of them will be in the semifinals of the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Kitzbühel this Saturday (live on ServusTV from 12 noon). A constellation that has never existed since the start of the ATP tour in 1990.
by Florian Heer
last edit: Sep 12, 2020, 08:56 am
From Florian Heer from Kitzbühel
Sometimes even the ATP seems to have a hard time with the results of their Challenger Tour. If you take a closer look at the media notes of the fourth day of the Kitzbühel Championships, you will notice that Yannick Hanfmann was attributed a final defeat at the Città di Todi. In fact, the 28-year-old celebrated his sixth Challenger title three weeks ago in idyllic Umbria.
Match practice as an advantage
In general, after the forced Corona break and since the restart of the circuit in August, Hanfmann was able to collect a lot of match practice. After the triumph in Todi and two other tournaments in Italy in Trieste and Cordenons, Hanfmann in Tyrol is competing in his fourth tournament on clay. Five matches have already been booked here. “Of course it depends on how much strength you have during the week as a qualifier. But you can also see from the results that they have a small advantage because they have already played a lot, ”explains Hanfmann after his 6: 2, 7: 5 success over Maximilian Marterer, one of his training partners from the Oberhaching TennisBase.
“In addition, the conditions here are not the easiest. Then such results happen. It might be a shame for the tournament because one or the other big name is out. But sometimes they have a hard time here, ”said the curly-haired head with the cap, who was able to move into a final on the ATP tour three years ago near Gstaad.
Stars fail early
In Kitzbühel, after the top seeded Fabio Fognini in the second round, the number 2 of the tournament had to give up in the quarter-finals. Diego Schwartzman lost to the Serbian qualifier Laslo Djere 7: 6 (2), 6: 3. This will now meet Hanfmann for the first time.
Hanfmann, currently number 118 in the world rankings, washes the visibly good form back in the direction of his personal career high from position 99. “The top 100 are of course still the goal,” said the Karlsruhe native. “I am very happy with my game at the moment and I think that will make me one of the top 100. It remains to be seen how long it will take me. ”Hanfmann doesn't feel any pressure from the draw that has become wide open at the foot of the Hahnenkamm. "I'm just happy," he comments with a smile.
Huesler among the last four
Marc-Andrea Huesler also goes into the semi-finals on Saturday with a similar boost. After successfully qualifying and a 6: 4, 6: 3 win over the Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez, the 24-year-old Swiss made it to the semifinals of an ATP tournament for the first time.
"I injured my foot in November and after a very long period of construction I didn't return to the field until March," explains Huesler, who is only playing his second international tournament since the break after the Ostrava Open in Kitzbühel. “There were a few national tournaments in Switzerland, all of which went very well. I've never felt so good. "