Generali Race to Kitzbühel: Kickoff becomes a premium event
The first shimmering turquoise crystal has been awarded, the hunt for points for the final tournament in the Gamsstadt has begun! The most iconic event in Austrian popular tennis is back! The Generali Race to Kitzbühel, the nationwide tournament series for amateur players with the flair of the big, wide ATP world and probably the most exclusive winner's prizes in Europe, has been captivating the country's leisure tennis players since last weekend. And the "kick off" for the Generali Race to Kitzbühel 2022 advanced to a premium event with 137 entries from eight federal states.
by Claus Lippert
last edit: Apr 28, 2022, 05:37 pm
Huge run on the Kick Off Event of the Generali Race to Kitzbühel
The rush to the premiere tournament of this year's Generali Race to Kitzbühel was tremendous. No wonder, since sensational prizes worth almost 60,000 euros are again waiting for the winners this year. In order to get an event of this magnitude on the stage without any problems, you need an appropriate location. With the Union Tenniscenter La Ville, one could win the most competent club in the city when it comes to tournament organization, which with 10 well-maintained sand courts equipped with floodlights, 9 indoor courts and the corresponding infrastructure such as parking lots, restaurant and tennis shop, plays the role of a perfect host could play. In front of the tennis temple on the Altmannsdorfer Ast, the participants in the Generali Race to Kitzbühel were also able to marvel at the Cupra Born worth 43,000 euros, the winner's prize that will be played out on July 30th of this year in the final of the big final tournament on the Kitzbühel center court . Accordingly motivated, the amateur players who had traveled from eight federal states started in six ITN categories, despite the sometimes adverse weather conditions.
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Generali Race to Kitzbühel Kick Off brings a colorful mix of winners
It's been nine months since Tobias Fürschuss from Vorarlberg, ranked ITN 2.7, piloted a Cupra Formentor from the center court after his final victory in the Kitzbühel tennis stadium at Kapserfeld. This scenario belongs to the past and will not be repeated in 2022. Because the organizers of the Generali Race to Kitzbühel are sending another clear signal to the broad masses of hobby players this season with the upper limit of ITN 4.0. And they paid back with a sensational entry result and great performances. Which brings us to the sporting events of the first Generali Race to Kitzbühel weekend. A look at the list of winners shows that players of all stripes can win in the Generali Race to Kitzbühel. And so there was a colorful mix of winners to celebrate at the award ceremony. Teenagers, newcomers, established older players, all of them were happy about 10 points for the Race to Kitz and a shimmering turquoise crystal trophy.
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Ivan Pivko takes the first Slovenian title in Generali Race to Kitzbühel history and 49-year-old Sascha Rybak keeps the Odlies honor high
In the ITN 4 category, Inas Sarajlic from WAC raced to the title without dropping a set. His problem in the coming weeks will not be to preserve the form until Kitzbühel, but to keep his ITN value above the necessary 4.0 limit. Valentin Plechinger came to the first title of his career without a club last weekend. After a few years abroad, the 34-year-old has not yet found a club since his return, but he has found the successful path to winning a five-a-side tournament. Sascha Rybak demonstrated in the 6-man tournament of the Generali Race to Kitzbühel Kick Off Event that you can still successfully stand up to the wild youngsters at almost 50 years of age. The 49-year-old had passed his test in the semifinals with an 11:9 in the all-important match tiebreak against Stefan Kroisleitner before he delivered the freestyle in the final against Hungary's young star Damian Kelemen 6:4, 6:3. There was a premiere in the ITN category 7 competition. There Ivan Pivko ensured the first Slovenian tournament victory at the Generali Race to Kitzbühel. It took the 14-year-old five games and two match-tiebreak wins with saved match points before he was allowed to attend the awards ceremony in front of his family. Meanwhile, Tom Bader from Hietzinger TV won the most sovereign title in the 8-man competition. The top-seeded youngster only ceded 13 games in four matches to his opponents, and thus immediately announced his candidacy for a top result at the final tournament in Kitzbühel.
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Ask the successful brother! Tom Bader following in the footsteps of last year's winner Denis
And how tie-break shootout with handicap mode works at the final tournament in Kitzbühel, everyone at Bader knows that only too well. Tom can get valuable tips from his brother Denis, who won the doubles competition on the center court of the ATP tournament in Kitzbühel last year and kidnapped an e-scooter worth 7,000 euros to the federal capital. The garage expansion is already underway at Bader. By the way: Winning the Cupra Born worth EUR 43,000 at the Generali Race to Kitzbühel can also be a hit with the female gender. This was shown by the 24-year-old South Tyrolean Raphaela Höller in the newly created INT competition 9.0, where she advanced to the final, where she lost 5:7, 4:6 to Markus Brandstätter after almost two hours of play. Meanwhile, the 38-year-old celebrated his very first trophy to take home. "An important trophy for me, because my son always teases me about the two trophies he won at a summer tennis camp. Now it's only 1-2," said the 38-year-old with a smile on his face. By the way: Next weekend we will continue with the next station in the Generali Race to Kitzbühel. This time it's all about race points for the central region and down to business in beautiful Annenheim am Ossiacher See.
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