Generali Race to Kitzbühel: Salzburg premiere
Now the last white spot on the tennis map of the Generali Race to Kitzbühel has been erased. For the first time in the six-year history of the Austria-wide top event for amateur tennis players, the "Race" was a guest in Salzburger Landen, which means that all nine federal states appear in the tournament calendar of the Generali Race to Kitzbühel for the first time in the current qualifying series for the final showdown in Kitzbühel.
by Claus Lippert
last edit: Jun 09, 2022, 02:25 pm
A tennis club in a breathtaking location, with a courageous and competent tournament manager and highly motivated 76 participants from four federal states made the hoped-for successful guest performance of the Generali Race to Kitzbühel possible . We are talking about the TC Neumarkt am Wallersee, a tennis facility beautifully embedded in nature, which is picturesquely situated on the eastern bay of the Wallersee and provided the backdrop and stage for the first appearance of the Salzburg amateur tennis players as part of the Generali Race to Kitzbühel.
Generali Race in Neumarkt am Wallersee and how it all began
In the local tennis club of the municipality of Neumarkt am Wallersee, which has around six and a half thousand inhabitants, community and team spirit are very important. Attributes with which the people from Flachgau conjured up a premiere event on the seven clay courts of their breathtakingly beautiful tennis facility, which made them want more and a further cooperation in the future. It all actually started last summer, when local hero Wolf Baur acted as a player at the Generali Race to Kitzbühel 2021 in Going and was enthusiastic about the tournament and the atmosphere at the foot of the Wilder Kaiser.
Baur got in touch with the tournament organizers and eventually brought the Generali Race to Kitz circus to the town of Wallersee. In the Salzburg tennis club, founded in 1965, there are a few good spirits who make tennis more than pleasant for the more than 200 members right on Wallersee. There is Johann "Hans" Hansel, the chairman of the club, who, as a jack of all trades, ensured that the tournament ran smoothly last Whitsun weekend and is considered the good soul of the club by the locals. What would such a large and successful event be without gastronomy! How good that you can rely on the services of the Schmiedhubers at Wallersee! "Angi & Hati" have been responsible for the physical well-being of the tennis players since 2021, and at the weekend provided the Generali Race starters with a top-quality chicken grill for tongue aquaplaning and culinary delights.
#IMG3#
Mozart servers use home advantage
In terms of sport, the amateur players opened the Generali Race to Kitzbühel in the western region with their performance at Wallersee, and in four of the six competitions the "Mozart servers" skilfully used their home advantage. Twice the numerous visitors cheered the Neumarkt local heroes Mario Tarkashvand and Bernhard Lerchner. The title win of Bernhard Lerchner from Neumarkt in the ITN 7 competition was particularly special. The 44-year-old local hero started the tournament unseeded and, in the end, in addition to winning a crystal trophy, is something like the ITN-7 club champion of TC Neumarkt am Wallersee.
With Obermayr, Tarkashvand and Regelsberger, the later winner knocked out three club colleagues on the way to the final, where he finally had to deal with 51-year-old Constantin Weiss from TC Lofer. A mega-exciting heat battle initially seemed to be heading in the direction of the "Loferaner". Weiss led 6: 3, 3: 1 before he had to fight the heat and a threatening task with an ice pack. Lerchner, on the other hand, got the famous second breath, driven by the home crowd, won the second set 6:4, heaved the final duel into an all-important match tiebreak, and kept the upper hand there with 10:5, to the delight of the home fans.
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The away wins and a summary of the Salzburg premiere
Lukas Flotzinger from Obertrumer TC in the ITN 8.0 competition and Dieter Fischer from TC Anif-Grödig in the 9er competition contributed to the other Salzburg tournament victories on the Pentecost weekend in 2022. However, the foreign guests of the Wallersee premiere did not have to start their journey home empty-handed. In the 4.0 competition, Viktor Kocic, an old acquaintance, triumphed! The 20-year-old from TC Mondsee already has Kitzbühel experience and with the HTT 250 title at TC Going in 2018 he has given his calling card in the Tyrolean mountains. After two match tiebreak decisions in his favour, Kocic beat Christoph Wimmer from TC Zell am See 7:6, 6:3 in the final, and with 10 points for the race he can already speculate with an appearance in the Gamsstadt at the end of July . 17-year-old Sebastian Staudacher from Innsbruck clawed the title in the 5.0 competition, beating the two Kitzbühelers Tim Koller and Stefan Emberger in round robin mode.
There is still one conclusion to be drawn from the Salzburg Generali Race to Kitzbühel premiere: The tournament in the eastern bay of Lake Wallersee has future potential and a cult character. The Strasswalchners, for example, came in droves and presented themselves splendidly not only as players but also as mood makers for a weekend. It was great fun for all participants, great weather provided a perfect setting, and so the Generali Race to Kitzbühel in Neumarkt am Walleree is literally crying out for a new edition in 2023.