Teenagers Max Rehberg and Marko Topo with wildcards in the main draw of the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup
The two best-placed teenagers in German men's tennis - Marko Topo and Max Rehberg - receive two of the coveted wild cards for the main draw of the men's competition at the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup (16th to 23rd October).
by Florian Heer
last edit: Oct 16, 2022, 11:21 am
The 19-year-old Topo is ranked 463 in the ATP world rankings and has already reached the quarter-finals of this season's ATP Challenger tournament in Grodzisk, Poland. It will be the second trip to the Hanseatic city this season for Bayern Topo. At the Hamburg European Open at Rothenbaum in July, the native of Gräfelfinger was able to qualify for the main draw after victories over Stefano Travaglia from Italy and the German Rudolf Molleker, but ultimately lost to the in-form Slovakian Alex Molcan in two sets.
Rehberg with a tailwind to Hamburg
Rehberg, who like Topo was born on September 13, 2003, will once again travel from southern Germany to the far north. After a strong performance against Jozef Kovalik from Slovakia, the Munich player lost his first round game at the ATP 500 event in the summer in just three sets. However, Rehberg is currently in excellent form and two weeks ago celebrated his first tournament success on the professional circuit in Forbach, France. This week, number 596 in the world rankings is still successfully at the start of the ATP Challenger in Ismaning , but is already looking forward to the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup that will take place afterwards.
"Having this two-week challenger swing in Germany is super important for us young players," says Rehberg. “There aren't that many tournaments here at this level, and a wild card helps us gain match experience at the highest level. That's a very good thing.”
In Ismaning, Rehberg has been on a very fast carpet these days and has already stormed into the semi-finals again. “The pitches will be slower in Hamburg,” the young star knows, but is confident of being able to cope with the changed conditions in Horn. "I'll be prepared for that," says Rehberg.
The entry list for the men is led by Gregoire Barrere from France. Number 119 in the world rankings will go hunting for his fifth career title on the ATP Challenger Tour at the Hamburg Ladies & Gents.
Local heroes in the women's tournament
The wildcards for the women's competition were announced on Thursday. The local heroes Noma Noha Akugue and Ella Seidel will serve in the main draw together with Mara Guth from Usingen and Joëlle Steur from Rotenburg
The wild cards for the qualification tournament go to the young talents Carolina Kuhl, Julia Stusek, Tessa Johanna Brockmann and Anna-Marie Weißheim.
Free entry on all tournament days
The Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup includes an ATP Challenger tournament in category 80 for men (prize money: 45,730 euros) and an ITF World Tennis Tour W60 event for women, which is valued at 60,000 US dollars (equivalent to around 61,400 euros). The "Combined Event" is supported in particular by the city of Hamburg (Active City), the Regionalliga Nord-Ost, the men's profit tennis organization ATP and the DTB. The complete entry lists are available HERE .
Admission for spectators is free on all tournament days. The venue is the hall of the Hamburger Tennis-Verband (Beside the tennis courts 77, 22119 Hamburg).