ÖTV: Generali Open Kitzbühel: Neumayer's last wild card

It's bitter news for the organizers of the Generali Open Kitzbühel: Casper Ruud will not compete in the classic Austrian claycourt tournament. “We are very disappointed. It has now become almost normal for players to name tournaments and then withdraw at will. This makes it very difficult for the organizers to plan tournaments and makes us look untrustworthy in the eyes of fans and partners. Such cancellations are not limited to us alone,” explained tournament director Aleksandar Antonich. Chilean Nicolás Jarry also cancelled his participation at short notice.

Ruud withdrew from his start in Kitzbühel without giving a reason. In Gstaad (Switzerland), for example, short-term cancellations of top stars are the norm today. The new ATP rule states that in such a case, a player who has been in the top 20 in the last five years, has won the tournament or is one of the top five junior players in the world can move onto the court – this also applies to Dominic Thiem and Joel Schwarzler. Thus, the wildcard was issued and passed by the organizers to Lucas Neumayer, who had already impressed the crowd in Kitzbühel in 2021 with his first entry into the main court.

4 Austrians in the main field and Tyrol Day in the qualifiers

With Sebastian Ofner, Thiem, Neumayer and Schwarzler, there are four Austrians on the main court of the Generali Open Kitzbühel 2024. The field is now led by the top 20 players Sebastian Baez (Argentina) and Alejandro Tapello (Chile). The main draw will take place on Saturday, July 20 at 12:00 noon in the welcome area of ​​the tournament stadium. Meanwhile, the qualifying starts at 11:00 am – with the Tyrolean Day. In addition to the wildcard Sandro Copp, another Tyrolean, doubles specialist Alexander Erler, reached the qualifying rounds literally at the last minute.

Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante was granted a special exemption for the main event in Kitzbühel due to his late Friday night win in Bastad and therefore did not have to play the qualifiers. So Erler (ATP -), who received a free ticket, got the chance to serve there. But the local hero met an unpleasant opponent in the fourth-seeded Serbian Hamed Medjedovic (ATP 122). Kop (ATP 322), who has been training at the venue since Wednesday, also received a tough draw: the second-seeded Tyrolean in the group meets the top-seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ATP 97), who reached the Kitzbühel final in 2019 and the semi-final in the final in 2022.