Ofner and Rodionov clinch the ÖTV ATP titles

While things are not going as planned for Dominic Thiem at the moment, his red-white-red pursuers in the world rankings at the performance level of men’s tennis are currently showing their best side. With Sebastian Ofner and Jurij Rodionov, two Austrian players stand a chance of winning the ATP title this week. The former reached the final at the ATP 75 clay-court competition in Zadar on Saturday afternoon, and the latter is just one step away from successfully defending the title at the ATP 100 hard-court competition in Biel.

Honor with the Season 3 finale – all good things come in threes?

Fourth-seeded Ower (ATP 137) celebrated his second straight two-set win on the Dalmatian coast in Croatia after two wins from three sets at the start. Styrian brought Italian fifth seed and rookie Flavio Coppoli (ATP 177) to his knees after a 1:43-hour battle 7:5, 7:5. The 26-year-old faced a total of five service losses with seven breaks – five of them in The first set alone, which saw no less than nine losses in 12 matches. The game started with six breaks in a row, Ofner immediately made up for a three-break deficit, then lost a 5:3 lead, but again took Kobuli’s serve to win the set. In the second round, he had to give up quick leads of 3:0 and 4:1, but was able to fend off two break opportunities at 5:5 and then strike again in the twelfth game as a setback.

For Ofner, this is already the third season finale after Tenerife in January and Antalya in March. He lost the first two, so he now has his next chance at his fourth ATP Challenger win after Astana 2018, Puerto Vallarta 2019 and Prague 2022. His opponent on Sunday from 12:00 CEST will be Italy’s Alessandro Giannisi (ATP 261). He’s already played three times against the left-hander, winning his last two matches last year. Ofner is already sure of 50 ATP points, with which he can improve his previous run from 126th in the ranking on April 3, in the direct standings he is currently 121st. A final victory could bring him up to 113th, and only eight points behind Austrian Thiem single workbook. In addition, next week he will have the opportunity to collect more points: Ofner will start in the ATP 125 competition on clay in Sanremo (Italy), where he will open against Frenchman Manuel Guinard (ATP 221).

Rodionov: “Bel looks like a good place to me”

In Switzerland’s 10th largest city, Rodionov reached the final for the first time since his home win at the ATP 100 Challenger tournament in Mauthausen in May 2022. The second seed from Lower Austria (ATP 131) claimed his third two-set win during the tournament, in the fourth match, with a score of 6 :3, 7:5 over Lebanese-born Benjamin Hassan (ATP 325). ). He also won the second comparison between the two after one in Tulln in September 2022 (7:6(5), 6:4). In Biel, the key deciding factor was that Rodionov was able to destroy all four break chances against himself in the game. In the sixth game, Hassan broke for the first time and thus secured the preliminary decision in the first set, only having to block the break on his serve. In the second round, he was only able to defend his serve three times at 1:2, missing a break point at 4:4, but finally got serious with the break down to zero to make it 6:5.

This time Rodionov is no longer naked when he was served, and with that he has the opportunity for his sixth ATP Challenger coup after Almaty 2018, Dallas & Morelos 2020, Biel and Mauthausen 2022. “I think it’s a solid performance today!” , then wrote. on his official Facebook page. “I was able to seize the opportunities presented to me and I am very happy with my first final in a long time! Bale seems to be a good place for me.” Rodionov has now successfully defended 60 points from 80 from the previous year, because last year the tournament was held in the category Challenger less. Success in the final will get him 20 points this week. His opponent on Sunday from 2:00 pm, as in the case of Ofner, is a left-handed colleague: fourth-placed Briton Liam Brodie (ATP 161), who defeated Rodionov’s compatriot Maximilian Neukrist 6: 4, 7: 5 in the round. two. A win would put Rodionov in 125th place in the direct standings, five places off his previous best placing. But he can also score again in the next tournament week: He’s also the second seed at the ATP 100 hard court contender in Lille, France, and will start against Australian Li Tu (ATP 229).

Here are all the results of the ATP 75 Challenge in Zadar.

Here are all the results of the ATP 100 Challenge in Biel.

Here are all the draws for the ATP 125 Challenger in Sanremo.

Here are all the draws for the ATP Challenger 100 in Lille.