ÖTV: Misolic receives Kitzbühel’s wild card

The second organizing wildcard of the Generali Open Kitzbühel goes to last year’s eventual winner Filip Misolic. The 21-year-old from Styria is in very good shape five days before the start of the tournament in Kitzbühel, he was able to fight his way to the quarter-finals of the ATP250 tournament in Bstad with victory over Dusan Lajović and is now in the main competition in Umag after qualifying. “Philip fully deserved the wildcard and showed last year that he can not only play excellently in Kitzbühel, but also show strong nerves. He surprised and inspired us all,” explains tournament director Alexander Antonich. In 2022, there was a false obsession in Kitzbühel when Styria – who received a wildcard – beat Lajovic and Yannick Hanfmann in the quarter-finals and semi-finals at the ATP premiere in Kitzbühel and were only stopped by Roberto Bautista Agut in the final.

The keyword that applies to Sebastian Ofner at the moment is also inspiration. The 27-year-old from Styria is having the best season of his career and has not only been at the top of his game since reaching the last 16 at the French Open. The world rankings list him as Austria’s best player currently at 52. Owe will travel to Kitzbühel for the first time as a seeded player: “Owe really impressed our fans when he reached the semi-finals in 2017. He feels comfortable in Kitzbühel,” and the tournament director is also eyeing the first Austrian player in the domestic championship.

A sensational double show by Dominic Thiem and Sebastien Offner at ATP level

Austrian tennis fans can also look forward to the two best players in the country, who will also compete in doubles: Dominik Thiem and Sebastian Offner will try to challenge two of his top seeded compatriots Erler and Midler in their joint premiere at ATP level. Thiem was last seen in doubles competition in Kitzbühel in 2016, when he missed out on winning the tournament alongside Dennis Novak. On the other hand, for Erler and Midler, the doubles success story began in Kitzbühel with their victory in the championship in 2021. Meanwhile, Tyrolean and Lower Austria are among the world leaders in the wide and are 15th in the race. The second doubles wildcard goes to another Austrian double: Jurij Rodionov and Neil Oberleitner.

The success of the Austrians is also boosting ticket sales for the Generali Open Kitzbühel (29 July to 5 August): from Thursday to Saturday only the remaining tickets are available. Dominic Thiem is certain to duel in the first round on Tuesday at 7.30pm as part of the night session. Information and tickets: www.generalopen.com.