With Ofner, after Jurij Rodionov and Filip Misolic, the third ÖTV player has mastered the opening hurdle. Ofner was overjoyed after the remarkable victory. “It’s incredible. The atmosphere was amazing. I always got great support on an important point,” Ofner said happily on Center Court.
Ofner managed the decisive break to make it 7:5 in the second and third set. However, Ofner struggled with his serve at the beginning and after the 1:1 he didn’t record a game anymore.
Sebastian Ofner is in the round of 16
After Filip Misolic and Juri Rodionov, another Austrian is in the round of 16 at the ATP tournament in Kitzbühel. Sebastian Ofner prevailed in three sets in a tennis thriller against the French veteran Richard Gasquet.
Reversal in the second set
It was only in the second set, when he was 2:3 behind with a break, that he found his game when the Frenchman was weak. In the decision, Ofner gave up the serve to make it 0:1, equalized to make it 4:4 and, as a setback, used the fourth match point after 2:32 hours to make it 7:5.
“Now at the end the tight game at 6: 5 – I had goosebumps on the pitch, thanks for that,” said the current number 235 in the ATP ranking. Gasquet had previously offered tremendous opposition despite his 36 years.
“It was incredibly tough”
“After I got the break (in the second set, ed.), I thought, ‘yes, that’s it for today’. Then I did the rebreak. I started playing the rallies with him because I realized he couldn’t shoot me anyway, but it was incredibly tough,” said Ofner. “He brought back so much, that’s not usually my game, what I played today. But I mastered it quite well.” The 26-year-old from Styria meets Austria’s Grand Slam winner Dominic Thiem in the round of 16
Melzer von Blessur stopped
Melzer had previously had to give up in the second set with a score of 4:6 1:1 0:30 against the German Yannick Hanfmann because of a thigh injury. He and Ofner had to qualify for the main draw. With Jurij Rodionov and Filip Misolic, three ÖTV players are now in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
ATP 250 tournament in Kitzbuehel
(Austria, 597,900 euros, sand)
