29.06.2024 16:55
(Akt. 29.06.2024 16:55)
Sebastian Ofner misses his first tour title ©MALLORCA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sebastian Ofner narrowly misses his first tour title at the ATP 250 grass tournament in Mallorca, losing to seeded Alejandro Tabilo, while Dominic Thiem remains Austria’s only ATP grass tournament winner.
Sebastian Ofner missed out on his first tour title on Saturday at the ATP 250 grass tournament in Mallorca. The 28-year-old Styrian, who was in a final on the tour for the first time ever, had to admit defeat to the number 4 seeded Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in front of 3,500 spectators after 74 minutes with 3:6, 4:6. For Ofner, it was his first appearance at this tournament, and he will now play in the first round at Wimbledon on Monday against Aleksandar Vukic.
Dominic Thiem remains the only Austrian tennis player to have won an ATP tournament on grass (Stuttgart 2016).
Prominent eyewitnesses to Ofner’s defeat
In front of the eyes of Jürgen Klopp, who was there in a German football T-shirt at the invitation of tournament organizer Edwin Weindorfer, and Dieter Bohlen, the match in strong winds did not initially develop to Ofner’s liking. The Styrian had to accept the first break of the match against the Canadian-born Chilean at 2:4 and had to give up the first set after 30 minutes with 3:6. The main reason for this was Ofner’s first serve with a rate of only 43 percent. It was of no use that he won all nine points when the first serve came. Tabilo, on the other hand, did not even have to fend off a break point.
©tMALLORCA CHAMPIONSHIPS
In the second set, Ofner had the turnaround when he had his first two break points at 3:2 and 15:40 when Tabilo served, but he wasted them somewhat carelessly. At 4:4, Ofner made too many mistakes on his own serve and lost his serve to make it 4:5. Tabilo then used his third match point to win the tournament for the second time in his fourth final.
Tabilo triumphs in fourth final
Ofner had beaten Tabilo in straight sets in the second qualifying round of the Australian Open in January 2023 in their only previous encounter. But this year’s Auckland winner and Rome semi-finalist was simply the more consistent player in this encounter.
2024-06-29 14:55:00
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