Lukas Prüger passes baptism of fire in first match as new HTT number 1

Young star Lukas Prüger has won the baptism of fire in his first match as the new number 1 hobby tennis t…

Young star Lukas Prüger passed the baptism of fire in his first match as the new number 1 of the Hobby Tennis Tour with flying colors, and on early Sunday afternoon made his debut appearance in the HTT Tour Finals 2017 at the UTC La Ville. The season’s dominator of the Schwechater TC won the opening Group A single against last year’s Styrian finalist Alexander Schager in just 53 minutes with a total of 6:1,6:1 and thus remained victorious in the fourth direct duel of the season with the Obersteirer, who was seeded number 5. In his first match as HTT leader of the HTT ranking list, Prüger only delivered two games and impressively underscored his role as the winner of the prestigious HTT tour finals title in front of the visibly impressed ATP tournament director and Eurosport commentator Alexander Antonitsch. Schager, on the other hand, has to cling to the straw “Round Robin Modus” after his failed start and recall his positive experiences from last year, when he also stormed into the final after a defeat in the first match of the preliminary round with a terrific performance increase. A report by C. L.

In the end, only 53 minutes had been played, and the hit at the centercourt of UTC La Ville between Lukas Prüger and Alexander Schager, which had been hailed as a top game by many insiders in the run-up to the match, had not been played. From time immemorial it was a lesson given by Prüger to his opponent from the green mark at the start of Group A, but upon closer examination of the match facts it quickly became clear that Lukas Prüger did not play completely convincingly in his very first Tour-Finals-Match, and the clear 6:1,6:1 shines brighter than it reflects the events at the Centercourt. It was above all the rather moderate performance of Alexander Schager, which led to this difference in the class in terms of results. If you are number 5 of the Hobby Tennis Tour and if you are equipped with the high basic level of an Alexander Schager, then 32 unforced mistakes with only 8 attached winners are a more than desolate and above all strongly expandable balance. Four double errors, plus more than modest service ratios and a lack of efficiency in break-outs and balls, round off the meagre record of his second HTT Tour Tour Finals opening appearance, which he lost in series.

The 22-year-old had started perfectly in the day session of the second matchday against the new number 1. Prüger seemed visibly impressed by the ambience and the surroundings of the Centercourt, and put his first service game in the sand in front of his brother and Kitzbühel tournament director Alexander Antonitsch. Four casual mistakes with only one service winner, yes, the HTT industry’s number one in his first game and his master’s debut showcased more than just a hint of healthy nervousness. Schager – who already has the experience of 5 HTT tour finals matches – should have used this “famous” momentum with more routine and cleverness, but instead the man from Leoben actively helped to help the 19-year-old opponent to find his way. Two light unforced errors from the baseline, plus a double error, and Schager had brought his opponent back into the game. And with this prompt re-break the post went off, and only in one direction. To the 2:1 still with difficulty and only after defense of two break possibilities came, the remainder of the first set became the solo for the 6-fold winner of the season. For 27 minutes with 28 together produced errors Prüger & Schager had offered to the public rather tennis schonkost instead of the hoped for Gala. Meanwhile, especially the Neo-Number 1, of course, always in between with brilliant winners indicated his great ability and potential.

Maybe the 19-year-old didn’t have to call for this potential either, because the expected reaction of his actually strong opponent didn’t turn out to be anything like that in passage number 2. Schager caught a pitch-black day, and that didn’t change the opening game of the second set, in which Schager managed to get his only serve play throughout the match. The only thing the 22-year-old Leobener had to offer this afternoon was a “questionable” consistency over both sentences. In both heat no. 2 and heat no. 1, the HTT match statistics showed 4 points with 16 errors for the fifth ranked player. 22 minutes after Schager had taken the lead 1-0, the game was over. Prüger came to 6 games in a row, and with an exact return to the line, the HTT French Open Champion turned his first match point into a 6-1,6-1 success and the lead after the first matchday in Group A.

It was a great feeling to enter the fog and to play with the music during the changing breaks. That was so cool, but something completely different than usual. You feel like a pro. Maybe that was the reason why we both had a hard time getting into this match. We both made a lot of mistakes at the beginning, Alex was even better than me. It could have been 0:2 or even 0:3. Especially in the second set, however, I found my security and was able to exert pressure,”says Prüger, who was then asked about his experiences in the first match as number 1 at the press conference:” In the match I don’t think about whether I am number 1 or number 100, but when I entered today, when I was announced as number 1 of the hobby tennis tour, it was already a cool thing,”says the 19-year-old. And the other players also know that they have to unpack their best tennis against me in order to beat me,”says Prüger in his usual reserved manner.

After his debacle, Alexander Schager also had to take the difficult course to the press conference after his debacle, and he did this in the usual professional manner:”It was not as good as I had expected or hoped for. The beginning was still halfway ok, then I somehow got out and made it quite easy for Lukas. That’s it,”replied the Styrian in a nutshell. Commenting on the previous year, where he caused a sensation with his semi-final triumph over Gabriel Jovanovic and stormed into the final, the winner of the October HTT 500 said:”I am rather sceptical, because the course is new this year and presents itself much slower than last year. Of course, I still have the belief that I can win this tournament, even after today’s performance, but the circumstances speak for it rather less, precisely because of the space available and also because I am certainly not as stable in my performances this year as I was last year,”Schager said.