After a few rainy days, the sun returned to Heilbronn just in time for the beginning of the final weekend of the NECKARCUPS. One German player shone especially on the quarter-final day of the ATP-Challenger-Sandplatzturnier endowed with 85.000 Euro.
The 17-year-old Rudolf Molleker reached his first semi-final on the ATP-Challenger-Tour with a 6:1, 2:6, 6:4 success over the seventh seeded Alexey Vatutin from Russia.
“In the second set I felt the pressure from my opponent. He played really well and scored many winners. I fell a bit into a hole and was tired,” Molleker describes the most critical phase of the match against number 145 in the ATP world rankings. “In the third set I was already one break behind, but was able to fight my way out again and then the extra air came to take the serve off him at 4:4.
In the final set, the up-and-coming star also set a visual effect and changed his original grey shirt to a pink-black top. Was there some superstition involved? “No, actually it was just a little wet. But I remembered losing a few matches in the third set in grey and so I picked up the shirt that brought me victory two days ago. Apparently it works,” laughs Molleker, adding that he couldn’t have put on more shorts to match. “No, if that’s not enough, I can’t do more,” says the blond boy.
After just under two hours of play, Molleker finally transformed his first match point with confidence. These are the first victories the teenager celebrates in a main draw of this week’s ATP Challenger Tour. Equipped with a wild card, he started with a two-set win over Enrique López-Pérez from Spain until he then defeated number four seeded Yannick Hanfmann in the second round.
“This success was perhaps not entirely to be expected. Still, I’m playing good tennis this week. I can check the level, but not all the time. That still makes the difference to the top boys here,” says the world ranking list 497, which made it into the top ten in the junior ranking.
“Honestly, I find it even harder to play with the juniors. You measure yourself against the same year and want to prove that you are the better player. This can lead to a lot of stress in the head,” Molleker explains in a calm voice. “A junior match is also less strategic. The boys just play as they come. Then it is also harder to cope with when a winner comes from corners where one does not expect it at all. There’s more of a system here. The cracks know why they play certain punches.”
The youngster was also able to take positive things with him from a training course with Boris Becker recently held in Munich.
“I was or am a bit of a miracle bag on the court. Mental support helps me a lot. I got some tips from him. It’s also the only thing I’m taking care of right now. I can keep up with them from a playful or technical point of view. However, a lot is happening on the pitch in his head,” says Molleker, who is still afraid of comparisons with Alexander Zverev, the 2015 NECKARCUP Champion.
“Sasha is and will remain an exception in tennis. He’s a great player. It is not everyday to be able to celebrate such successes in the young years. I hope I can pursue a similar career, but there is still a long way to go.”
His coach Jan Velthuis, who is also present in Heilbronn, will accompany him. “We’ve been working together for about a year and we’ll try to achieve our goal together with as few variations in shape as possible,” the Berlin native smiles.
Molleker will be the last remaining German in the individual competition to meet Juan-Ignacio Londero in the round of the last 4 players. The 24-year-old Argentinian has achieved good results this year. After winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 over Oscar Otte, Londero will be on the ATP Challenger Tour for the fourth time in a semi-final, crowned by a title win in Mexico City.
“I got off to a bad start,” said Otte, who was also struggling with an injury to his arm. “From the second set on I was painless, but I could not really find my way to my game. All in all, however, I am satisfied and I feel comfortable here every year anew. Now we’re going to Paris to qualify as a consolation.”
Dustin Brown, too, will not make it into the semi-finals. “Dreddy” had already started into the tournament and finally had to give up against Kamil Majchrzak from Poland at 3:6, 1:3 with a back injury. Majchrzak will meet Jiri Vesely from the Czech Republic against the last seeded player of the individual tournament.