Tennis: Klaffner and Brunner are state champions in 2018

The Austrian State Championships in Oberpullendorf have brought two premiere winners to a close. Melanie Klaffner won the women’s title, Pascal Brunner won the men’s title.

For the 10th time in a row the ADMIRAL Austrian State Championships of the General Class were held on the grounds of the Sport-Hotel Kurz in Oberpullendorf. For the first time Klaffner and Brunner entered themselves in the prominent list of winners and were rewarded with 5500 euros. The losers of the finals could console themselves with 3000 Euro.

Klaffner, who was seeded number 1, had beaten Betina Pirker 7-5, 6-1 in last year’s semi-final. Her opponent, Fed-Cup and Team-Kornspitz Upper Austrian colleague Pia König, had won 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 against 16-year-old Sinja Kraus. In the duel between the two best players of the tournament, Klaffner set the tone from the beginning and finally won approximately 6:3, 6:2.

The 28-year-old had last competed in the 2005 championships. “I definitely missed this title in my sporting CV,” said the number 4 in the Austrian ranking. The field of female starters was prominent, the numbers 3 to 14 were always at the start. “Now I’m going to take the momentum for the upcoming tournaments and the Bundesliga final with the Kornspitz team.”

In the men’s singles, the number 1 seed Lucas Miedler was beaten by Pascal Brunner, number 4, 4:6, 3:6. The final opponent was determined between defending champion Lenny Hampel (2) and David Pichler (5) – Hampel had to give up 6:7, 6:3, 0:2 due to back problems.

So two Burgenlanders faced each other at the showdown in Burgenland: Brunner, the Neufelder, ATP-508, let no doubt arise against Pichler, the Osliper, ATP-646, and won 6:4, 6:1.

Reads good to be on a list with Stefan Koubek, Dominic Thiem, Dennis Novak or Sebastian Ofner, doesn’t it? “Of course”, said the 29-year-old Brunner, who is in the Bundesliga final four with TC Kirchdorf, “it was a great week for me with a very good finish”.

Pichler and Patrik Ofner won against Christopher Hutterer and Gabriel Schmidt 6:0, 6:2 and Arabella Koller and Emily Meyer beat Betina Pirker and Kerstin Peckl 1:6, 6:1, 10:3 in the women’s double final.