Local hero and HTT Wimbledon winner tremble through Flötzersteig Open

A local hero who has to fear for the semi-final, a new HTT Wimbledonsie…

A local hero who has to fear for the semifinals, a new HTT Wimbledon winner, who had already retired at his first race after the biggest HTT career triumph, a former first in the rankings on a preparation mission for Kitzbühel, and lots of bad weather! Thus one can summarize the past weekend at the premiere of the Flötzersteig Open 500 in Vienna-Penzing briefly and crisply. Meanwhile, Prater Cup Future Champion Valentin Kaftan continues to hover on a wave of success with Flötzersteig-Challenger, which takes place at the same time. Reported from Flötzersteig for hobbytennistour.at C.L

In the round of sixteen of the first Flötzersteig Open 500 against service giant Patrik Brandl in the 25th individual victory of the season in 2018, he still easily and confidently won 6:0, 6:3, but the number 1 seeded runner-up in the rankings still has to wait for the 80th individual victory of his HTT career, which really got underway this year. The quarter-final showdown with the unseeded Peter Rathhammer at the home tournament at Flötzersteig is a lot more difficult for the local hero than expected of him and his fans. It became a curious third appearance at the home tournament for the triple season winner, because after the 30-year-old celebrated his eighth-final victory against Brandl still on home ground, the tournament had to be moved to the nearby UTC La Ville because of weather-related unplayability of the places at Flötzersteig. Wolf is not unaware of the red ashes there, and so the top seeded Viennese seemed to be heading for a sure victory at 6:1, 3:1. But Rathhammer showed real fighting qualities and made a remarkable comeback in the beginning rain with a 6:4 set equaliser. Both did not want to continue playing in the hall, and so the local hero has to work overtime on Monday afternoon in order to make the semifinal ascent expected of him clear again before hemischer Kullisse.

Another of the top-class HTT stars at the debut of the SKVS Flötzersteig on the hobby tennis tour got away with a black eye on rainy tournament Sunday. The reigning HTT Wimbledon winner would have put his first match on red ash after the big grass triumph on the proverbial sand. The 32-year-old from Burgenland had actually already retired in the duel with TC Strebersdorf young star Felix Sagasser, if the self-appointed referee Rene Liball hadn’t staged his very personal tournament appearance there. What had happened? Scheidl was trailing Sagasser 1:6, 5:6, the 19-year-old served La Ville to victory at the centre court of UTC including promotion to the round of 16 and seemed to have made the big sensation perfect with a forehand winner. In or out, it was a skin-tight decision that Scheidl didn’t want to make at the match point. He could not or did not want to give the ball out in a short factual discussion including a look. Until just now Liball had his performance, and the ballprint was clearly in the out. Einstand instead of Sensation, Scheidl had saved himself into a third Sat, and Sagasser proved his morals there.

Because the young star of the TC Strebersdorf had the whole set over break before it went into the mega exciting final phase against the serve of gewaltigen Scheidl. Sagasser led 5:3 on his own serve had two more match points, which Scheidl defended with two sensationally played volleys. The No. 5 of the HTT-Computer-Ranking from Neusiedl am See showed class and nerves of steel in the following game, when he defended the match balls No. 4 and 5 with two great service bullets on his own serve and 15:40. Scheidl did not give up any more games, and celebrated the sixth HTT single victory in series with 1:6, 7:6, 7:5, which he extended in the quarter finals to late hour against SKVS Flötzersteig Ass Christoph Hofer with 7:6, 6:3 even to 7 single successes en suite. Sagasser, on the other hand, had another narrowly lost match against one of the absolute HTT top stars. This is not the first time that the 19-year-old has come up against the top players of the HTT with an absolute top performance, but in the end he sleeps off the court as an unrewarded hero after missed match balls. 2016 in Kitzbühel against Mathias Wagner after match balls failed, last year also in Gamsstadt against Alexander Schager after match balls retired, and yesterday the matchball drama against Bernhard Scheidl. “It’s annoying to be so close every time and then lose. But it also shows me that I’m on par with the best players. That gives me motivation for Kitzbühel, and at some point luck will also be on my side,” says the inferior Sagasser.