The HTT-Entry-Ranking superior leader and the year for the second time in a row as number 1…
Lukas Prüger, who is leading the HTT-Entry-Ranking and who finishes the year for the second time in a row as number 1 in the HTT-industry-primus Lukas Prüger, has secured the title at the HTT-Tour-Finals like last year and won the 29th edition of the prestigious season final of the top 8 singles players at the UTC La Ville again unbeaten. The 20-year-old won the 129th season final against the triple Serbian HTT-Wimbledon champion Vladimir Vukicevic with 1:6, 7:5, 6:4 in a 2:18-hour final that lasted a curious 229 hours last Saturday, making him the first successful defending champion of the Tour Finals since Philipp Schneider, who was the last player to win the silver trophy in a double pack in 2013/2014. From the UTC La Ville reported for hobbytennistour.at C.L
It was an emotional, highly atmospheric award ceremony, perfectly staged by HTT presenter Mathias Wagner, which set the end of a grandiose tennis week and a fantastic final day. From a crowded fan and player zone right next to the center court, the spectators applauded the performance of the double master winner Philipp Schneider, who presented the trophy of the new tour final champion and carried it into the hall, they listened to the words of the highest functionary level, who appeared with ÖTV vice-president Raimund Stefanits and WTV president Christian Barkmann, and in the end they huddled two players who scored 181 points and 2:had duelled for 18 hours in a curious final for the most important title of the year.
First of all, the statistical key data of a final that was ultimately worth seeing and that could have ended well and gladly in a total flop. Only 47 minutes had been played when the reigning Serbian HTT-US Open winner Vladimir Vukicevic had more than one hand on the cup at 6:1, 4:0, before Prüger with the biggest sporting comeback in the history of the Masters still lived up to his role as favourite and continued to refresh his track record. It was the 17th tournament victory of his career for the first ranked player, and the eighth title win of this season, with which he was even able to top his successful year 2017 with 7 wins. The hard-won three-set success over Vukicevic meant that the 20-year-old won 53 singles in 2018, taking second place in the eternal list of best players behind Damian Roman (61 victories (2016)). Prüger is still undefeated in the HTT Tour Finals with 10:0 victories, and in the best list of all players with individual victories in the Masters with his tenth success on place 10 advanced to Harald Minarik (also 10 victories). In the meantime Prüger is unbeaten in 16 games, and as the first player since Andreas Harbarth in the seasons 2009 and 2010 Prüger will finish the year as number 1 for the second time in a row.
Sensational facts and figures that would be Schall & Rauch less than a week later today if Vladimir Vukicevic had “brought home” a game on the early evening of December 1, 2018 that was actually impossible to lose. “This brings us back to the 6:1, 4:0 lead of the Serbian old champion, who, during his double jubilee appearance in front of his wife and friends, held his course for one hour towards the second HTT Tour Finals title after 2016. His opponent had exactly three bright minutes at the beginning in the first hour of this 29th master final of the Open era. His serve to 1:0 brought through, a break chance to 2:0 in front of the chest, went from now on with the favorite last year’s winner steeply downhill. Three breaks had been made by Prüger, the audience and himself were frustrated with only 4 wins in 14 unzungenen mistakes, while Vukicevic started his 30th HTT career final and his 250th HTT single match solidly without shining, and after only 23 minutes had to book a historic set win. First of all Prüger had to give a set at the HTT-Tour-Finals.
And it got even worse: The leader of the rankings had long since acted with the crowbar, started a horrible avalanche of mistakes, and after two more service losses suddenly faced a 0:4. After 10 games won in series, Vukicevic did not feel self-confident, but uncertain when this incredible run of success would end. And that’s what he did: At first it was just a cosmetic result, with the first break cashed at 1:4 and only the second service game of the number 1 to 2:4. The game finally turned over, when the two HTT superstars had an unpleasant discussion on the center court, and in the meantime they did anti-advertising for a successful event. Once again, the Vukicevic fans in the hall were hopeful when the fourth-placed player secured the break to 5:3 and could serve on the victory of his 17th HTT career title. It remained, of course, the ultimately failed attempt, because Prüger took four games in series, and after 0:4 behind and 63 minutes played equalized to 1:1 in sets.
The third and all-deciding run then turned into a true break orgy. After Vukicevic started the decision with a successful service game, the two Tour Finals winners of the last two years gave up their service five times in a row, before Prüger could shine as a serve for the first time in the eighth game and equalize to 4:4. Vukicevic no longer had the physical ability to compete against the HTT industry’s best. It was only the will that carried Serbia’s 5-time HTT Grand Slam Champion through the game. With mistakes on the conveyor belt, the 37-year-old experienced manoeuvred himself into a defeat in the end, without the help of his opponent, which should never have happened and which turned out to be even more bitter after a look at the statistics. At 19:33 Vukicevic had made his fifty-second and last mistake, and in the passage to the net to accept his 6:1, 5:7, 4:6 defeat. A particularly bitter side-effect: Vukicevic had made one point more than the winner with 91:90.