T20: Bordeaux, Busan, Heilbronn, Lisbona, Samarkand 2018

[Damian]

Busan - 1/2 finału:

[1] Matthew Ebden (AUS) d. Filip Peliwo (CAN) 6-3 6-1
[3] Vasek Pospisil (CAN) d. [Q] Yosuke Watanuki (JPN) 6-3 3-6 6-4

[Damian]

Lisbona - 1/2 finału:

Christian Garin (CHI) d. [4] Pedro Sousa (POR) 5-7 7-5 6-4
Tommy Robredo (ESP) d. [6] Sebastian Ofner (AUT) 3-6 6-4 6-1

[DUN I LOVE]

Molleker w finale.

[Damian]

Bordeaux - 1/2 finału:

[WC] Gregoire Barrere (FRA) d. Guido Andreozzi (ARG) 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-2
Reilly Opelka (USA) d. Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 6-3 7-6(7)

[Damian]

Heilbronn - 1/2 finału:

[WC] Rudolf Molleker (GER) d. Juan Ignacio Londero (ARG) 4-6 6-3 6-2
[2] Jiri Vesely (CZE) d. Kamil Majchrzak (POL) 7-5 6-2

[Damian]

Samarkand - finał:

Luca Vanni (ITA) d. Mario Vilella Martinez (ESP) 6-4 6-4

[Damian]

Busan - finał:

[1] Matthew Ebden (AUS) d. [3] Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 7-6(4) 6-1

[Damian]

Lisbona - finał:

Tommy Robredo (ESP) d. Christian Garin (CHI) 3-6 6-3 6-2

[DUN I LOVE]

Walczy Molleker, ale cały czas Vesely z przodu.

[Rroggerr]

Granie z zawodnikiem regularnie serwującym 210-220 kmh to chyba (zbyt) duży przeskok dla Niemca.

[Lucas]

At 17, Molleker Making Most Of Opportunity In Heilbronn

Spoiler:

Prior to this week, 17-year-old Rudolf Molleker had never won a match on the ATP Challenger Tour.

But now, the German youngster, appearing in just his third main draw at the Challenger level, has become the youngest finalist of 2018. At 17 years, seven months, he is the talk of the tournament in Heilbronn.

Expected to rise almost 100 places into the Top 400 of the ATP Rankings on Monday, Molleker defeated back-to-back seeded opponents to reach the semi-finals at the Heilbronner Neckarcup, where he overcame Argentina's Juan Ignacio Londero from a set down on Saturday. The German upset fourth-seeded countryman Yannick Hanfmann and seventh seed Alexey Vatutin, also in three sets, to make headlines at the ATP Challenger Tour’s 2017 Tournament of the Year.

“This is not expected,” admitted Molleker. “But I think that at the moment I'm playing very good tennis. I have now achieved three great wins and you can't say I was lucky. I know I can beat the top players. We've seen that. I just need to be more consistent.”

Inspired by World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, who won the title in Heilbronn in 2015, Molleker looks to follow in the footsteps of his surging countryman.

“Sascha is an absolutely exceptional player,” said Molleker. “Of course I hope that my career will be similar, but until then I still have a very long way to go.”

It is not just current German stars motivating the 17-year-old as he breaks through at the Challenger level. The Ukraine-born budding star also received advice from former World No. 1 Boris Becker during a recent German Tennis Federation seminar.

“We talked about the mental part of my tennis,” shared Molleker. “I know that I can have a good technique and strong game, but sometimes it just does not hit me mentally. Boris [Becker] has given me some tips on how to improve myself in this area. That's the part that I pay special attention to in the game.”


Despite the parallels to Zverev in Heilbronn and the attention from Becker, Molleker does not feel a sense of pressure as Germany’s latest #NextGenATP hope. The 6’1” right-hander displays maturity beyond his years, focusing instead on how the added attention can be a benefit to his career ambitions.

“I do not see that as pressure, but as possibility,” said Molleker. “Without this, I would not have received a wild card for the Neckarcup. I think I have justified the confidence placed in me by winning and I am glad that the tournament continues for me.”

The #NextGenATP German, who reached his first ATP World Tour main draw at the 2017 German Tennis Championships in Hamburg, plans to spend the majority of this season playing more Challenger events; a tier of the sport that Molleker possesses an added level of appreciation for.

“Together with my coach, we've decided that this year I will be mainly playing Challenger tournaments to earn points for the ATP Rankings. I am thankful to be given a wild card here in Heilbronn this week. My next highlight will be Roland Garros juniors in Paris. But I like it better in Challengers. Here, players do better to create points and there seems to be more of a system behind it. You know why you play each ball and where you hit it. I feel that is easier for me.”



Molleker will face World No. 81 Jiri Vesely in Sunday's championship clash. The teen is hoping his first Top 100 win will also bring a maiden title.

"This is a confirmation for me that I'm heading in the right direction. It pays off to work hard. I'm in a Challenger final. Not everyone can say that at my age. I will enjoy this."

FAST FACTS

At 17 years and 6 months, Molleker is the youngest Challenger finalist this year. He is looking to become the first teenage winner this year as well.
Molleker is the third player born in the year 2000 to reach a Challenger final, joining Felix Auger-Aliassime (Lyon & Sevilla 2017) and Nicola Kuhn (Braunschweig 2017).
Last year, players aged 17 and under were undefeated (5-0) in Challenger finals. In addition to Auger-Aliassime and Kuhn, Wu Yibing won in Shanghai and Denis Shapovalov won in Drummondville, Canada.
Molleker is the second German teenager to reach a Challenger final this year, joining Daniel Altmaier who finished runner-up in Burnie, Australia.
Molleker is bidding to become the youngest German to win a Challenger title since Alexander Zverev in Braunschweig 2014. Sascha was 17 years, 2 months old.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/mol ... 18-feature

[Rroggerr]

Będzie świetnym graczem Molleker.

[DUN I LOVE]

Sugerujesz, że prywatny temat w zawodnikach może być trafioną inwestycją?

[Rroggerr]

Szybciej chalka z NG wygrywali chyba tylko FAA, Zverev i Kuhn.

[Damian]

Bordeaux - finał:

Reilly Opelka (USA) d. [WC] Gregoire Barrere (FRA) 6-7(5) 6-4 7-5

[Damian]

Heilbronn - finał:

[WC] Rudolf Molleker (GER) d. [2] Jiri Vesely (CZE) 4-6 6-4 7-5

[Barty]

Helibronn Harbours High Hopes As Tournament of the Year

Spoiler:

The Heilbronner Neckarcup celebrates the prestigious honour in just its fourth year on the ATP Challenger Tour
Editor's Note: This story was originally posted in 2017. The clay-court event has since won Tournament of the Year on the ATP Challenger Tour with Braunschweig and Vancouver.

A 45 minute drive north of Stuttgart into the sprawling German countryside will lead you to the TC Heilbronn am Trappensee, a tennis club founded in 1892. Over a century has passed but the 600-member club is steeped in tradition in the tranquil rural surroundings.

This week, the site hosts the €85,000 ATP Challenger Tour event called the Neckarcup, which in 2017 is celebrating a fourth edition. It is not only the scenery that makes the Neckarcup such a special event. The tournament is determined to keep evolving and boasts an indoor tennis centre as well as floodlit courts to enable the introduction of night matches.

Casper Ruud, into the quarter-finals so far this week, hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow #NextGenATP player Alexander Zverev, champion here in 2015, and he’s been highly impressed by the tournament’s complex. "The tournament is really nice, with a great organisation,” said Ruud. “It's not the biggest city here (Helibronn), but that's not a bad thing as the club is great and you can focus more on the tournament. I think German clubs are in general very good and they always have good courts and decent food at the site. The weather has been great here too, so not much to complain about.”

Tournament Director Metehan Cebeci is proud of what has been achieved thus far in four years, but he is hungry to see the Neckarcup evolve and grow. Here are Cebeci’s thoughts on the development of his tournament and the ATP Challenger Tour as a whole...

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What has changed since the opening of the Neckarcup in 2014 and how has the tournament evolved?
I am very happy with the development of my tournament. Of course, it has been a lot of work, but the Neckarcup did not come about from a night of work. I have had time to plan the tournament. I have benefited from my experience in ITF youth tournaments. From the beginning, it was my ambition to give the professionals the greatest possible comfort. Secondly, I have looked at the interests of the ATP, the spectators in the stands, and finally, my requirements as Tournament Director. For example, new to this year, we will play night sessions for the first time thanks to a floodlight system.

How did you manage to organise a Challenger in Heilbronn?
As a former player and later a school tennis coach, it has always been my goal to create a tournament of this magnitude. It was important for me to find a suitable date for this. Since Germany is predominantly a clay place, I definitely wanted to organise an event on the dirt, ideally before the French Open. Fortunately, that worked.

What are your thoughts on the growth of Challenger events in Germany?
The attention has grown, but it could be even better. Of course, it is also down to the tournament organisers, as they promote their tournament. For the ATP, the importance of the Challenger Tour has increased. This means that the gap between the Challengers and the ATP World Tour is not as big as it was before. There are great players here who can compete with the best.

What are your goals for this event?
We want to continue to grow. I would like to expand the Challenger category and expand the Neckarcup to an €85,000 or €100,000 event. We need financial support in the long term. Until now I am doing everything I can and I really want this tournament to succeed, no matter how much effort and stress. The smile of the players and the joy I see at the end of the day compensates me for everything.

Are there other tournaments that you have learned from?
The tournament directors of the ATP Challenger Tour events in Germany have a strong exchange amongst ourselves. We visit our events and meet at least once a year. I also look at how others raise their tournaments.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/hel ... er-feature