Mallorca was worth a nice trip. Even if there was no happy ending: Only in his very first final on the ATP Tour was the success of Sebastian Ofner stopped.
The Styrian lost to a strong Chilean Alexander Tabilo but fairly clearly with 3:6 and 4:6. While Austria’s number one was wide awake in the decisive phases in the previous matches, this time his opponent made the so-called big points. Ofner left all three break chances unused. The 28-year-old can still console himself: he is back in the top 50 after this week.
This means that we still have to wait for the tenth Austrian tournament winner after Thomas Muster (44 titles), Dominic Thiem (17), Jürgen Melzer (5), Horst Skoff (4), Stefan Koubek, Peter Feigl (3 each), Gilbert Schaller, Alex Antonitsch and Hans Kary (one title each). It would also have been the 80th tournament victory for Austrian tennis.
No disappointment
Ofner need not be disappointed. Tabilo is not a proven grass court specialist – Chileans are rarely that – but he is one of the rising stars of the season. The 27-year-old won his first ATP tournament in Auckland this year and played his way into the top 20 of the world rankings in Santa Ponsa. And – as one of the few players – he has a positive record against superstar Novak Djokovic. However, there has only been one duel, which Tabilo won a few weeks ago at the clay court classic in Rome.
The top stars were more likely to be seen in the stands at the ATP 250 tournament. Pop singer Dieter Bohlen was a guest, football world champion Mario Götze also showed interest in the small ball. And so did Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp, who made an appearance at the final on Saturday and had Austrian tournament boss Edwin Weindorfer explain to him what Ofner has already won.
Reunion with Tabilo
Ofner will soon face Señor Tabilo again. The Styrian will also be competing in the doubles alongside Sam Weissborn from Vienna. And lo and behold, Tabilo will be up against Ecuadorian Diego Hidalgo again. Both will have to rely on their partners, who are doubles specialists by profession. This also applies to Tyrolean Alexander Erler and Lower Austrian Lucas Miedler, who together form Austria’s Davis Cup doubles team. The duo will face the British-New Zealand number 9 duo Neal Skupski/Michael Venus in the opening match.
Before that, Ofner will face Australian Aleksandar Vukic on Monday (3rd match after 12:00 CEST).