AUGSBURG, May 23, 2024
Daniel Masur has reached the semi-finals of the Schwaben Open. The 29-year-old emerged victorious from the all-German affair with Lucas Gerch, winning 6-3, 6-2 on a cloudy but dry Thursday morning in Bavaria.
Masur, who is making his first appearance at the Tennis Club Augsburg Siebentisch, converted five of his six break-point chances and won 58 per cent of the total points played to advance in one hour and 15 minutes.
“It’s a great tournament here. When you arrive as a player you have a really good feeling right from the start. You feel welcome. A lot of people try to give their best in order to organize a nice event,” the home favourite told the press afterwards.
“I have been feeling good right from the first match, although conditions were different each day. We had a lot of rain at the beginning of the week. Yesterday it was gusty. Today, we didn’t have any wind and also a bit of sunshine. I managed to adapt to the conditions pretty well every day,” said Masur, who lives in Tutzing only a one-hour drive from the venue. “I don’t need a hotel here. I am enjoying being at home this afternoon. That is a luxury.”
The World No. 254 is enjoying a good run of form and has already clinched three titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour this season.
“I had a good start into the season and was able to collect many ranking points. The goal is to get into the qualifying of the Grand Slam tournaments. Based on my level of play, I should be able to reach the top 200 again but you need to have a solid season and need to stay free of injuries. A week like this with three match wins does help to get into the right direction.”
Masur will be Timofey Skatov of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals. The top seed of the ATP Challenger Tour 50 clay-court tournament edged past US-American alternate Toby Kodat 7-6(4), 6-4 in one hour and 42 minutes.
Moller to face Bonadio
In the bottom half of the draw, Elmer Moller of Denmark knocked out defending champion Carlos Taberner of Spain, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The No. 8 seed, who was struggling with muscle cramps in the final set, broke his rival’s serve seven times to prevail after three hours and 18 minutes.
Drama in Augsburg 😯
After collapsing on court, Elmer Moeller manages to hold serve and eventually outlastsTaberner to reach the semifinals#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/xTfFj0crUa
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) May 23, 2024
“It was an incredibly long and intense match where both of us played at a very high level. However, I always stuck to my game plan and managed to put pressure on him with my backhand during crucial stages of the match. Now, I’m just happy about the victory and will give my best again tomorrow,” said Moller.
The 20-year-old Aarhus native will next play Riccardo Bonadio of Italy, who overcame a one-set deficit to outlast Federico Agustin Gomez from Argentina 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. The encounter lasted one hour and 28 minutes.
