KRAMSACH, July 17, 2018

Nerman Fatic of Bosnia and Herzegovina clinched his first title on the ITF Pro Circuit. The 23-year-old won the 18th edition of the Sparkasse ITF/ÖTV Future Circuit presented by VW Autohaus Strasser. Fatic rallied past Germany’s Johannes Haerteis in Saturday’s singles final of the $15,000 clay-court event 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.

“I will never forget this tournament here, as this has been my first title,” the No. 4 seed commented afterwards.

Heller/Haerteis win doubles title

Haerteis and compatriot Peter Heller captured the doubles title. The German tandem defeated Filip Duda from the Czech Republic and Ergi Kirkin of Turkey 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday afternoon.

Peter Heller (photo: Florian Heer)

“The tournament is located pretty close to my base,” Heller commented his decision to compete in Kramsach. He practices in Linz, Austria.

Heller made into the stage of the final four in singles here, lost to Fatic, but captured his fifth Futures title in Antalya in May, which marked his first trophy in three years.

“It’s great to have achieved some good results in recent times, as I was injured before and had to undergo two knee surgeries. I had been sidelined from the courts for more than a year. Now I am fit again and that’s the most important thing,” the 25-year-old from Cham said.

Heller has started a distance learning programme in psychology and will soon write his bachelor thesis.

“You just need to organize your time well. Then it’s possible to combine studying with the tennis.”

Organizers of the tournament announced that Kramsach will continue to host an international tennis event in 2019. It will probably part of the then new introduced ITF Transition Tour.