Out against the Argentinian

Sebastian Ofner against Pedro Cachin from 11 a.m. LIVE

Sebastian Ofner(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Sebastian Ofner did not have a successful experience at the Tennis Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. The Styrian appeared physically weakened and lost his first appearance in the main event on Thursday in the first round against Argentinian Pedro Cachin 3:6, 3:6 after a faulty performance and a playing time of 1:21 hours. After second round defeats recently in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Austria's number one was once again knocked out right at the start. 

"I'm a bit physically unwell. I got an infection in my throat at the weekend and I don't feel one hundred percent physically fit. Then it's difficult to perform at your best," said the 27-year-old. The match was "really not at a good level". Over the next few days, the focus will now be on getting healthy. "I probably won't play next week and then make sure I'm one hundred percent fit again in Rome," said Ofner. The next Masters 1000 tournament will follow in Rome from May 8th, Ofner would have slipped in an appearance at Challenger level in between.

Pedro Cachin(Bild: 2024 Getty Images)

Ofner, who failed in the 2nd qualifying round last year, never really found his game against Cachin. A lot of easy mistakes from the baseline, especially with the backhand, characterized his game. One of these was also responsible for Cachin being able to convert his second break point to make it 5:3. The 29-year-old then made it 6:3 with his second set point after just 37 minutes. Ofner initially missed the restart completely, but was still able to take a 1:0 lead after fending off three break opportunities. At 3:3, the ÖTV player, who looked a little battered, could no longer hold his serve.

First win of the year
The immediate re-break should have been possible with a 0:40 lead, but Cachin made it 5:3 with five points in a row and an ace. Ofner was finally broken and conceded another break. The match was over after 1:21 hours. It was a rare success for Cachin, as he had previously only lost eleven matches at ATP level in 2024. The world no. 91 had also won against Ofner in a Challenger in Madrid in 2023. Prior to that, the 45th-ranked player from Styria had won their first meeting in Sao Paulo in 2018.