At the ÖTV Championship

Feverish: Joel Schwärzler had to give up

Joel Schwärzler was struggling with symptoms of illness.(Bild: Sportmediapics.com/ Manfred Binder)

The state tennis championships in Oberpullendorf, Burgenland, did not go well for ÖTV youngster Joel Schwärzler. Visibly weakened by an infection, the Harder player had to retire in the first set.

The Harder, who entered the tournament as the fourth seed, had a bye in the first round and only "had to" take to the court yesterday in the round of 16. But he was badly beaten. The 18-year-old struggled not only with his opponent and friend Matthias Ujvary, but also with symptoms of illness.

His pulse was already too high when he hit the ball. Coughing and feverish, Schwärzler struggled through the start of the match, visibly weakened. At 2:5 in the first set, he had to end the match prematurely.

Too bad for the Ländle ace, but the decision to retire was the right one, said his coach and ÖTV Sports Director Jürgen Melzer after his protégé's retirement. "If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work. You have to make sensible decisions," Melzer regretted, "I'm an enemy of continuing to play when you're ill. Something can always happen, consequential damage that you only notice later."