Tennis Challenger

Neumayer conqueror reaches the final in Salzburg

Kyrian Jacquet advanced to the final.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

The final is set: Alexander Ritschard from Switzerland and Kyrian Jacquet from France will battle it out for the title at the Salzburg Open. Two Frenchmen won the doubles.

The organizers of the Sparkasse Salzburg Open promised top-level tennis. Although local hero Lukas Neumayer had to retire in the fourth final, the spectators in the Volksgarten got their money's worth. The very man who defeated the Radstädter is now in the final. Kyrian Jacquet (ranked 195th in the world) defeated the number three seeded Brazilian Thiago Monteiro (ATP rank 85) in the semi-finals. Monteiro was considered the favorite, but was unable to find a way against the tireless Frenchman and ultimately lost 3:6 and 4:6. The second semi-final between Alexander Ritschard (ATP rank 148) and Ignacio Buse (world number 271) went to three sets. In the end, the Swiss Ritschard prevailed by a wafer-thin margin with 5:7, 6:2 and 7:6 (7:2).

"I was very focused. A lot of things worked well today, so I'm very happy about the win," said the winner, who beat a player from the top 100 for the first time this year, after the match. "Today my performance was much better than yesterday, I felt really good." The grand final between Alexander Ritschard and Kyrian Jacquet will take place on Sunday at 12 noon.

The doubles final already took place on Saturday. France also celebrated there. Gregoire Jacq and Manuel Guinard beat the Czech duo Patrik Rikl/Petr Nouza 2:6, 6:3, 14:12.