Kitzbühel draw

Argentinian challenges Thiem, Ofner against Neumayer

Dominic Thiem will face Argentinian Thiago Augustin Tirante in his last Kitz appearance.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Dominic Thiem will face Argentinian Thiago Agustin Tirante in the first round of the Generali Open in his last appearance in Kitzbühel. Sebastian Ofner was drawn to play Lukas Neumayer in the first round on Saturday. 

Joel Schwärzler will face Thiago Seyboth Wild from Brazil for his debut on the ATP tennis tour.

Thiem, who is retiring at the end of the season, will face Tirante on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Argentinian defeated Andrei Rublev, among others, in Bastad this week. Should Thiem prevail against Tirante, the top seed Sebastian Baez would be waiting in the round of 16. He was defeated by the Argentinian in the final in Kitzbühel last year. Baez, who is ranked 19th in the world, has a bye in the first round of the Tyrolean clay court event.

Sebastian Ofner(Bild: AFP)

Neumayer to replace Ruud
Ofner will be challenged by Neumayer, who has slipped into the main draw following the withdrawal of top man Casper Ruud. Last year, the Styrian and the player from Salzburg faced each other in the final of the Challenger tournament in Salzburg, with Ofner winning in two sets.

Joel Schwärzler(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Youngster Schwärzler meets the world number 72 Seyboth Wild. "If I do my things right, I definitely have a good chance of progressing," said Schwärzler.

Kopp in second qualifying round, Erler eliminated
Sandro Kopp could be the fifth Austrian to make it through. The 24-year-old defeated the top seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 2:6, 6:4, 6:4 in the first round of qualifying and will play Argentina's Andrea Collarini on Sunday for a place in the main competition. Alexander Erler, on the other hand, was beaten 4:6,1:6 by fourth seed Hamad Medjedovic from Serbia.