Bitter defeat

ÖTV ace fails to take his chances and is eliminated

Joel Schwärzler reached the quarter-finals of the Challenger in Drummondville.(Bild: GEPA)

Nothing came of Joel Schwärzler's second appearance in the semi-finals of an ATP Challenger. At the tournament in Drummondville, Canada, the 18-year-old from Vorarlberg was beaten 3:6, 4:6 by the American Aidan Mayo in the quarter-finals. A particularly bitter defeat...

After 71 minutes of play, it was clear that Joel Schwärzler would have to wait for his second Challenger semi-final. The Harder player would have had his chances against the 21-year-old American Aidan Mayo - currently ranked 437th in the world, 90 positions behind Schwärzler - in the Canadian province of Quebec. 

In the first set, Schwärzler was already 40:0 ahead in his first service game, but then conceded five points in a row and fell 2:0 behind early on - which the young Vorarlberg player chased after in vain. After just 28 minutes, Mayo served out to win the set 6:3.

Five break points missed
It was also the American who made the break in the seventh game of the second set. Unlike in the first set, when Schwärzler didn't have a single chance to break, Joel fought back this time and took a 40:0 lead in the very next game. However, he was unable to break back and missed a fourth break point before Mayo was able to make it 5:3. 
At 4:5, Schwärzler had another chance to level the score - but this opportunity also went unused. In the end, Mayo - who ultimately had two break points, which he took coldly - converted his third match point to win 6:3, 6:4.

New world ranking high 
Despite his elimination, Schwärzler will continue to improve in the world rankings. With the 16 points he received in Drummondville for reaching the quarter-finals, he should make the leap into the top 330 players in the world for the first time in the new world rankings.