Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jaume Munar and Marco Ceccinato have named for the Challenger tournament starting on Saturday in Tulln. The trio is also involved in the world’s best-endowed tennis tournament ($ 57.5 million in total prize money for women and men).
If one of them makes it into the second week of the tournament, he will cancel the Lower Austrian Open. “The men can already win two or three games there. It’s easy, ”said tournament director Ronnie Leitgeb, reassured.
Miedler and Rodionov intended for wild cards
Just as well as a top player could still jump out, but another could accept at short notice. ÖTV sports director Jürgen Melzer is even on site in New York to convince any top players who failed early on to compete in Tulln.
“Basically, we want to give the wild card places to local talent. That would have to be a real draft horse ”, Leitgeb wants to keep the invitations free for Tulln local hero Lukas Miedler, Marchfelder Juri Rodionov or Tyrolean Alexander Erler. The final field of participants should be on Thursday.
The center court in Tulln offers space for around 800 spectators. “When they come, then it’s cracking. We expect 300 to 400 spectators every day. That would be okay for the first year, ”says Leitgeb, setting the bar.
The long-time manager of tennis icon Thomas Muster is surrounded by a breath of the very big tennis world. Will an ATP tournament return to Lower Austria in the foreseeable future? “That is not realistic in the next few years. We want to position ourselves with a great challenger for the time being. “
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