#bad waltersdorf challenger

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Bad Waltersdorf Ch F: Jaume Munar [1] def. Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-2, 6-1 Match Stats

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T. Seyboth Wild's only moment came when he landed his forehand down-the-line winner to secure his only break point back in the third game of the first set. Afterward, the match was completely in J. Munar's control, returning more deeply and aggressively, which brought the former off-balance, added by his implosion. This way, J. Munar converted 67% of his break points, creating 6 of them compared to T. Seyboth Wild's non-conversion of his sole break point.

Besides, the first seed's dominance also extended to his service games. Despite neither player's inability to score an ace, J. Munar won 79% of his first serve points, 28% more than T. Seyboth Wild, which helped him navigating even the slightest troubles. However, even though neither player double-faulted throughout the match, T. Seyboth Wild's second serves remained the most vulnerable with only winning 42% of his points, 16% lesser than J. Munar's 66%.

Not only this masterclass secured J. Munar's second Challenger title of the year after the San Marino Challenger just a few months ago (and tenth of his career), this also marked the 8th consecutive year of him winning a Challenger-level title. As a result, he confirmed his Top 100 stay as he was 62 live by the end of the tournament. What an opportunity, after all.

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The second set became a one-way traffic as J. Munar dialed in, while T. Seyboth Wild imploded, resulting in the former's further dominance throughout this set. The Spanish first seed kicked off the set with a service game hold to 1-0, and fired a backhand down-the-line winner to force the deuce even if T. Seyboth Wild held his serves to 1-1. The former then held his serves to 2-1, and scored a timely volley to set himself ahead before breaking to 3-1 due to the Brazilian's prevalent forehand errors.

By the end of the fifth game, J. Munar strengthened his position with a service game hold to 4-1. Somehow, a forehand winner steadily minimized the gap for him before forcing the deuce, ultimately doubling his break lead to 5-1, earning the chance to serve for the match. Without any further hesitation, J. Munar held to 0, baking the second-set breadstick (6-1) to secure his second Challenger-level title within this month alone.

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The first Challenger finals for the week kicked off in the Bad Waltersdorf Challenger, where first seed Jaume Munar, who turned out to save 3 match points to defeat Nicolas Moreno de Alboran 5-7, 7-6(10), 6-1 in the semifinals, faced fourth seed (trigger warning) Thiago Seyboth Wild, who stunned sixth seed Laslo Djere 6-1, 6-4 in the previous round. This became an aggression masterclass by the former for a lot of reasons, mainly due to his more balanced showing under pressure.

Initially, T. Seyboth Wild had a break point, which turned out to be his only break point throughout the match, thanks to his forehand down-the-line winner in the third game before J. Munar regained his range in time before a massive hold to 2-1. It took several games later before the fourth seed also had a fair chance from his forehand to the first seed's volley error, but J. Munar ended the game with a gigantic hold to 3-2.

In the sixth game, J. Munar's aggression intensified as his preceding volley to T. Seyboth Wild's failed volley set himself a point ahead before the latter's forehand errors caused the break of serve to 4-2. The Spanish first seed then smoothly held his serves to 5-2, and questioned the latter's balance further as the fourth seed's forehand errors not only created his set point, but also converted it for J. Munar to break for the first set 6-2, asserting his dominance as the match went deeper.

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Bad Waltersdorf Ch R1: Mika Brunold [Q] def. Federico Coria [3] 6-4, 7-6(5) Match Stats

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Fefo had his moments when he was briefly up a break in the second set, but M. Brunold was aggressive enough to outrally the Argentinean third seed from the baseline. By then, he questioned Fefo's balance starting from aiming after his backhand, where the Swiss qualifier properly utilized the open court to execute some decent shot winners in the important moments. Consequently, even if Fefo had a 40% break point conversion rate (out of his 5 break points), M. Brunold converted 3 of his 8 break points, which denoted his initiatives taken throughout the whole match as he appeared in control there.

Furthermore, M. Brunold had more stable service games throughout the match. Even though Fefo scored 3 aces, they had an equal first serve winning percentage with 67%. However, the biggest differential lied in their second serves, where M. Brunold won 60% of his second serve points than Fefo's 47%, where the latter's 5 double faults did not help anything except increasing the vulnerability of his second serves, which follow-ups can often be rushed under pressure.

In the second round, M. Brunold will face alternate Geoffrey Blancaneaux, who pulled a comeback thriller to defeat qualifier David Pichler 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-4 in the first round. Knowing both players, this could both be a challenging and chaotic encounter considering what their range has in store, but their consistency (including how they utilized their return depth and point construction) would be crucial for either of them to stand out in this match. Should be a fun match to start the day there!

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Fefo had his fair moments in the second set, but M. Brunold remained solid until the end of the set thanks to his more aggressive and anticipative gameplay. It took five consecutive holds before the Swiss qualifier's erratic service game paved the way for the Argentinean third seed to break, which happened due to M. Brunold's failed drop shot (4-2). However, M. Brunold responded through a break-back (4-3) to 0, where a backhand down-the-line winner helped him to set himself 2 points ahead at that game. M. Brunold then held his serves to 4-4 even if he survived a forehand pass from Fefo to start the said game.

Several games later, M. Brunold became more aggressive, notably firing a backhand winner 2 points after firing another forehand winner, but Fefo still held the said service game to 6-5. Ultimately, the second-set tie-break became inevitable, which kicked off with Fefo's forehand error (1-0) before M. Brunold held his serves to 2-0. The latter also held with a working volley to 4-2, but his forehand error (5-5) after Fefo's forehand pass (5-4) equalized the point. Alas, M. Brunold's unreturned serve generated his match point (6-5) before his forehand winner converted it, taking the second set 7-6(5) to secure his spot in the second round.

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The action in the Bad Waltersdorf Challenger then continued with third seed Federico Coria, who got knocked out by eventual champion Vit Kopriva in last week's Szczecin Challenger semifinals, took on 19-year-old qualifier Mika Brunold, who previously defeated Sebastian Sorger in the second qualifying round after preceded by the retirement of Daniel Masur. This turned out to be a close encounter with the more consistent player in range getting through the next round, but parts of this match became its own rollercoaster depending on how they managed their rhythm from the baseline.

M. Brunold had a solid start as he went after Fefo's backhands, one of which errors caused the early break to 1-0. The Swiss qualifier then held his serves to 2-0, with Fefo keeping in touch with a service game hold to 2-1. Several games later, Fefo took advantage of M. Brunold's forehand errors, which allowed him to break back to 3-3, but he got broken back (4-3) due to his forehand errors several points after M. Brunold's backhand down-the-line return winner 2 points into the seventh game.

Subsequently, M. Brunold held his serves to 5-3, which was followed by another hold from Fefo to 5-4. As a result, the former earned the chance to serve for the first set, but even if a cross-court forehand error after a double fault created Fefo's initial break point, it was neutralized before the former took the first set 6-4 thanks to his intuitive volley finish, putting himself one set ahead in this match.

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Bad Waltersdorf Ch F: Andrea Pellegrino def. Dennis Novak 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 Match Stats

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A. Pellegrino hung in there when Dennis dominated, but he successfully turned it around thanks to capitalizing on Dennis' erroneous follow-ups, where he could not stay in the moment after being broken over a double fault. This was the reason behind Dennis' 10 chances to break, but they were not enough to sustain the moment until A. Pellegrino had ideas (more from his forehand side from the baseline, cracking down Dennis' defenses) for his 18 break points, converting 33% of them over the course of the last two sets.

On the other hand, the momentum shift might have affected Dennis' service games in some ways. Although he fired 11 aces, his 4 double faults did not help anything except fading his second serves winning percentage 16% behind A. Pellegrino. Speaking of his first serves, Dennis ended up standing out with a 73% winning percentage, but it was not enough to counter A. Pellegrino's rallying in the last two sets. Despite appearing more clutch by saving 67% of the break points faced, Dennis' constant unforced errors under pressure afterward allowed A. Pellegrino to step in and create further chances, hence the turnaround and reverse card.

This comeback victory secured A. Pellegrino's first Challenger title of the season, his first since the middle of last year and the third in general, putting him back on track by ranking 190 live after the title. On the other hand, this reverse card might have made Dennis stayed 4 lines away behind A. Pellegrino, expanding the race to the Australian Open (2024) qualification rounds a little bit tighter with the indoor hard-court season in sight (Orleans Challenger for him next week).

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The third set turned out to be a different rollercoaster once A. Pellegrino had an erroneous start, which resulted in Dennis breaking early and consolidated to 2-0. This turned out to be insufficient once A. Pellegrino broke back and consolidated to 2-2, before an important break point came thanks to his forehand, converted at the cost of Dennis' unforced error to 3-2.

All those only to be broken back before another error spree allowed A. Pellegrino to break back again before an important consolidation to 5-3. Subsequently, Dennis was supposed to serve to stay in the match; however, 4 points in, A. Pellegrino started to have ideas, having a swift forehand return to secure his match point before its immediate conversion at the expense of Dennis' forehand error while trying to respond to a forehand-to-forehand exchange with A. Pellegrino, taking the third set 6-3 as well as completing the reverse card.

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Dennis had his moments in the second set, but A. Pellegrino successfully found the loophole that started his reverse card to Dennis' earlier comeback (and dominance). All of these started from the beginning of the second set, where Dennis broke early (1-0) at the cost of A. Pellegrino's forehand errors. Somehow, Dennis doubled the break at the expense of A. Pellegrino's volley error in response to the former's previous forehand before he held to 4-0.

A. Pellegrino then hung in there to hold his service game 4-1, but Dennis' double fault after another unforced error resulted in the Italian's break of serve (4-2) before another hold to 4-3. It turned out the moment started to shift at the expense of the said double fault, with A. Pellegrino started to fire away forehands to crack down Dennis' defenses, hence he broke back again to 4-4 before he successfully held to 5-4. They ended up closing the set with a tie-breaker, where the momentum question occurred.

In the second set tie-breaker, Dennis' inside-out forehand for the mini-break (1-0) almost convinced everything went in his favor again until A. Pellegrino's cross-court forehand started to equalize the moment again to 3-4 before a service game hold to 4-4. Dennis had his moments again through his forehand to 5-4, only for it to be foiled again at the cost of his error to 5-5. Somehow, A. Pellegrino's backhand let cord moment set up his set point on return (6-5), followed up with his unreturned serve to take the second set 7-6(5), asking the most important momentum question to force the decider.

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After Dennis Novak completed the comeback by defeating Vit Kopriva 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-3 after the darkness delayed the commencement of the third set, Dennis came back in action an hour later when Andrea Pellegrino, who defeated fourth seed Albert Ramos Vinolas 6-2, 6-3, already awaited. Knowing both players' games, while this could be a rollercoaster in flow, the depth and balance could be the most tested aspects to date.

After three games, where both players survived their chances and held their service games after, A. Pellegrino started his service game with a touch (of a volley) in hopes to hold his service game, only for Dennis to pull the drop shot to secure the deuce before he eventually broke to 3-1 at the cost of A. Pellegrino's forehand errors, which were taken too wide (or too low) in the process. Dennis then consolidated his serve to 4-1.

Somehow, Dennis kept outplaying A. Pellegrino from the net due to the latter's frequent follow-up errors. Another volley secured his 2-point lead before he doubled the break to 5-1, earning him the chance to serve for the first set breadstick. A. Pellegrino then started to step up, where he had 2 break points, but Dennis saved one of those thanks to his working volley (it turned out) to bring the set level again before his unreturned serve secured the first set in his hands to 6-1.

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Bad Waltersdorf Ch R2: Albert Ramos Vinolas [4] def. Petr Nouza [Q] 6-2, 6-3 Match Stats

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Judging from how both players played, it was a statement win from A. Ramos Vinolas. This was reflected through his flow domination, neutralizing P. Nouza's service games one at a time through the rallies, outhitting him when he had the chance. Through the former's returns, he won 7% more points on his first serve returns while standing out from his second at 50%, added by his intuitive passed right at the important moments that contributed toward his 50% break point conversion rate out of his 6 chances.

On the other hand, A. Ramos Vinolas might have had a nervy start when he faced the only break point from P. Nouza out of the latter's smash. However, A. Ramos Vinolas stayed firm to his rhythm, winning 74% of his points from his first serves while landing 60% of them. Somehow, P. Nouza's second serves occasionally let him down with only having a 50% winning percentage, 26% lower than A. Ramos Vinolas even though both players double-faulted twice, which raised the rally tolerance question. This also concluded A. Ramos Vinolas' service game consistency for this match, eventually winning at least 74% of his points from both, just standing out 2% from his second serves more than his first.

Filip Misolic awaits in the quarterfinals as he advanced at the cost of Fabio Fognini's retirement when he was down 3-6, 0-1 at the start of the second set. Knowing both players at their peaks, this could be interesting to see how one's offensive side would fare against each other. Could be a close one too, on their peaks!

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The second set almost went to be a one-way traffic, but A. Ramos Vinolas came in a clutch to save the moments from P. Nouza, and eventually finishing the match in a straightforward manner. Just like the first set, right after P. Nouza saving a lot of break points to at least hold his service game, the turning point came from the fourth game in the second set, where A. Ramos Vinolas had a backhand down-the-line winner to secure his break point before its conversion at the expense of P. Nouza’s backhand error (3-1). Without any further ado, A. Vinolas had a solid service game to consolidate 4-1, unrolling a statement that he still got it, to some extent.

P. Nouza still managed to hold 2 additional service games toward the end of the match before A. Ramos Vinolas had the opportunity to serve for the match at 5-3. However, after a solid service game, he had 2 of his match points foiled, one of which was at the expense of his own forehand error, which went too wide. Eventually, A. Ramos Vinolas was able to serve it out, taking the second set 6-3 to ensure his qualification to the quarterfinals.

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Qualifier Petr Nouza, who frequently played doubles (mostly played with Andrew Paulson) started to grab attention when he defeated Maks Kasnikowski twice, including in the second qualifying round here in Bad Waltersdorf, and already made waves in singles by reaching the second round of the Chennai Challenger (l. Max Purcell), first round of the Oeiras 3 Challenger (l. Sebastian Ofner), and Szczecin Challenger (l. Flavio Cobolli), mostly as a qualifier. After defeating Franco Agamenone 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3 in the first round, an interesting test would develop as he faced fourth seed and former World No. 17 Albert Ramos Vinolas, who previously defeated wild card and a potential Joel J. Schwärzler 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the first round. While P. Nouza notably had a reliable service game, his game beyond serve would be a major test to deal with someone like A. Ramos Vinolas, who had his own depths in place.

P. Nouza initially had a break point to start the first set thanks to his working smash, but A. Ramos Vinolas quickly neutralized it to set up an important hold to 1-0. Just three games in, P. Nouza almost opened the gate again with a working backhand winner, but A. Ramos Vinolas stayed true to his moments by holding the said service game to 2-1. It was not until the fourth game that the Spaniard tried to be more offensive with his forehand passes, which created his initial break point right before the deuce. However, A. Ramos Vinolas had other ideas, volleying his way to create his second break point before another forehand pass resulted in the break of serve to 3-1. He then consolidated his service game to 4-1.

It did not take long until A. Ramos Vinolas saw another opportunity, pressing P. Nouza even further from the baseline. A swift forehand return resulted in the set point creation for the fourth seed before its conversion at the expense of P. Nouza's backhand error, which went too wide. As a result, A. Ramos Vinolas took the first set 6-2, which was equal to a statement that to some extent, he still has the game and got the job done, for that time being.

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Bad Waltersdorf Ch R1: Fabio Fognini [WC] def. Benoit Paire [7] 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 Match Stats

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Chaos might be an overstatement to explain the Fognini-Paire classic. Most of which stemmed from their service games, where Paire turned out to be in control in some parts of it. Scoring 4 more aces than Fognini, Paire landed only 39% of his first serves in contrast to Fognini's 76% even if he won 6% more points from there. On the other hand, Fognini's second serves were rather problematic, with only a 35% winning percentage to Paire's 40%, but Fognini appeared more clutch by saving 8% more break points than Paire.

On the other hand, Paire also won 6% more points from the first serve return points, as well as 5% more points from the second serve return points compared to Fognini. However, it all came down to Paire's constant unforced errors, stemming from his shot rushes under pressure, which did not help anything except causing demolition in both the first and third sets, implying both sets were taken unseriously once he went a break down. As a result, Fognini stayed true to his game, having 12 opportunities to break instead and converting 58% of them compared to Paire's 50% conversion rate out of only 6 break points, which mostly came from the first two sets.

In the second round, Fognini will face the winner between qualifier Timo Stodder and Filip Misolic, whose match is ongoing as this was written. Knowing Stodder, who is back on track after several setbacks, and Misolic, this could be an interesting test to see where Fognini's form is at. Could be a fun, but tough encounter for sure!

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Compared to the first and the second set, the third set turned out to be even more chaotic. While Paire's double fault started the first part of the breaking games, Fognini became more intuitive by bringing Paire to the net, eventually smashing his way after a net exchange to set himself a point ahead. Another strings of errors toppled by a double fault did not help except Fognini broke back again to 2-1, strengthening his hold to 3-1 by the conclusion of the first four games.

Paire's game eventually fall apart with another set of errors to his note. One of those was a volley error in response to Fognini's preceding volley, where it caused Fognini's latest break point before another double fault converted it to 4-1. Subsequently holding his service game to 5-1, Paire's subsequent errors led to Fognini having a match point instead, converting it after a circus featuring Fognini's volley in response to Paire's tweener to take the third set 6-1, eventually winning the match to secure his spot in the second round.

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Paire started to wake up and take the match seriously once he landed a swift backhand return winner to create his break point after he tried to seek for Fognini's rather erratic finishes (hence his outhitting attempt) from his second serves, where he eventually broke to 4-2. Surviving a possible break-back, Paire saved the said break point and had a working volley touch to set his game point, holding his service game 5-2 afterward.

Twists and turns occurred toward the end of the second set, where Paire's ability to close the set became the biggest question. Fognini took advantage of an erratic service game to smash it in response to Paire's half-volley that went up, eventually created a break point several points later before the break at the expense of Paire's 2 consecutive double faults (5-4). The inability to serve for the second set was not a problem for Paire, who ended up taking the second set 6-4 after getting Fognini off balance, breaking to 0 at the cost of Fognini's forehand error, which went too wide in execution, and forced a decider as a result.