At the sand court tournament in Sweden, which is endowed with 630,705 euros, a possible ÖTV duel for the final has also burst, as Ruud and Musetti face each other in the semi-finals on Saturday in Bastad. Nevertheless, the two Styrians will continue to improve in the ATP world rankings. Ofner, as 58th Austria’s number one, will scratch the top 50 for the first time, Misolic will push back into the top 130.
For the ÖTV duo, the improvement in the ATP ranking is further confirmation of the recent upward trend. In Bastad, too, they kept up with their opponents, who were rated higher, at least according to paper form, at times in the quarterfinals. Ofner had to fight hard for every point against top star Ruud on his own serve, but at times he put the Norwegian under a lot of pressure when serving.
Like Ofner, Ruud was confronted with four breakballs in the first set. While the Norwegian was able to fend off everyone, the Austrian gave up his service to give the Norwegian a decisive 4:2 lead, who served to win the set after 47 minutes. In the second round, an early break to make it 2-1 was enough for the three-time major finalist Ruud to secure the second set after almost 1:30 hours and thus win the match. For Ofner, a series of the last seven match wins en suite came to an end.
For the 27-year-old from Styria, his 50th victory at all levels this year was nothing. A victory that would have put him in the top 50 for the first time and given him his second tour semi-final since Kitzbühel 2017. The six-time finalist this year at Challenger level (most recently the title in Salzburg) will appear on Monday around place 51.
Ofner presents in a duel with Musetti
Misolic was also in strong form again and only had to admit defeat to Musetti after 2:04 hours 6:4 1:6 2:6. The 21-year-old, who had secured a place in the main draw through qualification, also managed the first break of the game to make it 3-2. When it came to serving in the first set, the Styrian still had difficulties at 5: 4. After defending against two breakballs, he secured the surprising 1-0 set lead with the second set ball after 57 minutes.
It was like a wake-up call for Musetti. With breaks to 3: 1 and 5: 1 and a real increase, the 21-year-old Italian quickly equalized the set. The 16th in the world rankings, who also has Novak Djokovic (round of 16 Monte-Carlo) on the hit list this year, also started with a break in the third round and finally set the course for victory with another 4-1. At 2:5, Misolic still had two chances for a rebreak, but Musetti then used the second match point.
“It was really tough, he played really solidly,” Musetti said afterwards on the pitch. “He was really good on the important points in the first set. After that I was able to increase my level and I’m happy to be in the semifinals.” Last year’s Kitzbühel finalist Misolic showed again, despite the still clear result, that he can be counted on in the future. In terms of form, he is well prepared for his return to Tyrol. After all, he received 17,010 euros in prize money for his success in Sweden.
ATP 250 tournament in Bastad
(Sweden, 630,705 euros, sand)
Quarter-final tableau: Casper Ruud (NOR/1)
Sebastian Ofner (AUT) 6:3 6:4 Lorenzo Musetti (ITA/3)
Filip Misolic (AUT) 4:6 6:1 6:2 Francisco Cerundolo (ARG/4) Federico Coria (ARG) -:- -:- Andrey Rublev (RUS/2) Alexander Zverev (GER/5) -:- -:- Round of 16 tableau: Casper Ruud (NOR/1) Alexander Shevchenko (RUS) 6:2 6:4
Sebastian Ofner (AUT) Bernabe Zapata Miralles (ESP) 4:6 6:4 6:4 Lorenzo Musetti (ITA/3) Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) 6:3 4:6 7:6 (8/6)
Filip Misolic (AUT) Jozef Kovalik (SVK) 4:6 7:6 (8/6) 6:4 Federico Coria (ARG) Leo Borg (SWE) 6:4 6:2 Francisco Cerundolo (ARG/4) Luca van Assche (FRA) 6:2 6:3 Alexander Zverev (GER/5) Thiago Monteiro (BRA) 6:1 6:0 Andrej Rublew (RUS/2) Pawel Kotow (RUS) 6:3 7:6 (7/4) ) Doppel, Half-final: Francisco Cabral / Rafael Matos (POR/BRA)
Alexander Erler / Lucas Miedler (AUT/3) 6-2 6-3 Quarterfinals:
Alexander Erler / Lucas Miedler (AUT/3) Sander Arends / David Pel (NED) 6:7 (3/7) 6:4 10/6 Round of 16:
Alexander Erler / Lucas Miedler (AUT/3) Ariel Behar / Orlando Luz (URU/BRA) 7:6 (7/4) 7:6 (7/3)