Tennis
Sebastian Ofner suffered a defeat in his fifth Challenger final this year. The Styrian lost 4:6 4:6 to Australian Jason Kubler in the final of the 145,000 euro grass field tournament in Ilkley, UK, on Saturday after 80 minutes. Although traditionally only reserved for the tournament winner, Ofner was surprisingly happy about a wild card for Wimbledon in the evening.
24.06.2023 16.28
Online since yesterday, 4:28 p.m. (Update: yesterday, 9:50 p.m.)
Since Kubler is in the main draw at Wimbledon due to his ranking, the wildcard for the major tournament, which was actually reserved for the tournament winner, went to Ofner. “Two, three hours after the final I found out that I was going to get the wild card, which is unbelievable. I didn’t really expect it. I was really happy, everything is a bit more relaxed now,” said Ofner with regard to the qualification mill that has now failed for him.
For the 27-year-old French Open round of 16, who was by far the best year on the tour, the defeat due to the fixed place in the main draw at Wimbledon didn’t taste so bitter after all. Although he lost his fifth Challenger final this year alone after Tenerife, Antalya, Zadar and Prague, he saved himself the qualification at the third Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Ofner loses Challenger finals
Sebastian Ofner lost to Australian Jason Kubler 4:6 4:6 after 80 minutes in the final of the 145,000 euro grass field tournament in Ilkley, UK, on Saturday.
Purely from the performances in the past few weeks, Ofner would have more than earned this place even without a wildcard. But the world ranking cut for the direct place in the main competition was before his run at the French Open in Paris. It was therefore not taken into account that Austria’s current number one will appear in the top 70 in the world rankings for the first time from Monday. Ofner takes 75 ATP points and 11,570 euros in prize money from Ilkley.
Two breaks decide the match
In the duel between number three (Ofner) and number four (Kubler), the first set was decided by a break, giving the Australian a 4-3 lead. Ofner was able to fend off three set balls with a 3:5 deficit and his own serve, but Kubler got the through with his own service. In the second set, the world number 97 succeeded. then the early break for a 2-1 lead. Ofner was no longer able to make up for this deficit.
Even before the final, Ofner was confident in the event of a defeat: “I’m in a really good mood – if I should play qualification, that wouldn’t be a problem at all.” The 27-year-old from Styria doesn’t have to take this detour despite losing the final walk more. He still has to wait for his fourth Challenger title after Astana (2018), Puerto Vallarta (2019) and Prague (2022).