Sebastian Ofner is eliminated after a long fight in the round of 16 of the ATP 250 clay court tournament in Marrakech. The Austrian lost to Aleksandar Vukic (AUS/ATP-67th) in three sets 6:7 (11), 6:2, 6:7 (7).
The game starts well, both players win their service games, but then the Styrian gives up and suddenly it’s 2:5 from the Austrian’s point of view. Ofner catches himself, can equalize to 5:5, and finally it goes to the tiebreak.
This is a hard-fought match, but Vukic ultimately wins it 13:11. The Austrian, seeded number two, doesn’t let that go: In the second set he promptly made it 3-0 and forced a decisive third set with a clear 6-2 set win.
Hard-fought decision
Things get hot in the final section, the first three service games bring both players home confidently.
In the fourth and fifth, however, both have to fight – first Ofner narrowly misses the break, then the Australian also challenges his opponent in his fifth service game and actually takes the serve from the Austrian – 4:5 from Ofner’s point of view.
With his back against the wall, the 27-year-old Styrian manages the rebreak, and it remains extremely exciting. In the final phase of the game, the serve doesn’t seem to be an advantage, because immediately afterwards Vukic almost manages to break again, but Ofner catches up with 0:40 and makes it 6:5.
Vukic also gets through his serve and it goes to the tiebreak for the second time. As in the first set, nothing is given away here, with the score at 2:2 the Australian manages the mini break. At 2:5, Ofner scores his two points on his own serve, making it 4:5.
Vukic makes a mistake and misses his second match point, but Ofner is able to get his first (7:6). But the Styrian also misses, but Vukic has match point three.
This means that Austria’s number one is eliminated early, and Ofner will be competing at the Masters in Monte Carlo next week.
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