For Sebastian Ofner there was no sense of success at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. The physically ailing Styrian lost 3:6, 3:6 to the Argentinian Pedro Cachin after a bad performance.
For Sebastian Ofner there was no sense of success at the Tennis Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. In his debut appearance in the main competition of the event on Thursday, the Styrian, who was in poor health, lost out in the first round against the Argentinian Pedro Cachin after an incorrect performance with 3:6,3:6. After second-round defeats in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Austria’s number one was once again eliminated right at the start.
“I’m a bit physically weak. I got an inflammation in my throat at the weekend and don’t feel 100% physically fit. Then it’s difficult to perform,” said the 27-year-old. The match was “really not at a good level”. In the next few days the focus will be on getting healthy. “I probably won’t play next week and then make sure I’m 100 percent fit again in Rome,” said Ofner. The next Masters 1000 tournament will follow in Rome from May 8th, and Ofner would have squeezed in an appearance at Challenger level in between.
Ofner, who failed in the second qualifying round last year, never really found his game against Cachin. This was characterized by a lot of slight mistakes from the baseline, especially with the backhand. One of them was also responsible for Cachin being able to use his second break point to make it 5:3. The 29-year-old then made it 6:3 with his second set point after just 37 minutes. Ofner initially missed the restart completely, but was able to make it 1-0 after fending off three break opportunities. At 3:3, the ÖTV player, who appeared to be a little under the weather, no longer held his serve.
The immediate rebreak should have succeeded with a 0:40 lead, but Cachin made it 5:3 with five points in a row and an ace. Ofner was finally broken and received another break. After 1:21 hours the game was over. It was a rare success for Cachin, as he had previously only suffered defeats in eleven matches at ATP level in 2024. The world number 91. had also won a Challenger against Ofner in Madrid in 2023. Previously, he was ranked 45th. from Styria won at the first meeting in 2018 in Sao Paulo. (APA)
Read more about these topics: