The dream of reaching the main field is over for one of the two Germans in the qualifying round at the 29. TERRA WORTMANN OPEN. The experienced player Peter Gojowczyk was defeated by Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands. At 2:6, 3:6 the former Davis-Cup-player didn’t have much to answer. The key moment of the match was in the first game of the second set, when Gojowczyk suddenly had two break points – the chance to turn the match. But the player from the Netherlands repelled the break points, gained the lead 1:0 and also got a break. This means that reaching the quarter finals in 2014 still is Peter Gojowczyk’s best result on the lawn in Halle.
Curious fact of the match, Mohammed Lahyani, the umpire, was applauded by spectators on the Tennis Point-Court. And that was because when a ball flew into the spectators, a boy in the first row caught it. Instead of keeping the ball, according to the rules, he threw it back to a ball child. Mohammed Lahyani had followed this closely. When the balls were later replaced by new ones, he called for one of the discarded ones and threw it to the boy in the audience. The boy had his trophy back and clenched his fist happily.
The second German, Yannick Hanfmann, dropped out as well. Again, he went over the distance. He lost the first set against Maxime Cressy with 3:6, fought back in the second, grabbing it with 6:3. But there was no way to victory on this day: The US-American dominated the final set, putting Hanfmann down with 6:1 and making it into the main draw.
With tournament-record-winning Roger Federer missing, an other Swiss player has made it into the main field. Marc-Andrea Huesler didn’t seem at all tired by the journey. The 25-year-old had just played in Nottingham on Friday, on Saturday then the first qualifying round in Halle. He didn’t give His opponent, Christopher O’Connell from Australia, didn’t stand a chance and thus Huesler won confidently 6:4, 6:4.
The second Swiss player in the qualifying final round, the only 19-year-old Dominic Stricker, lost to Radu Albot from the Republic Moldova after a great battle. The big talent from the Alps had first controlled the match with powerful play, went in the lead quickly 5:1. But Albot, who trains in Halle, adjusted more and more to his opponent’s style. He fought back to make it 3:5 in the first set, and this indicated the turning point. Stricker saved the round number one, but then lost control. In an at times high-class match Albot‘s experience won making it 3:6, 6:3, 6:2 in the end.
