Yannick Hanfmann has reached the final of the qualifying round of the 31st TERRA WORTMANN OPEN. If you discount the break due to technical problems with the loudspeaker system at the Hawk-Eye at the start of the match, the player from Karlsruhe only needed 75 minutes to get the chance to secure a place in the main draw on Sunday. The number 91 in the ATP world rankings won 6:2 and 6:3 against the Australian Adam Walton (ATP 107), who had no chance. Hanfmann will now play in the qualifying final against the American Alex Michelsen (ATP 61), who won 7:5 and 6:4 against the German Max Hans Rehberg. The world number 455 from Munich put up a brave fight, but had to admit defeat after 96 minutes.
A bitter afternoon for Louis Wessels: The local hero was very unlucky to lose 3:6, 7:6 and 4:6 to Frenchman Constant Lestienne. At 3:6 and 2:5, the Bielefeld-born player looked like a sure loser, but then he turned on the heat. Wessels managed to break back and even made it 6:5 with another break, but Lestienne took Wessels' serve again - the tie-break had to decide the match. Wessels, the world number 385, quickly took a 6:1 lead and eventually won the deciding game 7:4.
The comeback was complete, but the match was not yet over. Lestienne broke the German again to make it 3:2 and took the advantage to 5:4. Louis Wessels fought like a lion for his chance to reach the main draw of the 31st TERRA WORTMANN OPEN again. 40:30 for Wessels, the break in sight. Lestienne's second serve lands behind the T-line, but the Hawk-Eye does not respond. Wessels and the crowd are upset. As a review is not possible, the umpire decides to replay the point. Instead of 5:5, Lestienne suddenly has match points and the Frenchman converts the third to make it 6:4 and win the match. Wessels stomps angrily off the court.
Oscar Otte, a crowd favorite in Halle since his semi-final appearance in 2022, has not had a good phase recently. Several knee injuries and operations have knocked the Cologne native down to 471st place in the ATP world rankings, but thanks to a wildcard, he takes part in the qualifiers for the 31st TERRA WORTMANN OPEN. And he can still hope to make it into the main draw, as Otte beat Jakub Mensik from the Czech Republic 6:2 and 6:3 in round one of the qualifiers. This makes Oscar Otte the second German to reach one of the qualifying finals. He will now play Constant Lestienne.
Max Purcell from Australia was the first player to celebrate on Saturday. In 63 minutes, the world number 100 defeated the Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko (ATP 59) surprisingly clearly in two sets 6:3 and 6:2. Purcell will now face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday for a ticket to the main draw. Last year's semi-finalist, who has slipped to 85th place in the world, won 7:6 and 7:6 against Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
The 6:2, 6:2 win by Corentin Moutet (France) against Valentin Vacherot from Monaco was a clear-cut affair. Moutet, who is seeded number one in qualifying, will now face Australian James Duckworth, who beat Aslan Karatsev 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
