TENNIS NEWS FROM GSTAAD SWITZERLAND AND HAMBURG, GERMANY • MAYER VS. MAYER

Written by: Staff on 29th July 2017

TENNIS NEWS FROM GSTAAD SWITZERLAND AND HAMBURG, GERMANY • MAYER VS. MAYER |

Photo by @rothenbaum via Instagram.

Mayer vs. Mayer in Hamburg final, Hanfmann saves four match points to reach Gstaad title match

By Ricky Dimon

It will be Mayer vs. Mayer in the final of the German Tennis Championships on Sunday.

This marks the second consecutive week on the ATP World Tour in which a lucky loser will play for a title, as Leonardo Mayer suddenly finds himself in the Hamburg final after Andrey Rublev recently triumphed in Hamburg. He beat fellow Argentine Federico Delbonis 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday to set up a showdown against Florian Mayer.

“Today, I played very well,” Leonardo said following the semifinals. “It’s never easy to play a friend. Federico is one of the best players on a clay court. It wasn’t easy for me, but I’m very happy for this win. I hope I can keep it going tomorrow.”

Ranked 138th in the world, Leonardo lost to Rudolf Molleker in qualifying but got into the main draw when Martin Klizan withdrew. He has since capitalized on his opportunity by defeating Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Jan-Lennard Struff, Jiri Vesely, and =Delbonis to reach his fourth ATP final. Florian has advanced with victories over Marco Cecchinato, Andrey Kuznetsov, Diego Schwartzman, and Philipp Kohlschreiber–the latter by second-set retirement.

Florian and Leonardo will be facing each other for the fourth time in their careers on Sunday. They have squared off just once since 2010, as Florian most recently got the job done 6-2, 6-3 four years ago on the grass of Halle. They had previously split a pair of 2010 meetings, with Florian taking care of business at the Sunrise Challenger and Leonardo prevailing in Delray Beach.

An even more improbable finalist will be playing at the Swiss Open Gstaad. Ranked 170th, Yannick Hanffman had only three career ATP-level match victories prior to this week. The former University of Southern California star has already doubled that total with wins over Facundo Bagnis, Feliciano Lopez, Joao Sousa, and Robin Haase–all in three sets. Hanffman, who had to qualify just to get into the main draw, fought off four match points before beating Haase 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in the semis.

“This means a lot to me,” Hanfmann assured. “Reaching my first final after saving four match points today is amazing. I really like the conditions here and the altitude suits my game. The ball bounces higher here. Tomorrow I will be the outsider again and I will give everything. I never expected to reach the final at the beginning of the week.”

Next up for Hanfmann is a first-ever showdown against Fognini, who has also won all of his matches in three sets–over Norbert Gombos, Ernests Gulbis, and Roberto Bautista Agut.