Big goal missed

Schwärzler misses out on a place in the final at the French Open

Joel Schwärzler

(Bild: GEPA)

Joel Schwärzler missed his big goal at the French Open in his last year as a junior!

The 18-year-old from Vorarlberg, who is currently regarded as the hottest red-white-red tennis stock, had to bow to the US American Kaylan Bigun in the semi-finals of the junior event of the Grand Slam tournament in Paris on Friday. Schwärzler lost 6:2, 3:6, 4:6 after 1:43 hours.

"I can learn a lot from this!"
"It was a positive tournament. Of course I haven't achieved my goal now, but I can learn a lot from it," said Schwärzler. His level was better in the first set. "Then I dropped off a bit with my backhand and service. Bitter." Even if he takes advantage of his good chances in the doubles to win the title, that will be of little consolation to him. "I focused on the singles."

The former U16 European champion, who recently won his first ATP Challenger in Skopje, had set his sights on the title before the tournament, one of his last as a junior. Together with the Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, Schwärzler will also play in the doubles semifinals. The left-hander, coached by Jürgen Melzer, received special support from Kitzbühel on Friday before the match. Schwärzler received a wildcard and will make his debut on the ATP Tour there in July.

Reaching the doubles final
In any case, he kept his chance of winning the doubles title a short time later with a victory in the semi-finals. Together with Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, he beat Timofei Derepasko/Amir Omarkhanov (RUS/KAZ) by a wafer-thin margin of 4:6, 6:2, 1:0(11:9). The final is scheduled for Saturday (2nd match after 11 a.m.) on Court 13.

Diver wins title in junior wheelchair competition
Maximilian Taucher was able to enjoy a special success in Paris. The 16-year-old from Vorarlberg won the title in the wheelchair junior competition as the tournament's No. 1 with a 2-6-6-4-7-6(10-8) victory over Ivar van Rijt (NED-2) in the final and, hours later, together with Great Britain's Ruben Harris, also clinched the doubles triumph with a 7-5-6-4 victory in the final and thus the double.