Neumayer victory

ÖTV Davis Cup team close to advancing against Turkey

Lukas Neumayer (right) came out on top against Cem Ilkel.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Austria's tennis team is close to advancing to the 2025 qualifying round, in which a place in the Davis Cup finals will be contested. The ÖTV team took a 2-0 lead on Saturday in the World Group 1 duel with Turkey at the Sportaktivpark in Bad Waltersdorf thanks to a 7:6(3), 6:2 win by Lukas Neumayer against Cem Ilkel. 

Rain then set in and the remaining matches were postponed until Sunday (9.30 am). The decision is to be made there with free admission. 

The weather forecast for Sunday is better than it was for Saturday; the constant rain, which had already delayed the start by more than three hours on Friday, should have subsided by around the start time and it should remain dry. Thanks to the 2:0 lead - Yuriy Rodionov won the opening singles match against Yanki Erel 6:3, 6:4 on Friday - Austria's showpiece doubles pairing of Alexander Erler/Lucas Miedler have the opportunity to make everything clear with a win over Altug Celikbilek/Erel.

"I'm very confident. They have the chance to finish the Davis Cup, I don't think they want to let that slip away," said Alexander Peya, who stood in as Davis Cup captain for Jürgen Melzer, who was ill. If they lose, there would be two more "match points" for the hosts in the next two singles matches. "We are in the best possible situation," emphasized the former world-class doubles player.

Neumayer had already started his international debut on Friday until the match was abandoned at 5:5 due to darkness. When the match resumed, the extremely strong, gusty wind clearly caused both players problems. "The conditions were so difficult, but I dealt with them quite well," said Neumayer. Nevertheless, the man from Salzburg mastered his debut successfully. He had already laid the foundation on Friday, where he was able to erase a false start with breaks at 2:3 and 4:5.

"The hardest part yesterday was the start, I was a bit nervous. Then I managed to come back well. Today I was ready right from the start and played with good intensity. I was clearly the better player in the second set and played almost my best tennis," the 22-year-old summed up. He said he was proud to have lived up to his role as favorite after being nominated and seeded. "I'm extremely happy, over the moon."

Neumayer was the more stable player in the continuation, had clear advantages from the baseline and won the tie-break 7:3. In the second set, the ÖTV player missed his first break chances, but took his opponent's serve at 4:2. After that, the world number 474 didn't take another game and after a double fault by the Turk, the match was over after the first match point. Much to the delight of the home fans in the stands, who were cheering him on despite the inhospitable conditions. "The support was extremely important, they are really great fans," said Neumayer, who last played in the Challenger final in Tulln.

"Luki did a great job, got into the match well from the start today," summarized Peya. Shortly after match point, rain set in and prevented the match from continuing. After an initial wait, the decision to postpone the match was made shortly after 3 p.m. "We can't change it anyway, we'll take it as it comes," said Peya. As a whole team, the waiting time can be much more fun than it would normally be as individual players in a tournament alone. "We have a very good atmosphere, which helps through the rainy season," emphasized Peya.