Dominic received a WC from tournament director Weber Ralf for the qualification to the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle. What Dominic experienced there was fantastic and unique. A fantastically organised tournament, a grandiose and wide tournament site, various training opportunities and a sensational field of participants. When in the qualification of a tournament the No. 1 is the current No. 53, this says a lot about a tournament. And once again, the draw meant well for Dominic and he was able to play the No. 5 in the table, Jiri Lehecka ATP 74, in the first round. His second tournament on grass and to play in front of a big crowd. What could be more fun than to experience something like that. In addition, some Swiss fans had travelled to Halle with flags and Swiss T-shirts. Probably also because none other than Roger Federer had already won the tournament 10 times. Now the match started and the young Lehecka showed why he is already number 74 in the world. He played aggressively and his balls landed on the line again and again. The automatic line judge (Hawk-Eye) was and is a super thing and replaces any kind of wrong decisions. Unfortunately, Dominic had to give up his service game once, which meant losing the set 3:6. In the second set, both players gave each other nothing and it was tennis at its best. Dominic served strongly and always put his opponent under pressure. He quickly made his first break. But suddenly Dominic slipped on the grass and injured his foot. Medical time-out. What next? The physio bandaged the foot almost like a plaster cast. Nobody knew how this would continue and whether Dominic would be able to play at all. He really gritted his teeth and fought his way through. Fantastic tennis and Dominic won the second set 6:1. After that, the spell was broken. Cool lawn tennis was played by both sides and the spectators got their money’s worth. 6:4 third set and the victory was a fact.
In the second round, Radu Albot was waiting. He had recently been ranked ATP 39 and was a very unpleasant opponent. He hardly made any mistakes and played desperately. Dominic started very well. He won the first set 6:3 with a great service and a powerful game. Unfortunately, Albot was able to read Dominic’s service better and his foot became more and more of a problem. Running and footwork were difficult and Albot took advantage of this. So Dominic had to admit defeat with 3:6/2:6, despite brave resistance.
“For me it was one of the best tournaments, despite the injury I suffered. Thanks to Weber Ralf, his son Darek and their team. Halle, I am already looking forward to 2023.”
Photos Credit 📸: by TERRA WORTMANN OPEN Mathias Schulz.