Tiebreak Thriller! Schwärzler Reaches Challenger Quarterfinals

Hard-fought victory for Joel Schwärzler!

The ÖTV talent battles past Aziz Dougaz of Tunisia to a 7:6(2), 3:6, 7:6 victory and reaches the quarterfinals in Grodzisk Mazowiecki.

In the first set, the Tunisian impressed with his serve. He won 88 percent of points on his first serve. Dougaz earned one set point at 4:5, and even two at 5:6. Schwärzler was able to fend off both and ultimately capitalized on his opportunity in the tiebreak.

Drama Towards the End

In the second set, the Vorarlberg native had his serve broken in the very first game. At 3:5, Schwärzler was broken again by the world No. 690 to level the set.

The decisive final set was a tight affair. Both players mostly held their serves comfortably. Only at 2:3 did the ÖTV ace get two break chances, but he couldn't convert them. Once again, it went to a tiebreak.

Up to 4:3, the server always won the point. The third-seeded Austrian then managed the first mini-break to go up 5:3. He kept his nerve until the end, made no more mistakes on his serve, and after 2 hours and 14 minutes, converted his first match point.

In the quarterfinals, the Vorarlberg native will face Belarusian Ilya Ivashka.