Perfect Timing! Schwärzler in Challenger Semifinals

Vorarlberg native Joel Schwärzler defeats Ilya Ivashka 7:6(4), 6:4 and is in the semifinals of the Grodzisk Mazowiecki Challenger tournament.

In two hard-fought sets, the Austrian tennis ace prevails against the former ATP world number 40, once again demonstrating strong nerves.

In the first set, the 20-year-old was trailing for a long time. He suffered an early break to fall 1:3 behind. When the Belarusian served for the set at 5:3, Schwärzler showed perfect timing and immediately broke back. In the tiebreak, the Vorarlberg native converted his first set point to win 7:4.

Break Point Galore

At the start of the second set, break points rained down. By the time the score reached 2:2, there had already been nine of them, each successfully converted by one of the two players.

Then the young hopeful once again showed perfect timing. With Ivashka serving at 5:4, Schwärzler won every single point of the game, breaking him to win the match 6:4.

With this success, Schwärzler moves past his compatriot Lukas Neumayer in the ATP live rankings, becoming the new Austrian number three at 169th. The Vorarlberg native also sets a new temporary career high. Reaching the final would see him slowly approach the top 150.

In the semifinals, Schwärzler will face the winner of the match between Mathys Erhard (FRA) and Ivan Marrero Curbelo (ESP).