By Tennis Now | Saturday, July 29, 2017
The lucky loser continues his winning ways in Hamburg.
Lucky loser Leonardo Mayer prevailed over qualifier Federico Delbonis, 6-3, 7-5, in an all-Argentine semifinal that sent him into his second Hamburg final in the past four years.
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“Today, I played good,” Mayer said. “Federico is one of the best players on clay courts. It’s not too easy for me to play with the Argentinean guys. I’m very happy for this victory.”
Hamburg will host a Mayer vs. Mayer title match.
In the all-German semifinal, Philipp Kohlschreiber led Florian Mayer, 6-4, 2-3, when the 58th-ranked Kohlschreiber abruptly retired with an apparent hip injury.
"Yeah it's strange, huh, Mayer from Argentina vs. Mayer from Germany," Florian Mayer said. "It's a funny story. He also came back from injury, lucky loser, and I think it's gonna be a great final tomorrow."
Kohlschreiber netted a lunging forehand then smashed his racquet to the red clay after losing the fifth game of the second set.
The 33-year-old Kohlschreiber walked to his court-side seat and shook a surprised Mayer's hand in retirement before smashing his Wilson racquet again bringing a bizarre end to the semifinal that vaulted a surprised Florian Mayer into the final for the first time.
"It was a tough first set, really hard," Florian Mayer said. "Unfortunately, he got injured in the match and he had to retire.
"It was a really high-quality match. I had the same (experience) five years ago in Miami. One point, I had a sharp pain and I knew I couldn't continue. I think he had the same. It's really hard for him. Of course for me final is great, but not the way I wanted to win."
Florian Mayer is bidding to become the first German to win Hamburg since 1993.
The crowd, stunned by the sudden ending, was initially silent before some fans began whistling. Kohlschreiber offered a thumbs-up to fans and walked off in silence.
In a confident serving display against his Davis Cup teammate, Leonardo Mayer served 71 percent, swatted six aces, won 14 of 17 second-serve points and faced just two break points in the one hour, 23-minute victory.
The 138th-ranked Leondardo Mayer, who lifted the title in 2014, raised his record in Hamburg to 10-2.
Since toppling top-seeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, in the opening round, Mayer has scored straight-sets wins over Jan-Lennard Struff, Jiri Vesely and Delbonis, driving into his first final since he fell to Dominic Thiem in the 2015 Nice final.
Last Sunday, the 30-year-old Argentine lost to German wild card Rudolf Molleker in his final qualifying match, but gained entry into the main draw after Martin Klizan withdrew from Hamburg citing a calf injury.
Tomorrow, Leonardo Mayer will face Florian Mayer for the third time—they've split two prior meetings—as he plays for his second career ATP title and first since he raised the Hamburg trophy four years ago.
A slightly off-balance Florian Mayer swept a forehand return winner down the line that touched the line breaking Kohlschreiber for a 4-2 first-set lead. Kohlschreiber answered immediately, breaking right back to get back on serve.
Staring down break point at 30-40, Mayer found the net with a flat drive as Kohlschreiber earned his second break and a 5-4 lead.
Florian Mayer staved off a second set point with a forehand drop shot winner only to see Kohlschreiber crack and ace down the middle for a third set point. A crosscourt forehand rattled out a forehand error as Kohlschreiber closed the 38-minute opener collecting his fourth consecutive game.
Kohlschreiber ran off six straight games building a one-set, 2-0 lead. But Florian Mayer answered with a three-game run before his opponent's sudden exit.