 Martin Emmrich / Andreas Siljestrom vs Johan Brunstrom / Frederik Nielsen
First match of the day was a semi final of the doubles draw and it shouldn’t become a very exciting one. One break in the fifth and another in the seventh game were enough for Brunstrom / Nielsen to clinch the first set with 6-2. The Swedish-Danish combination also dominated the second set and broke Emmrich’s serve in the sixth game to take the set and the match after almost exactly 1 hour. In the final they will meet the winner of the match Dlouhy / Waske and Huey / Inglot.
Martin Klizan vs Björn Phau
Next up on centre court was the first of the quarterfinals of the singles competition. It was one - way traffic in the first set, as Klizan couldn’t find a way into this match. Phau played very aggressive from the baseline and the Slovakian was only able to react. At 0-4 and two breaks down, Klizan threw his racket for the first time. From this point on, the first set has already been lost and it was characteristic that Klizan double faulted at set point for the German. 0-6! It took 33 minutes until Klizan could make his first game of the match! However, most of the time the better endings of the longer rallies belonged to Phau and so the German converted one break point opportunity to the deciding 5-3 lead. Klizan again threw his racket to the ground and received a warning for ball abuse. Phau showed his mental strength and held his service to take the match with 6-0 and 6-3 after only 1 hour and 3 minutes.
Dominik Meffert vs Rik de Voest
A similar match should follow on centre court. Meffert was the better player throughout this quarterfinal. With more power in his ground shots, good defending skills and more resolution in his game the German qualifier reached the semi final by a 6-3, 6-4 win over the South African after 1 hour and 5 minutes.
Ruben Bemelmans vs Vasek Pospisil
Another player from the qualifying round was next up in Talheim – Ruben Bemelmans – a player, who can always be a force on indoor courts. It was an even affair in the first set, so that the tie–break was the logical consequence. The Belgian was the more active player with some attacks to the net and a solid game from the baseline. However the first mini – break in the decider was a close call in favour of Bemelmans, although Pospisil’s ball seemed to be long. This is Talheim and not Melbourne – so no hawk-eye available. The Canadian had to accept the decision by the umpire, but a following unforced error gave set points to the Belgian. He converted the first one. In the following set he played with a lot of confidence, good baseline shots and always tried to go for the winner. In a consequence of that he broke Pospisil’s service in the sixth game and won the match with 7-6, 6-3 after 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Michael Berrer vs Cedric – Marcel Stebe
Match of the day was an all – German affair between two more or less “local heroes”. Both players were born close to the tournament’s venue. Berrer has already won the tournament twice and skipped this year’s Australian Open to attend the birth of his child. It was an intensive match and the stands were almost totally packed. The crowd could see that Berrer fought for every point and they were able to feel that the former champion really wanted to win the match. However, he also had to accept the fact that Stebe (photo) was the better player this day. There were a lot of good and long rallies, favouring most of the time the younger German. Stebe could finally win the match after 1 hour and 17 minutes with 6-1, 6-4 and will face Bemelmans in tomorrows semi final. This could be another interesting match in Talheim.
Florian
reporting for you from Heilbronn
photo: Florian / TAREAD MORE ON TENNIS ALTERNATIVEJapan vs. USA in Honolulu Tennis Challenger 2012Heilbronn Tennis Challenger 2012 Friday reportQuarterfinals in Bucaramanga Tennis Challenger 2012QF in Honolulu Challenger 2012Egypt F1 semifinal and Egypt F2 quallies 2012 reportLike us on Facebook!CLICK HERE FOR LIVESCORES
| 
