Ofner in third round of Paris after five-set thriller against Baez

After 4:13 hours of play, the Styrian converted his first match point and thus earned himself a third-round duel with the Frenchman Corentin Moutet or the Kazakh Alexander Schewtschenko. Austria’s number one was not thrown off course by three rain interruptions and once again showed comeback qualities. This was also because his serve worked best in the fifth set. Last year’s round of 16 finalist needed 3:35 hours for his 3:6,4:6,7:6(2),6:2,7:5 victory in the opening round against the Frenchman Terence Atmane, and this time he was on the court even longer.

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It is not yet clear when he will be back on the court. The rain came back shortly after the match point and caused further interruptions. Bad weather could also disrupt the schedule on Friday. Filip Misolic also played against Francisco Cerundolo, but after three games played it was time to go back to the dressing room and wait.

Baez with a better start

In the first duel with Ofner, Baez, who is only 1.70 m tall, got off to a better start on Court 3 with an early break, but Ofner fought back. Just as the world number 45 managed to get back to 2:3, he lost his thread. Baez, who kept scoring with his forehand, managed to break back and then profited from many of his opponent’s mistakes. Ofner fought against losing the set, fending off a total of five set points, but still had to give up the set.

Baez caught Ofner off guard in the second set as well. After the Argentinian was 2-1 up, it was time to pack up. A rain shower came up and the players disappeared into the changing rooms. After just over 50 minutes, the match continued. Ofner worked his way to a break chance at 4-5, but his opponent fended it off. The 28-year-old was 0-2 down in sets, just like against Atmane.

Willingness to take risks was rewarded

He then took more risks in the third set and was rewarded. Breaks to 2:1 and – after a short second rain break – 5:2 paved the way for him to win the set before the match was over again. This time it took almost three hours before play could resume. Ofner missed his first chance on the deep court, Baez came close. In the second attempt, however, the Styrian served out to win the set.

He took the momentum, managed a break straight away and held this advantage until Baez re-breaked to make it 4:4. Ofner missed the chance to break his opponent’s serve again, but caught up to make it 6:5 thanks to luck at the net and then served out. “Ofi” chants from the stands provided additional motivation.

Best service at the end

In the fifth set, in mostly sunny weather, Ofner was able to fend off four break chances at 0:1 and then took the lead for the first time in the match with a break to nil to make it 2:1. At 4:3, the Styrian made too many mistakes in several rallies and was presented with the bill when he lost his serve. This allowed Baez to serve ahead again, but Ofner showed his best service in the last set and saved himself in the champions tiebreak.

There, he pulled ahead of his parents, who were cheering him on, and coolly played his advantage home. And he did it against a six-time ATP tournament winner who has already won titles in Santiago de Chile and Rio de Janeiro this year.