Sometimes games are memorable because you could never have imagined them in this form. The following hypothesis is therefore no exaggeration: Anyone who watched the round of 16 match between Lois Boisson and Hamburg local Tamara Korpatsch at the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open on Wednesday will remember it. Up to 3:1 in the third set from Korpatsch's point of view, it was simply a superbly exciting, high-class tennis match. Then it became unforgettable. Korpatsch slumped to the ground injured, her face contorted with pain. She couldn't get up for minutes. When she got up, she was barely able to walk, hobbling across the court. The result: serves from below, high balls, playing from a standing position. All to avoid having to give up. She persevered. And lost - angry and disappointed - nevertheless with honour: 4:6, 7:6 and 4:6.
It was a dramatic end to a thrilling day of tennis. Korpatsch found some consolation in the roaring applause from the fans and said: "It was so much fun, I had so much confidence and played well - until the cramps came." They started at the end of the second set and then got worse and worse: "Especially in my left calf, I could hardly move. I don't know where these cramps suddenly came from." The situation wasn't easy for Boisson either: "I'm glad that I won - and glad that I have Thursday off." She will have to gather her strength. Because she wants the Hamburg title after her semi-final appearance at the French Open made her a star.
But their competition is fierce. The two top seeds in Hamburg, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine), also believe they are on course for the title after their victories. Unlike the German players: in addition to Korpatsch, Tatjana Maria, Jule Niemeier and Nastasja Schunk are also out of the tournament. This means that Caroline Werner, who played her way so brilliantly through qualifying, will be flying the German colours high. She will play the number one seed Alexandrova on Thursday. It could hardly be more difficult. Tatjana Maria against Viktoriya Tomova remains annoyingly one-sided from Maria's point of view. She had played the Bulgarian for the fourth time, and the German lost for the fourth time: now 3:6, 6:7. Maria commented on her exit in a reflective and fair manner: "The draw certainly wasn't good for me, and I had only practised here on clay once before. Nevertheless, I had my chances but didn't capitalise on them. Viktoriya also played really well." Maria may not want to see Tomova again so soon, but she does want to see the Rothenbaum: "I'm sad that I'm out. Because it's a really nice tournament here. I'll be back next year."
Jule Niemeier was also unable to land a surprise win against second seed Dayana Yastremska. Every now and then, she managed to hit a great passing shot - and there was a roar of grateful, encouraging applause. But in the end, the Dortmund player lacked the consistency to put the Ukrainian in trouble. Niemeier had won the match last year at the US Open - now Yastremska got her revenge with a two-set victory: 6:4 and 6:3.
The Schunk show came to an end after 105 thrilling minutes. Nastasja Schunk from Mainz had only been given a wildcard to take part: a great opportunity to finally make her mark on Germany's largest clay court centre court. And Schunk fought passionately to reach the quarter-finals. She confidently took the first set from Hungary's Dalma Galfi (6:1), but the match then turned and Schunk clearly lost the next two sets 3:6 and 2:6.
Ekaterina Alexandrova made short work of the Dutch qualifier Eva Vedder. 6:0 and 6:3 in 59 minutes. Will Caroline Werner from Karlsruhe, of all people, now be a stumbling block for Alexandrova? That would be one of the biggest sensations in recent tennis history at the Rothenbaum.
A total of four round of 16 matches are scheduled for Thursday. Before Werner challenges Alexandrova for the crowning finale: Diane Parry (France) against Dayana Yastremska, defending champion Anna Bondar (Hungary) against Sinja Kraus (Austria) and Astra Sharma (Australia) against Viktoriya Tomova. With Alexandrova, Yastremska and Boisson, three of the four top seeds (the fourth was Tatjana Maria) are still in the tournament.
"It's impossible to pick a winner, the level of performance is too high," says Tommy Haas. The Hamburg native and former world number two will play an exhibition match against Dominic Thiem, the 2020 US Open winner, on Sunday.
