The eighth edition of the Raiffeisen ITF M15 Val Gardena Südtirol opened on Sunday at the Tennis Center Selva in Wolkenstein, featuring 15 first-round singles qualifying matches across two indoor hard courts, sportnews.bz reported.

Lechner Beats Fellin in Generational Clash

The emotional highlight of the opening day featured a generational clash between 29-year-old Manfred Fellin of Brixen, representing Canottieri Ticino Pavia, and Daniel Lechner of TC Rungg, sportnews.bz reported. Tenth-seeded Lechner claimed the opening set and surged to a 5-1 lead in the second frame before Fellin mounted a fierce comeback. Fellin saved three match points at 4:6, 4:5, erased a double break, and held a set point of his own at 6:5. Lechner recovered to force a tiebreak, eventually sealing a 6:4, 7:6(4) victory after two hours and 22 minutes on his sixth match point.

David Simoncelli Breaks Through on World Tennis Tour

David Simoncelli of CT Rovereto delivered an upset by defeating second-seeded German Noah Thurner 6:3, 6:4 in 78 minutes, sportnews.bz reported. The victory marked Simoncelli’s first win on the World  Tennis Tour in three attempts, achieved in front of coach Nicola Carollo and traveling supporters from Rovereto. The result highlighted how quickly the Trento native adapted to the high altitude and fast courts in Val Gardena.

Local Players Fall After Hard-Fought Openers

Several regional competitors exited the tournament following opening-round defeats, sportnews.bz reported. Nineteen-year-old Leonardo Penasa of TC Kaltern won the first set against 14th-seeded Swiss player Yanis Peterhans before losing 6:4, 3:6, 3-10 in the match tiebreak. Kilian Dallapiazza of TC Rungg also started strongly against Germany’s Kim Johannes Niethammer before falling 6:3, 1:6, 7-10. Local entry Daniel Haller of TC Gherdeina and Daniele Faustini of TC Rungg bowed out in straight sets, while Mattia Cona dropped a 1:6, 2:6 decision to Gabriele Maria Piano.

First-Round Qualifying Results from Wolkenstein

Tournament organizers recorded the following results from Sunday’s 15 opening-round qualifying matches at the Tennis Center Selva:

• [1] Gregor Hausberger (AUT) – Bye
• [10] Daniel Lechner (ITA) def. Manfred Fellin (ITA) 6:4, 7:6(4)
• David Simoncelli (ITA) def. [2] Noah Thurner (GER) 6:3, 6:4
• [14] Yanis Peterhans (SUI) def. Leonardo Penasa (ITA) 6:4, 3:6, 10-3
• Dominik Matic (GER) def. [3] Oliwier Sterniczuk (POL) 7:6(5), 6:7(2), 10-8
• [15] Filippo Valdetara (ITA) def. Daniel Haller (ITA) 7:5, 6:4
• [4] Alex Kobelt (USA) def. Johannes Lahner (AUT) 6:2, 6:3
• [13] Kim Johannes Niethammer (GER) def. Kilian Dallapiazza (ITA) 6:3, 1:6, 10-7
• [6] Mustapha El Natour (LBN) def. Matteo Trombini (ITA) 4:6, 6:3, 10-6
• [11] Gabriele M. Piano (ITA) def. Mattia Cona (ITA) 6:1, 6:2
• [7] Alberto Morolli (ITA) def. Andrea Cogolo (ITA) 6:2, 6:4
• [9] Dean Thurner (GER) def. Roberto Franchin (ITA) 6:3, 6:2
• [8] Leonardo Taddia (ITA) def. Philip Niederle (AUT) 7:6(3), 6:4
• [16] Pietro Mugelli (ITA) def. Daniele Faustini (ITA) 6:4, 6:4

Monday Schedule at Tennis Center Selva

Play resumes on Monday with an expanded schedule featuring the final eight qualifying matches, two opening-round singles matches, and seven doubles encounters, sportnews.bz reported. David Simoncelli takes the court for the second match on Centre Court starting at 9:00 a.m., with Daniel Lechner scheduled in the same time slot on Court 2 as both players contend for main draw berths.