Austrians Koubek, Koellerer Thrill Homies at ATP Kitzbuhel

Posted on July 27, 2005

For the second consecutive day the homecountry Austrian players gave fans something to cheer about at the ATP dirt stop in Kitzbuhel, with Stefan Koubek (d. (Q) Armando) recording only his second ATP win of the year, and wildcard Daniel Koellerer (d. Tabara in three) making it two more Austrians into the second round.

"After the season I've had, every match is very important, especially here in Kitzbuhel," Koubek said. "Finally I can play again and I'm very happy about this match today because I played unbelievable tennis. I played exactly the kind of tennis I play in practice which isn't easy...It's a very old tournament. I used to watch it on TV when I was a kid and now I'm allowed to play on centre court in front of a lot of people so it's a lot of fun."

Another wildcard, Ecuador's former force and Anna Kournikova boy toy Nicolas Lapentti (d. Calleri who retired in the second with a back injury), and qualifiers Irakli Labadze of Georgia (d. (Q) Ramirez Hidalgo) and Serb Dusan Vemic (d. (WC) Hipfl in three) also moved safely into round two.

Other unseeded winners on the day were Germans Philip Kohlschreiber (d. Costa) and Rainer Schuettler (d. D.Sanchez), Spaniards Fernando Verdasco (d. Seppi) and Nicolas Almagro (d. Sabau), Gaucho Mariano Zabaleta (d. Haehnel), and Czech Ivo Minar (d. (Q) Schukin).

On Wednesday's schedule the seeds finally sprout on the red clay in (1) Davydenko vs. Zabaleta, (7) Massu vs. (WC) Koellerer, (WC) Marach vs. (4) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez, Koubek vs. (12) Christophe "The Roach" Rochus, (Q) Vemic vs. (9) Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, (8) Olivier "The Other Roach" Rochus vs. Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, (3) Gaudio vs. Kohlschreiber, (11) Acasuso vs. Florian "Oscar" Mayer, Di Mauro vs. (5) Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, (10) Pavel vs. Rainer "Shine" Schuettler, (Q) Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze vs. (2) Mari-"nandro" Puerta, Vik vs. (16) Mathieu, Almagro vs. (13) Andreev, (14) Luis "Me So" Horna vs. (WC) N.Lapentti, Minar vs. (6) Youzhny, and (15) Hanescu vs. Behrend.