After around two and a half hours of tennis at the Royal Tennis Hall, the match in the first round was over – with Elias Ymer as a disappointed loser.
The deciding factor came in a tight tiebreak. Ymer had previously had a match point, but then Nicolás Jarry, ranked 32nd in the world, responded with a serve.
Instead, the fifth-seeded Jarry got the opportunity to decide and the Chilean made no mistake. He decided with a volley, but was very close to touching the net when he hit the match-winning shot to 9–7, and Ymer protested.
Wants to be able to challenge the decision
Are you a hundred percent sure? the Swede said to the umpire.
The umpire seemed, however, to be sure, and the loss with 1–2 in sets was a fact. Even the replay images seemed to give the umpire the right, but Ymer would have liked to have had the opportunity to challenge the decision.
You can't say you're a hundred percent sure when not even Jarry is. There is video review in other sports, so why shouldn't tennis have it? says Ymer according to Aftonbladet at the press conference after the match.
Sweden's top tennis player on the men's side – ranked 252nd in the world – got a wildcard to the ATP tournament, but Ymer impressed in the first round.
"Extremely tough"
He took home the first set with a clear 6–2 against Jarry, who took his first of a total of three ATP titles when he won the Båstad tennis in 2019.
In the second set, Jarry replied and won with 6–4. The third set became extremely tight. The players held their serves and a tiebreak had to decide. There, Jarry was the strongest and the home tournament was over for Ymer.
This was the best audience I've ever experienced in Stockholm Open. I hope I'll be able to bounce back from this, but right now it's extremely tough, says Ymer.
Tennis legend Björn Borg sat in the stands, but he got to see his son Leo Borg lose. Sweden's number two (ranked 590th in the world) also got a wildcard to the tournament, but stumbled in the first round against 70th-ranked Frenchman Alexandre Müller.
Borg lost the first set clearly, but then took the second set to a tiebreak. There, Müller was the strongest, won with 7–5 and 2–0 in sets (6–3, 7–6).
The competition at the Royal Tennis Hall is now rolling on – without any Swedish participants in the singles tournament.
