Munich, GERMANY – Cougar tennis alum Jakob Schnaitter (class of 2021) won his first career ATP doubles title at the BMW Open in Germany on Sunday, April 19, to become the first alum of any PacWest school to win an ATP Tour-level title.
Schnaitter and his partner Mark Wallner, a graduate from Tennessee, came through qualifying and then saved a championship point to win the ATP 500 title. The duo has been playing together for four years, starting on the Futures circuit with rankings outside the top 1500. With their triumph in Munich, they are now up to a career-high ranking of No. 36 in the world. They are also ranked No. 13 in the world for the Race to Turin.
Schnaitter and Wallner reached the semifinals last year in Munich, Wallner's hometown. However, this year they did not receive a wild card directly into the main draw and had to earn their spot through qualifying.
In the first round of qualifying, Schnaitter had a rematch with the same German duo that he beat in the quarterfinals last year and earned a 6-4, 6-1 win. He then advanced through qualifying with a 4-6, 6-2, 11-9 win to get back into the main draw.
The first two matches in the main draw mirrored each other with a 7-5, 3-6, 10-6 win in the first round and then a 7-6(3), 3-6, 10-7 win to make the semifinals. In the semifinals, Schnaitter and Wallner make quick work of Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus with a 6-1, 7-5 win, going one round farther than last year.
It was the duo's first time advancing to the final of an ATP 500 event. In February, the German pair had match point to reach an ATP 500 final in Rio de Janeiro against Joao Fonseca and Marcelo Melo, but the Brazilian team won 6-2, 2-6, 13-11 after saving match point and went on to win the title. This time, the Germans got over the hump and clinched a new career-high ranking with the win over Bhambri and Venus.
In the final, Schnaitter and Wallner had a rematch with Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti, two familiar opponents. The last time they met was in the final of Almaty, an ATP 250 event, where the French team denied Schnaitter and Wallner their first career title.
In the rematch, the home favorites got off to a strong start. Schnaitter showed both his power and touch on the backhand side in the first set, hitting a backhand passing shot at the feet of his opponents and then a perfectly measured lob to secure the lone break of the opening set.
In the second set, Schnaitter and Wallner saved the only break point they faced, forcing a tiebreaker. They grabbed the early lead in the tiebreaker, but the French team won four points in a row to take the lead and eventually win the set 7-4 in the tiebreaker.
The 10-point deciding set tiebreaker was close throughout. Schnaitter and Wallner got a minibreak to go ahead 8-7 with Wallner set to serve the next two points. However, Arribage went for broke on a forehand return on Wallner's first serve for a winner to tie the score at 8-all. The French pair won two of the next three points to earn a championship point. However, Schnaitter erased that championship point on his serve, hitting a tough overhead from behind the service line.
Schnaitter earned a championship point for the Germans on his serve at 11-10. With the team's first title on the line, Schnaitter used all his racket on a backhand return winner to win the title. Schnaitter and Wallner earned 545 ranking points for winning the tournament as qualifiers and eclipsed 2,000 ranking points for the first time in their careers.
The trophy in Munich is a high point for what has already been a strong year for the Cougar alum. Schnaitter and Wallner were the only team to take a set off the eventual champions at the Australian Open. They also reached the semifinals in three-consecutive tournaments in Montpellier, Rotterdam, and Rio.
Being ranked in the top-40 for the first time puts Schnaitter on the cusp of being able to enter the ATP Masters 1000 events. The next of those will be in Rome in May. Schnaitter will also be competing at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this summer for the second time before he comes back to the United States this fall to play in the U.S. Open.
During his four years as a Cougar, Schnaitter was a two-time PacWest Player of the Year, and he led the Cougars to their maiden PacWest crown in 2018. He finished his career with a 64-5 record in singles with 42 of those wins coming at No. 1 singles. He also went 17-3 at No. 1 doubles in his senior season alongside Leyton Bohren.
