Mayer Moves On Before Rain Halts Play In Munich
Mayer Moves On Before Rain Halts Play In Munich
German qualifier wins again in home event
Tournament officials at the BMW Open by FWU AG in Munich can’t seem to catch a break from Mother Nature this week. Snow disrupted qualifying matches on Sunday at the outdoor clay-court tournament. On Tuesday, rain was to blame for play being suspended and only three matches reaching completion.
In a battle of German qualifiers, Florian Mayer bested Matthias Bachinger 6-4, 6-4. Mayer, former World No. 18, returned to the ATP World Tour last week at the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest after more than seven months off because of a torn right adductor tendon. The 32 year old will face another compatriot in the second round, No. 4 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who received a first-round bye.
Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan also moved into the second round after Russian Evgeny Donskoy retired because of a hip injury down 6-2, 3-0. Kukushkin, No. 88 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will face No. 5 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy or German wild card Maximilian Marterer.
The Fognini-Marterer match will be first up on Center Court on Wednesday, followed by the completion of the contest between #NextGen star Alexander Zverev and Malek Jaziri of Tunisia. Their match was suspended on Tuesday with Jaziri to serve up 5-4. The World No. 64 beat the German in straight sets last week to reach the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell.
Three other singles seeds are scheduled to play on Wednesday, including No. 7 Vasek Pospisil, No. 3 Dominic Thiem and No. 6 Thomaz Bellucci. Juan Martin del Potro also is scheduled to continue his comeback against German Dustin Brown.
WEDNESDAY PREVIEW
Following a rainy and snowy start to the BMW Open by FWU AG, the stars come out Wednesday in Munich. Del Potro plays in his first clay-court match since May 16, 2013. Munich marks del Potro’s fourth tournament of 2016, but his first on clay since 2013 ATP Masters 1000 Rome. The former World No. 4 has had three surgeries on his left wrist since then, and his opponent Brown is returning from a wrist injury as well. The dreadlocked German has not played since a Challenger in Jonkoping, Sweden seven weeks ago.
The final two matches scheduled on Center Court are second-rounders. No. 3 seed Dominic Thiem, who is 26-7 with two titles in 2016, meets Santiago Giraldo for a spot in the quarter-finals. Only World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has more wins this season with 28. Also in second-round action, Ivan Dodig faces No. 6 seed Thomaz Bellucci, who ended a seven-match losing streak Monday.