Taylor Fritz and Jan-Lennard Struff also continue
Allianz Para Trophy starts with favourite victories
Munich: This weather is simply unpredictable. Defending champion Holger Rune, for example, was only able to play for one minute before his match against Daniel Elahi Galan from Colombia had to be interrupted again due to a hailstorm. The score was 30:0 in favour of the Dane. After around 40 minutes, the match could continue. Rune then broke quickly in both sets to make it 1:0. The Dane didn't play flawlessly, but it was easily enough to win 6:4 and 6:2 and reach his third quarter-final at the BMW Open. It was also his 10th win in 10 matches in Munich. He was clearly satisfied and came to the press conference wearing a thick cap: "It was super cold today, but I'm used to that in Munich. I've already played some very good matches here and I'm delighted to be through to the next round."
Jan-Lennard Struff had a similar experience. He was on court for three minutes when the match against last year's finalist Botic van de Zandschulp had to be interrupted. However, he was able to resume after a few minutes. An evenly balanced match developed. Struffi", who kept pushing himself, took the first set in a tie-break, 7:0. In the second, he managed an early break against the Dutchman and never relinquished this lead. With 7:6(0) and 6:4 he moves into the quarter-finals. Jan-Lennard Struff had already said before his opening match that he wanted to achieve a lot at the BMW Open, so the first step has been taken. The match ended shortly before nightfall. He will now face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals, who beat Taro Daniel from Japan in two sets (6:3; 6:2).
Taylor Fritz had fared better in terms of the weather. The American made perfect use of an hour of sunshine and his style of play indicated that he had absolutely no desire for a rain interruption. The world number 15 played his match with total concentration and didn't really give Spaniard Alejandro Moro Canas a chance. Two breaks in the first and two in the second were enough for the American to win 6:3 and 6:1 and advance to the quarter-finals of the BMW Open. He will now face the young Brit Jack Draper: "We know each other very well," said Fritz after the match, and continued: "I played very well today and would love to reach the semi-finals again." The American made it there last year in his BMW Open debut. Also in the quarter-finals is Marc-Andrea Huesler from Switzerland, who was too strong for Yannick Hanfmann (6:2;6:4).
Difficult conditions at the Allianz Para Trophy too. The balls bounce differently due to the rain and the thought of the wheelchair getting stuck in the sand doesn't quite clear your head. But that's no excuse for the results. The MTTC Iphitos courts are even expressly praised, as they are quickly firm and playable again after a shower. And being able to play at all is ultimately the most important criterion.
The favourites prevailed in the opening match today. Second seed Gustavo Fernandez from Argentina won easily against the reigning German champion, Anthony Dittmar (6:0; 6:1). And Martin de la Puente from Spain, number three in the tournament, was also undeterred by the weather and gave Kamil Fabisiak from Poland no chance (6:3; 6:0).
