It's the "Match of the Day": Jan-Lennard Struff against Francisco Cerundolo. "It was very special for me here last year, of course it brings back a lot of memories and it's great to be back in Munich," says "Struffi", the defending champion, who surprised everyone last year and won his first title on the ATP Tour. He would love to build on this success, but has had a difficult few months with injuries and a real form crisis.
However, the almost 35-year-old has never thought about quitting: "I do this sport because I love it and I still want to keep going. What's more, Struff continues, he has always been characterised by the fact that he has never given up. Tennis fans are certainly happy to hear that. However, his opponent in the first round is a challenge: Francisco Cerundolo is a clay court specialist from Argentina, seeded fifth in the tournament and number 22 in the world. Struff himself has slipped down the rankings to number 51. The two have never played against each other before.
Alexander Zverev delivered good news from a German perspective at the start on Monday. After a fairly even first set, the 27-year-old, who celebrates his birthday on the final day, didn't let anything get in his way in the second. Final score: 6:4, 6:1 for the crowd favourite. In the next round, he will face Daniel Altmaier, who won 7:6 (5), 7:6 (5) in a close match shortly before sunset.
Things were dramatic for Ben Shelton. In his debut at the BMW Open by Bitpanda, the American had to play three sets including a tie-break. After losing the first set (4:6), the tournament's number two took the two decisive sets 7:6 (6), 7:6 (3). The 22-year-old had to fend off several match points in the process. He had particular problems with his Croatian opponent's serve, who had already been able to get used to the special conditions in Munich by qualifying. The curious thing: Borna Gojo was better in almost all the statistics in the end - he even scored more points overall - but the world number 15 can still look forward to the next round.
