HAMBURG, July 22, 2023
The men’s and women’s main draws for the Hamburg European Open combined ATP/WTA event were revealed on Saturday at the LEXUS Forum Hamburg. They feature a lot of interesting matches. The ATP Tour 500 tournament is headlined by World No. 4 Casper Ruud. The 24-year-old from Norway, who finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in this year’s French Open at Roland Garros, will start his title bid against Sebastian Baez of Argentina.
Andrey Rublev of Russia was awarded a wild card into the main draw and the World No. 7 will lead the bottom half of the men’s draw. The 2020 Hamburg European Open champion will take on Bernabé Zapata Miralles of Spain in the first round. Last year’s winner and this year’s third seed, Italian Lorenzo Musetti, meets a qualifier.
Local hero Alexander Zverev will make his sixth appearance at the Rothenbaum tournament, his first since reaching the semi-finals in 2019. The 26-year-old Hamburg native is seeded fourth. He will start his home campaign against Alex Molcan from Slovakia on Tuesday.
In-form Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in early June, attended the draw ceremony, feeling already comfortable in Hamburg. “It is my first time here in the city and I love it. It’s really exciting for me playing this incredible tournament,” said Etcheverry. The No. 6 seed from La Plata will start his mission in northern Germany against Laslo Djere of Serbia.
“We never played before but it will be an interesting match. Now that I know my opponent, I am able to prepare for my opening match. I changed my coach this year and I have already improved a lot of things. I am ready to take on the challenge,” Etcheverry added.
Draw ceremony Hamburg European Open 📸 📸 📸#ATPTour #WTATour #Hamburg ⚓ pic.twitter.com/aEvBfrk3Uv
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) July 22, 2023
Vekic leads the women’s field, defending champion Pera back in Hamburg
On the women’s side, top seed Donna Vekic opens her title bid at the WTA 250 event against Storm Hunter from Australia. The World No. 22 from Croatia is seeking her fifth career trophy, her second of the season following her triumph at Monterrey, Mexico in early March.
Second-seeded Egyptian Mayar Sherif will oppose Germany’s Eva Lys in the first round. “I am really looking forward to this match. That’s the reason, why I love playing big tournaments like this. It’s a great opportunity to compete with the best players in the world,” said the 164th-ranked Lys on her upcoming challenge.
Defending women’s champion Bernarda Pera was also present at the draw ceremony. “I am happy to be back,” said the World No. 39. “This is one of my favourite tournaments and one of the best organized in the year. I am super excited to be here again. Hamburg is a great city!”
Pera, who lifted her second tour-level trophy here last season, will be seeded third at this year’s edition and will start her title defense against a qualifier. Asked about her upcoming task, the 28-year-old US-American responded: “I am not gonna speak too early. You never know but it’s fine. Let’s see.”
Petkovic reveals her favourites
The Hamburg European Open main draw is not merely a stage for established stars; it also offers opportunities for emerging talents to shine.
“I like to attend draw ceremonies, as you can see how many great players are taking part in a tennis event, especially here in Hamburg,” tournament ambassador Andrea Petkovic said. She revealed that 19-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils and World No. 70 Zhizhen Zhang of China are her personal dark horses in the ATP event.
“They will both take on a qualifier, so I hope that both will win their opening matches being able to stay in the tournament as long as possible. Arthur is the youngest player inside the Top 100 and a perfect example that you can also follow some of the future tennis stars here in Hamburg,” the seven-time WTA singles champion explained. She added that it is also worthwhile for spectators to attend the matches on the outside courts, as many of the up-and-coming players will compete there.
Qualifying gets underway
Meanwhile, tennis action got underway with qualifying and none of the top seeds fell in the opening round. On the men’s side, Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia fought back from a set and a break down to overcome local wild card entry Max Hans Rehberg 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 after two hours and 47 minutes. The World No. 56 will next play Jan Choinski of Great Britain for a spot in the main draw.
In the women’s competition, Polina Kudermetova of Russia didn’t show any weaknesses and celebrated a straight-sets victory over Magali Kempen from Belgium. The World No. 151 capitalized on five of her 10 break-point chances to prevail 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 11 minutes. Next up for Kudermetova will be her ninth-seeded compatriot Ekaterina Makarova.
