MUNICH, April 17, 2024
Alexander Zverev started his title bid at the 2024 BMW Open with a solid 7-6(3), 6-2 second-round win over Austrian Jurij Rodionov on a rain-delayed Wednesday in Munich. The match started in sunny conditions on a crowded Center Court at the venue of the MTTC Iphitos, but upcoming bad weather interrupted play for two and a half hours with Zverev leading 5-4.
When the players returned to the court, Zverev clinched the tie-break by the score of 7-3 and Rodionov was 1-0 up in the second set when a new shower led to another break of about 30 minutes. The 26-year-old German stayed relaxed, even signing a giant tennis ball belonging to a young fan right from his bench while waiting before the players went back to the dressing room. When the encounter resumed, Zverev was wide awake. He broke his rival’s serve in the third game and didn’t look back from then on to secure victory in one hour of 40 minutes of play.
Top seed through 👏@AlexZverev overcomes Rodionov and the rain to progress into round 2 ✅ pic.twitter.com/NnKBPXFif6
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 17, 2024
Zverev: “Munich is special!”
“Munich is always special,” Zverev said in his post-match on-court interview. “I am used to it. We had a little bit of hail, a little bit of snow, we had rain. We had some good tennis, we had some bad tennis. So everything was there. Conditions were tough for both of us. Low temperatures don’t suit my game but I have to make the best out of it.”
The top seed of the ATP 250 clay-court event recorded his first match win in Munich after suffering two early exits in the past two years.
“I am happy to be through to the quarterfinals for the first time in a few years. The last two years I came to Munich for only one day and left again. That’s nice that I’m actually staying here. We will see how it goes,” Zverev said.
The World No. 5 will next take on the winner of the encounter between 2019 BMW Open champion Cristian Garin of Chile and US-American Alex Michelsen.
Draper rallies past Molleker
Only one other match of the singles draw could be completed on Wednesday. No. 6 seed Jack Draper of Great Britain overcame a slow start to fight past local wild card entry Rudolf Molleker 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. In another rain-interrupted battle, Draper sent down nine aces and won 80 per cent of his first-service points to advance to his third ATP Tour quarterfinal of the season after one hour and 35 minutes.
“We played an amazing level in the first set. Conditions were rainy, the court was slow. It was tough to come out and play in a certain way. In the second and third set, the sun comes out, feeling better and better. It was a challenge and we both had to stay mentally good. I am really proud of the way I played,” said Draper.
The 46th-ranked Briton awaits either No. 3 seed Taylor Fritz from the United States or Spanish qualifier Alejandro Moro Canas in the quarterfinals.
Action continues Thursday
The cancellation of the remaining second-round matches leads to a packed schedule on Thursday as two-time defending champion Holger Rune from Denmark starts his chase for a three-peat in Munich against Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia. Play will start at 11 am local time.
