KITZBÜHEL, July 16, 2016

According to the motto “Generali Open rocks”, the 72nd edition of Kitzbühel’s traditional tennis tournament kicked off with the main draw ceremony, held in the village centre on Saturday morning.

Top seed Dominic Thiem received a bye in the opening round, awaiting the winner of the match between Austrian wild card Jürgen Melzer and Taro Daniel from Japan.

“It’s been the first time that a Japanese player will compete here in Kitzbühel. Taro is a dangerous young man, who has a decent game. I am excited to see Jürgen at his comeback,” tournament director Alexander Antonitsch told.

Defending champion and second favourite Philipp Kohlschreiber, who was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 event in Hamburg on Friday, will start his title bid against either Russian NextGen star Karen Khachanov or a qualifier. The German could face his compatriot Mischa Zverev in the stage of the final eight.

“The bottom half of the draw looks to be a bit easier but there are a few players, who are still competing at the Davis Cup. Lukas Rosol beat Tsonga yesterday,” Antonitsch stated.

Third seed Marcel Granollers will take on the winner of the match between Adam Pavlasek and a qualifier. The tournament’s number four Paolo Lorenzi plays either Roberto Carballés-Baena or Austrian wild card Dennis Novak.