MEERBUSCH, August 18, 2016

The top half of the draw at the €42,500 Cittadino Challenger was in second round action at the Sportpark Büderich on a sunny Thursday.

The tournament’s number one Florian Mayer emerged victorious from the “battle of the generations” with a 6-2, 6-3 win over only 16-year-old Nicola Kuhn, who celebrated his maiden match win on Challenger level two days ago. Mayer, twice the Spaniard’s age, dictated most of the rallies and outplayed the teenager with his unconventional style of tennis. Kuhn had problems to anticipate to the shots from the world number 73 and the encounter ended after 65 minutes with Kuhn producing his first and only double fault.

Mayer, champion of the Tilia Slovenia Open last week, will next face Marc Sieber, who is playing his first ATP Challenger event of the season. The 28-year-old German fought past Trnava runner-up Jordi Samper-Montana, winning 4-6, 6-1, 7-6. Sieber was more solid on his second serve and won 63% of the points to advance to his first Challenger quarterfinal since Cancun 2009. Mayer and Sieber will meet for the first time.

Aleksandre Metreveli (photo: mediaten/Cittadino Challenger)

Elsewhere, Aleksandre Metreveli rallied back from a set down to overcome 19-year-old Japanese Akira Santillan 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. The world number 324 from Georgia had a slow start into the encounter but saved 10 of the 13 break points he faced, converting five of his own to eventually prevail in one hour and 55 minutes.

In his third Challenger quarterfinal Metreveli will face Daniel Masur. The 21-year-old German eased past Belarussian qualifier Andrei Vasilevski, winning 6-2, 6-1. Masur saved the only break point he faced and capitalized on four of his own opportunities to advance in only 51 minutes. Masur will appear in the stage of the final eight at Challenger level for the only second time, following his quarterfinal defeat in Ningbo last year. Metreveli won the only previous meeting between the two at an ITF Future event in Turkey in 2011.