ECKENTAL, October 31, 2017

Australian teenager Alex de Minaur celebrated a strong comeback to Eckental by knocking out the tournament’s fourth seed and Ismaning champion Yannick Hanfmann in the opening rounf of the €43,000 Bauer Watertechnology Cup on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old Sydney native, who finished runner-up to Steve Darcis at the ATP Challenger indoor event last year, scored an impressive 6-4, 6-2 win in only 57 minutes. De Minaur saved both break points he faced, converting three of his own to set a second round clash with Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo. The former World No. 5 beat 17-year-old German wild card entry Rudolf Molleker in a battle of generations 6-4, 6-2 on Monday evening.

Top Seed Advances

Top seed Ruben Bemelmans opened his title bid with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win over #NextGenATP player Lloyd Harris of South Africa. The World No. 86 from Belgium, who lifted the trophy in Eckental in 2014, sent down nine aces, winning 78 per cent of his first service points to advance in only 54 minutes. Next up for Bemelmans will be Italian Luca Vanni.

Dustin Brown also found his way into the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Kenny de Schepper from France. The 32-year-old local favourite broke serve three times to secure victory in one hour and 10 minutes. Brown, seeded fifth, will next take on fellow German Matthias Bachinger, who cruised past young gun Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-0 in just under one hour of play.