MUNICH, June 9, 2020
With the start of the Tannenhof Resort German Men’s Series, as part of the DTB German Pro Series, professional tennis has returned to Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia.
Jan-Lennard Struff, top seed of the 32-man competition, leads Group 4 held at the venue of the Tennis Club Blau-Weiß Neuss. The World No. 34 defeated Benito Sanchez Martinez 6-2, 6-4 in his opening match on a cloudy and chilly Tuesday in Germany.
“It was my first match after 95 days without competition, a period, which felt pretty weird,” Struff told the German Tennis Federation DTB after his win. “I was really happy to be back on court today but it wasn’t that easy to find my rhythm at the beginning. Benito made a good job and I am very pleased with this win.”
In times of the corona pandemic, the health of the players and everyone involved, as well as compliance with the requirements of the federal and state governments have top priority. Matches are only played with a chair umpire but without line judges and ball kids.
“To play with or without an umpire and line judges doesn’t make a big difference for me,” Struff said about the special conditions. “However, collecting the balls feels unfamiliar and delays the match, but we will get used to it.”
Struff, a five-time champion on the ATP Challenger Tour, has a clear goal for the upcoming weeks. “As the tournament’s favourite, of course I want to win the series. I don’t want to sound snooty but saying anything else would be some kind of understatement. I want to play well, reaching the final weekend. Let’s see what will happen. The most important thing is to play many matches and to get ready for the time when the tour will resume.”
Group 3 kicks off in Großhesselohe
Meanwhile at the Tennis Club Großhesselohe, situated in the south of Germany near Munich, players of Group 3 of the DTB German Pro Series stepped into action. Daniel Masur defeated reigning Roland Garros doubles champion Kevin Krawietz in straight sets. Later in the day, World No. 920 Milan Welte upset Peter Gojowzyk, winning 6-4, 6-4.
“You have to pay a big compliment to the organizers. Everything was well prepared and well organized. I’m happy to have played a tournament match again, even without any ATP Ranking points on the line, ” said Masur.
“It was very good to be back on court, playing a match and being in tournament mode again. Since there were no spectators here, it felt a little bit different than usual. But I enjoyed to compete again,” Krawietz added.
Der erste Tag der #GermanProSeries ist durch! Vier Gruppen waren in der #TannenhofResortGermanMensSeries in Großhesselohe und Neuss am Start. Hier kommen alle Ergebnisse:#DTBTennis pic.twitter.com/MU4W81YZm1
— DeutscherTennisBund (@DTB_Tennis) June 9, 2020
