HAMBURG, October 18, 2022
The main draw of the ATP Challenger Tour 80 tournament at the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup started on Monday with four German players in action. One of them secured his spot in the second round at the end of the day.
Nicola Kuhn benefited from the retirement of his compatriot Mats Moraing due to injury after the wildcard player of the German Tennis Federation (DTB) won the first set 7-6(1) and was leading 1-0 in the second after a break.
“It was my first match after the surgery. I was missing the rhythm. You have to fight through that. But I was able to save some break points,” said Kuhn, who is back in a tournament for the first time since early September after a treatment on his wisdom teeth.
“Overall it was a tough task, but I am happy to have won the tie-break. For Mats, of course, it’s bitter. But I’m happy to be back on the court myself.”
Kuhn reveals himself as a Hamburg fan
Kuhn is back in the Hanseatic city for the second time this season after losing 6-7 in the third set at the Hamburg European Open in July to Spanish superstar and current World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
“Hamburg is definitely one of my favorite cities,” the 22-year-old native of Innsbruck admitted. “Not only because of the tennis, it’s also a great city in general. I enjoy walking around here and just spending time.”
Kuhn, who has already claimed two titles at Challenger level (on home soil in Braunschweig 2017 and in El Espinar, Spain 2019), will next face the winner of the match between 2020 Future Nord champion in Hamburg, Kacper Zuk of Poland and second-seeded Dutch Jelle Sels.
Duisburg native Henri Squire, on the other hand, fell to 352nd-ranked Duje Ajdukovic of Croatia 7-6(0), 6-1. Rudolf Molleker from Oranienburg, who entered the tournament with a wild card, also lost his opening match against Swiss Alexander Ritschard in two sets 7-5, 6-4.
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