MUNICH, April 16, 2024
Alexander Zverev is back at the BMW Open for the 10th time. The top seed of the ATP 250 clay-court event is seeking his third Munich title this week.
“This is a special tournament for me. I haven’t skipped one single edition since 2014 and, hopefully, I will never do in my career,” Zverev said on Tuesday. “I went through different emotions throughout the years here. I won two titles but the last two years were not successful. I hope it will change again, being able to compete for the title.”
Mixed emotions for Zverev in Bavaria
Zverev, who clinched back-to-back trophies at the MTTC Iphitos in 2017 and 2018 and has a 14-7 record at the BMW Open, suffered early exits in both of the past two years. He fell to eventual champion Holger Rune in his opening match 2022 and was upset by Australian Christopher O’Connell in the second round last year.
However, Zverev’s positive feelings associated with his past stays in the Bavarian capital prevail. The Hamburg native took the opportunity to attend football games of his favourite club FC Bayern München and also revealed that he always loves eating schnitzel or treats himself to a wheat beer.
This week in Munich is also important for Zverev in a different way, as he will celebrate his 27th birthday on Saturday. How does he feel about it?
“I am getting old,” Zverev responded, with a smile on his face. “However, professional athletes’ careers have become longer. Many players start to show their best tennis at the age of 27 or 28. I am more than happy about what I have already achieved but there are still things I want to go for. I haven’t won a Grand Slam title and I haven’t been ranked World No. 1. But the most important thing is to stay healthy.
“The last 10 years passed quickly. It feels like it was yesterday when I lost to Jürgen Melzer in my first match in Munich without having a chance 6-1, 6-2. You have to appreciate your career as a tennis pro. The older you get, the better you understand that you cannot live this kind of life forever. And I love being a tennis player,” Zverev stated. He added in the same breath: “I am still here, I am not going to retire tomorrow.”
The World No. 5 will start his home campaign against Jurij Rodionov of Austria, who beat Aleksandar Vukic from Australia 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 24 minutes. Wednesday will be the pair’s first meeting but Zverev seemed to be well prepared for it and is looking forward to his start.
“I enjoyed a good practice yesterday. Today it was a bit more difficult to get rhythm in these windy conditions but I felt the balls pretty well and I hope for a good week here,” said the two-time champion.
Garin beats Koepfer
In other first-round action on a windy and chilly Tuesday, Cristian Garin defeated No. 7 seed Dominik Koepfer from Germany 7-6(3), 6-3. The 27-year-old from Chile, who beat Zverev en route to his 2019 BMW Open triumph, capitalized on two of his nine break-point opportunities to advance in one hour and 37 minutes.
2019 Champ up and running 🏃@Garin_Cris defeats the 7th seed Dominik Koepfer 7-6 6-3 to advance to round 2👏#BMWOpen pic.twitter.com/xmmFMm7uwY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 16, 2024
“I have been to Munich many times but I have never had wind during my matches. I am used to the court but not to these conditions,” said Garin, who beat Matteo Berrettini in three sets in the 2019 BMW Open final.
“I am so happy to be back. I love this tournament, I love the city. It’s great to play here again. I love playing in Germany. Of course I have good memories from the past. I remember the year I won. It was very tough and it will be similar this week.”
Garin will next take on US-American youngster Alex Michelsen.
Auger-Aliassime survives Marterer scare
Felix Auger-Aliassime celebrated a successful Munich debut but needed to dig deep against home favourite Maximilian Marterer. The fifth-seeded Canadian saved a match point in the 12th game of the final set when he found the line with an inside-out forehand winner. In the following tie-break, Auger-Aliassime closed the match out to secure a 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 7-6(3) victory in three hours and 24 minutes, the longest encounter at the BMW Open since data collection began.
Back from the brink 💪@felixtennis saves a match point in defeating Marterer 6-7 7-6 7-6 in 3 hours 30 🔥@BMWOpen24 #BMWOpen pic.twitter.com/8Z9MpHSzXo
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 16, 2024
“It was a crazy match, one of the craziest I have played. Luck was on my side when I saved match point. Ninety-nine per cent of the time you lose a match like this. It went my way and I am happy to stay alive in the tournament, getting a chance to play again,” said Auger-Aliassime, after recovering from a set down for the first this season.
“Conditions were tough but we both had to deal with it. It was cooler than the last few days of practice. Hard wind at times. You never know from which direction it was coming. It was tricky but I had to fight without being pretty on the court.”
The 23-year-old from Montreal will next oppose Taro Daniel of Japan, who was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Christopher O’Connell.
