While the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome reaches its decisive stages, the Copa Faulconbridge in Valencia is offering players another valuable opportunity to gain match practice ahead of Roland Garros. One of those players is Daniel Altmaier.

The 27-year-old German, seeded fifth at the ATP Challenger 175 clay-court event, strengthened his title credentials on Wednesday afternoon with a convincing 6-3, 6-3 victory over compatriot and qualifier Henri Squire in just under 90 minutes.

After the match, Altmaier spoke about the challenge of facing Squire, his recent loss to Alexander Zverev in Rome, and why competing in Valencia was the right decision ahead of Paris.

“It was a tough match,” Altmaier said. “Henri came through qualifying and had already won a close match before. You could tell he was able to play freely today without any pressure and with nothing to lose. From my side, it was a solid performance. I handled the difficult moments well and managed to get the breaks at the right time.”

Although it was their first meeting on tour, Altmaier arrived well prepared.

“I watched a selection of his best matches to understand what he can do on a good day,” he explained. “He played very similarly today, so I knew what to expect.”

Reflecting on his recent defeat to Zverev in Rome, Altmaier admitted he left the court feeling that more had been possible.

“I let opportunities slip away,” he said. “There was definitely more in that match for me. I had chances to break, and it was unnecessary to lose the first set so early. In a tiebreak, things maybe could have looked different.”

That disappointment was one of the reasons he and his team decided to compete in Valencia this week.

“It’s not easy nowadays to build confidence,” Altmaier added. “You need matches for that, and that’s why we came here — to work on some small details and gain rhythm again.”

The German also praised the ATP Challenger 175 format, introduced alongside the second week of two-week Masters 1000 events.

“There are a lot of ranking points available,” he noted. “Winning the title here is almost equivalent to reaching a Masters quarterfinal. But more importantly, it’s about match practice. If you lose early in Indian Wells or Miami, otherwise you might wait nearly two weeks before competing again.”

Asked to evaluate his season so far, Altmaier preferred to reserve judgment until after Roland Garros.

“For me, the first half of the season only ends after Paris,” he said. “On clay, I’ve won the matches I needed in order to rebuild confidence. The first three months of the year were not good, but that can happen. I kept working, and now I’m starting to get my opportunities again.”

Altmaier, who spends significant time training in South America, also highlighted the differences between tennis culture there and in Europe.

“South American players are physically fitter and less injury-prone,” he explained. “That allows them to compete at the highest level for 11 months of the year. Strategically, things are also made simpler there.”

He believes the growth of Challenger events in Latin America has also contributed to the rise of young players from the region.

“To reach the top 200 today, those players don’t need to travel much anymore,” he said. “They can play 30 Challengers a year without needing to come to Europe or constantly change surfaces. That’s a big difference compared to Germany.”

Altmaier’s Spanish has become increasingly fluent through his time abroad.

“I speak it every day with my coaches and also with my (Mexican) wife,” he smiled. “A lot of people say I have an Argentine accent. Overall, it’s probably more South American Spanish than Castilian.”

This week also marks his first visit to Valencia.

“It’s a very pleasant city,” Altmaier said. “We already went out for dinner and everything has made a really good impression. We’re also playing in a traditional and beautiful club.”

Looking ahead, the German outlined an ambitious grass-court schedule following Roland Garros, including tournaments in Stuttgart, Halle and Eastbourne before Wimbledon.

“I really want to focus intensively on the grass season this year,” he said. “I’m even planning to work with someone specifically during that period as a trial. I’m already looking forward to it.”