SCHWIEBERDINGEN, January 10, 2017

The ITF Pro Circuit has returned to Germany for a three week indoor swing, starting in Schwieberdingen with the 10th anniversary of the $15,000 Südwestbank Tennis Grand Prix, held at the Tennis King Academy. Main draw kicked-off on Tuesday when two German young guns opened centre court action.

Hendrik Jebens emerged victorious from the battle of the wild cards with 16-year-old Rudolf Molleker, winning 6-3, 6-4. The World No. 1876 fired 14 aces and capitalized on all of his three break point chances to advance in one hour and 11 minutes. Jebens celebrated his first main draw match win at Futures level since the event in Kamen in June last year.

Next up for Jebens will be Dzmitry Zhyrmont of Belarus. The tournament’s second favourite didn’t lose his serve to defeat Latvian qualifier Martins Podzus 6-2, 6-1 in only 66 minutes. Zhyrmont will be one of the serious contenders for the title in Schwieberdingen this year, as the World No. 321 hoisted 11 career trophies on the Pro Circuit, five of them indoors.

Zhyrmont will be joined in the second round by fellow countryman Yaraslau Shyla, who edged past 18-year-old German qualifier Valentin Günther 6-4, 6-4. The fourth seed from Minsk, who captured two ITF titles on home soil last summer, won 87 per cent of his first service points to secure victory in 65 minutes. Shyla will next face Dominik Boehler from Germany.