MEERBUSCH, August 16, 2017
Top-seed Florian Mayer headlined Tuesday’s second round action at the €43,000 Bucher Reisen Tennis Grand Prix, held at the venue of the Grün-Weiß-Rot Büderich. The World No. 62 rallied past Spaniard Bernabé Zapata-Miralles 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Florian Mayer
In front of about 500 specatators on WBM Centre Court, Mayer saved four of the seven break points he faced, converting four of his own to secure victory in one hour and 26 minutes.
“His performance in the first set was unbelievble,” Mayer had to admit. “However, I kept fighting and he seemed to run a bit out of steam at the end of the match. He made more unforced errors and I could gain a couple of free points.”
Mayer will next take on Andreas Haider-Maurer. The Austrian wild card entry defeated the tournament’s number five Oscar Otte from Germany 6-2, 6-4. Haider-Maurer withstood 10 aces, hitting five of his own to advance in 69 minutes. The World No. 842 from Innsbruck missed the entire 2016 season due to injury and will appear in his first Challenger quarterfinal since lifting the trophy here in Meerbusch two years ago.
Second seed Steve Darcis was forced to withdraw from his match with Spanish teenager Nicola Kuhn. The Belgian veteran suffered from a lower back injury.
“I would have loved to play against him, as I expected a great match. However, I am also happy to reach the the next round,” Kuhn told. The 17-year-old will next challenge eighth favourite Vaclav Safranek from the Czech Republic.
