MUNICH, May 2, 2018

The top half of the draw was in second round action on Wednesday at the BWM Open by FWU headlined by the return of the defending champion Alexander Zverev, who had to overcome a tough test in his opening match. The No. 1 seed battled past German wild card entry Yannick Hanfmann 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

In the pair’s first meeting, Hanfmann seemed well prepared, annoyed his compatriot with a couple of nice drop shots and eventually clinched the opener with his eighth set point in a thrilling tie-break 14-12 after 62 minutes.

Zverev broke serve for the first time in the fourth game of the second set but Hanfmann fought back immediately. The World No. 3 had to wait until the 10th game to get his second chance and capitalized on it with a stunning forehand to push the match the distance.

Alexander Zverev

From then on, Zverev took control of the encounter, winning 65 per cent of the points in the third set to secure victory in two hours and nine minutes.

“It was maybe a top-20-match. I told him at the net that if he continues playing like this, he will soon be able to break inside the top 100,” Zverev gave the credit to his opponent.

“Key was to get the break in the second set and to start well into the final set. It was one of my typical first-round matches, so I am actually pretty pleased with my game. Of course there are things to improve but overall it wasn’t that bad.”

Struff overcomes Maden

Jan-Lennard Struff – photo: Florian Heer

Zverev will next take on Jan-Lennard Struff. The 28-year-old from Warstein emerged victorious from the all-German-affair with Yannick Maden, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Struff fired 12 aces and gained the decisive break in the eighth game of the second set to serve out in the following. The encounter lasted one hour and 40 minutes.

“It was a tough match,” told Struff. “Yannick is a very solid player and I had to work hard for my points.”

#NextGenATP champion Hyeon Chung cruised past Matthias Bachinger 6-1, 6-1. The No. 4 seed from Korea saved all five break points he faced, capitalizing on five of his own to advance in only 58 minutes.

Next up for Chung will be Slovakian qualifier Martin Klizan, who rallied past Mirza Basic 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. The 2014 Munich champion returns to quarterfinals for the third consecutive time.

Photo Gallery (by Florian Heer):