MUNICH, May 1, 2019

Two-time defending champion Alexander Zverev opened his title bid successfully at the BMW Open by FWU on a sunny May Day in Munich. The World No. 3 defeated Juan Ignacio Londero from Argentina 7-5, 6-1.

In front of packed stands on Center Court, Zverev sent down six aces, winning 79 per cent of his first service points. The top seed broke serve five times to prevail after one hour and four minutes.

“It was a positive match for me in general. I had to face some difficult moments in the first set, but managed to come through with aggressive tennis. I showed my best tennis in the second set and I am happy to be back in Munich. I was able to get back some positive energy,” Zverev said during his post-match press conference.

“It was fun to play here in Germany. The crowd is always very, very nice to me and amazing. I was looking forward to it and it was definitely special.”

Next up for Zverev will be Cristian Garin of Chile. The 22-year-old emerged victorious from the all-South American affair with No. 6 Diego Schwartzman from Argentina, winning 6-1, 7-5. The encounter lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

Cecchinato to play Fucsovics

Marco Cecchinato also advanced to the quarterfinals with a solid 6-1, 6-3 win over 2014 champion Martin Klizan from Slovakia. The No. 3 seed from Italy, who did not drop one set en route to his his third ATP Tour title at Buenos Aires in February, didn’t face a break point, converting four of his own nine chances to secure victory in 65 minutes.

Cecchinato will next take on No. 8 seeded Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, who rallied past Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro, winning 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 36 minutes.

Munich Moments

• Alexander Zverev Sr. has been released from hospital and attended son Alexander’s match on Center Court. German tennis legend Boris Becker also sat in the stands to follow the action.

• Zverev practiced most of the time in Munich with his brother Mischa. “He played much better during practice than in his match,” Alexander Zverev commented with a smile.

• Tickets for Tuesday were sold-out. The organizers even started to sell ground tickets (at the price of €20) to satisfy the high demand. Tickets for Thursday are still available: www.bmwopenbyfwu.de

• Alexander Zverev, Karen Khachanov, Roberto Bautista Agut and many more attended the tournament’s Players’ Night on Tuesday evening. Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich received the Iphitos Award.

Photo Gallery (by Florian Heer):