MUNICH, May 2, 2019

The bottom half of the draw was in second-round action at the BMW Open by FWU on a sunny Thursday in Munich.

Philipp Kohlschreiber delighted his home crowd on Center Court, knocking out the tournament’s No. 2 Karen Khachanov from Russia 7-6(5), 6-4. The three-time champion from Augsburg won 81 per cent of his second service points, converting his second match point after one hour and 49 minutes.

Kohli stuns Karen 😯@Kohlscribbler is into the @BMWOpenbyFWU quarters after a 7-6(6), 6-4 win over No. 2 seed Khachanov 👊 pic.twitter.com/ibX0VaqSod

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) 2. Mai 2019

“It was a good and entertaining, but also pretty close match,” Kohlschreiber said following his third victory over Khachanov in the pair’s fourth meeting. “I think that I deserved to win today. I returned well and seemed to find my rhythm on court quickly. I am happy with the outcome.”

Up next for Kohlschreiber will be Matteo Berrettini. The 23-year-old Italian, who captured his second ATP Tour title in Budapest last Sunday, defeated US-American Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-3. The encounter lasted one hour and 19 minutes.

Bautista Agut, Pella advance

Earlier in the day, Roberto Bautista Agut defeated German teenager and wild card entry Rudolf Molleker 6-4, 6-2. The fourth seed from Spain broke the 18-year-old’s serve four times, winning 58 per cent of the total points played to secure victory in one hour and 17 minutes.

“It was tough today, as Roberto doesn’t make many mistakes,” M0lleker said after his seventh main draw match on the ATP Tour. “I tried to stay in the rallies, but it didn’t work out in the end.”

“I had a good start into the season, making it into the main draw at the Australian Open followed by a tough time, in which I switched a lot between outdoor and indoor tournaments. I had to deal with a couple of early losses and I was mentally in a bad place. By reaching the semi-finals at the ATP Challenger at the Mouratoglou Academy, I regained some confidence,” Molleker said.

The #NextGenATP player will try to defend his NeckarCup crown in Heilbronn in two weeks. “The main goal, however, is to get to the ATP Tour as soon as possible,” Molleker stated.

Bautista Agut will next take on in-form South American Guido Pella. The No. 7 seed from Argentina fought past Taro Daniel of Japan 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes. Pella, who achieved a career-high World No. 26 in the ATP Rankings this week, also leads the ATP Tour with the most wins (19-5) on clay in 2019.

Munich Moments

• Karen Khachanov took a wild card into the tournament, hoping to play a couple of matches at the BMW Open. The Russian suffered a four-match losing streak before Munich, dating back to a quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. After only one appearance on Center Court, Khachanov will leave Bavaria’s capital city heading for Madrid.

• Kohlschreiber advanced to his 10th quarterfinal in Munich. The German veteran made his debut at the ATP 250 clay-court event in 2002 and clinched the title in 2007, 2012 and 2016. Alexander Zverev could also lift his third BMW Open trophy this year. “Sascha is 22 years old and World No. 3. If he continues to play like this, he will probably win more titles in Munich than me and he will deserve it,” Kohlschreiber said.

• After two sunny days in Munich, a gentle breeze with a few showers and more clouds than sun is expected for Friday. Concerning the weather, a special message was sent from Estoril:

Why did Goffin ask for a WC here and not in Munich?

“Well, I went to Munich twice and once I even saw some snow. Way too cold”.

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) 2. Mai 2019

Photo Gallery (by Florian Heer)