Tennis in Hamburg
Confident opening victory for Zverev – Lys surprised
Alexander Zverev won his opening match in Hamburg in straight sets. photo
© Frank Molter/dpa
Eight German tennis professionals reach the round of 16 at the tournaments in Hamburg. Alexander Zverev solves the first task in a superior manner – the last German men’s title was a long time ago.
Alexander Zverev has at his home tournament in Hamburg easily reached the round of 16. The Olympic tennis champion clearly won his opening game against Slovakian Alex Molcan 6:0, 6:3. The 26-year-old converted his first match point after just 61 minutes.
In the round of the top 16, Zverev is now in a German duel against Maximilian Marterer. When two wild card starters met, Marterer prevailed 7:6 (7:2), 6:2 against Rudolf Molleker. Daniel Altmaier had previously reached the round of 16. In the evening, Yannick Hanfmann advanced after giving up his opponent Francisco Cerúndolo from Argentina with a score of 4:6, 6:2, 4:2. Four Germans are also in the round of 16 in Eva Lys, Jule Niemeier, Noma Noha Akugue and Tamara Korpatsch.
Zverev back in Hamburg for the first time since 2019
“You can see that in other sports, in football and basketball, that you just feel more comfortable at home, you have an advantage, I noticed that today,” enthused Zverev to the cheers of the spectators on Center Court. “I’m glad I’m back home in Hamburg. Hopefully we’ll all have a nice week.”
For Zverev it was the third victory over the world number 118. Molcan within just under two months. At Rothenbaum, the native of Hamburg had not made it past the semi-finals, he is back in his hometown for the first time since 2019. Michael Stich celebrated the last German tournament victory in the men’s competition in Hamburg 30 years ago.
Lys surprisingly further
Eva Lys managed a big surprise at the start. The 21-year-old prevailed against number two seeded Egyptian Mayar Sherif 6-1, 6-1. “Today was the perfect opening game. I played incredibly well, incredibly bravely,” enthused Lys. “I can say for the first time in a long time that this was a ‘ten out of ten match’.”
In front of her home crowd, the Hamburg native impressed from the start on Center Court and converted her first match point after 1:29 hours. The world rankings-167. Lys celebrated her first win at the Rothenbaum clay court event. In Hamburg she will be coached by Torben Beltz, Angelique Kerber’s former coach, and will now meet Panna Udvardy from Hungary.