tennis
Zverev and Struff set at Australian Open
Jan-Lennard Struff waves to the audience after a game. photo
© Frank Molter/dpa
Two German tennis professionals are seeded at the Australian Open. Angelique Kerber and Co., on the other hand, threaten strong opponents.
Alexander Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff are among them Australian Open to the 32 seeded players and thus avoid the toughest opponents in the first round. Zverev goes into the first Grand Slam tournament of the new tennis season as number six, Struff is listed at number 24.
The men’s seeding list is headed by defending champion Novak Djokovic, while the women’s seeding is Poland’s Iga Swiatek as number one in the tournament that begins this Sunday. German players are not seeded this year. Angelique Kerber, who is celebrating her comeback on the big stage in Melbourne after her maternity leave, and Co. are threatening tricky opponents right from the start. The draw will take place this Thursday.
Kerber trained for the first time in the sunshine on Wednesday in the Rod Laver Arena, where she celebrated her first Grand Slam title in 2016. Zverev was also on the court in the facility’s largest arena in Melbourne Park and trained together with Djokovic. Kerber and Zverev won the United Cup together in Sydney on Sunday.