For the German tennis pros, the start of the Australian Open is anything but satisfactory. Despite a good performance, Jule Niemeier also loses against iga Swiatek, the number 1 in the world. Alexander Zverev will intervene in the tournament on Tuesday.
Zero out of six – the German tennis professionals experienced a debacle at the start of the Australian Open. None of the six players who started on Monday cleared their first-round hurdle. Oscar Otte, Daniel Altmaier, Yannick Hanfmann, Tamara Korpatsch, Eva Lys and finally Jule Niemeier all suffered defeats in Melbourne Park and caused a sobering atmosphere from a German perspective at the “Happy Slam” early on.
Otte’s self-criticism matched the poor performance: “I felt like a garbage can on the pitch.” And Eurosport expert Boris Becker said smugly: “Sometimes being there is everything…” On Tuesday, among others, Olympic champion Alexander Zverev could do the German Polish up the balance a bit – with noble fan Dirk Nowitzki as support in the stands.
The basketball icon also followed Niemeier’s opening match in the Rod Laver Arena – and was not a lucky charm. As in the round of 16 of the US Open last September, Niemeier caused major problems for world number one Iga Swiatek, but after almost two hours of play the Pole prevailed against the Wimbledon quarter-finalist. “She really exerted a lot of pressure,” praised top seeded Swiatek.
After a two-set lead against the wild card holder Rinky Hijikata, Hanfmann already looked like the sure winner, but the Australian, inspired by the frenetic crowd, turned the game after 4:25 hours into a 4: 6, 4: 6, 6: 3, 7:6 (7:5) and 6:3.
Meanwhile, Otte was hard on himself. He didn’t manage to “play in a reasonable return with the backhand,” said the Davis Cup player after the deserved 2: 6, 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 2), 5: 7 against the qualifier Shanghai Juncheng. Otte couldn’t find a match against the 17-year-old Chinese from the start. “It’s just crazy what happened today.”
Altmaier put number 16 seeded American Frances Tiafoe under great pressure from the third set, but in the end had to beat himself 3: 6, 3: 6, 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 7 (6: 8). give. “He fought incredibly,” Tiafoe praised the German afterwards.
Lys was “disappointed” after beating Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa 6-2, 0-6, 2-6. After winning the first set, she “really realized what was happening” – after that there was a break in the game of the main field debutant. The 21-year-old also had her right wrist treated in the second set. For Korpatsch, the tournament is over after the expected 3: 6, 2: 6 against former US Open winner Emma Raducanu from Great Britain.
Ski racer Linus Straßer confirmed his strong form three weeks before the Alpine World Championships in France, but just missed another podium. The man from Munich finished fourth when Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen won.
Boris Becker is back in front of the camera as an expert for Eurosport. Just in time for the start of the Australian Open, the TV broadcaster struggled with sound problems lasting several minutes. Many tennis fans complain about the constant humming noise in the background.
