Tennis started in Hamburg with mixed feelings for Spanish tennis players. Roberto Bautista, fourth seed of the tournament, started his way on the right foot after defeating the Georgian 6-4 and 6-3 Nikoloz Basilashvili. The Castellón insisted that the game did not have much history thanks to his usual solid game, which he displayed one more day to advance to the second round after 1 hour and 25 minutes of meeting. There Dominik Koepfer awaits you, local player who will not have the heat of an absent public, but who is performing at a high level in the last week (he lost in the quarterfinals against Djokovic in Rome).
The negative note was given Albert Ramos to be eliminated at the first exchange against the Kazakh Alexander Bublik: 6-2 and 7-6 in 1 hour and 53 minutes. The Catalan lived a duel very different from that of Bautista, since he was in tow from the beginning. He conceded an exit break that allowed his rival to lead 3-0 in the first set, an advantage that he did not miss.
Bublik closed the set as he started it, with a new break, which allowed him to start serving in the second set to take the initiative. Ramos, brave and fighter where they are, raised the level and equalized the forces in a party where errors abounded on both sides. The match was resolved in a cruel tiebreaker for Ramos, who suffered a leg muscle injury when trying to reach a drop. It was an insurmountable drag. In addition, Bublik took advantage of the first winning opportunity he had to finish in a big way, with an ace, which fortunately did not end in tragedy. The ball bounced off and hit a ball boy, who despite the scare made good friends with Bublik after receiving his apologies and the ball itself as a gift. Tennis is going for balls lately …
Medvedev surprise
The rest of the day left triumphs of the main favorites, so Fognini, Khachanov and Augier-Aliassime will be in the second round. Can't say the same Medvedev, who gave the surprise of the day when he fell to Frenchman Ugo Humbert. The Russian, first seeded in Hamburg, had no ideas to counteract the strength of the French and was seen to be unhinged at times, so this early elimination (6-4 and 6-3) will give him a few days to focus on his face. to Roland Garros. Nishikori also fell, with a beating included from the Chilean Garin (6-0 and 6-3), and Monfils, defeated at the hands of the German Hanfmann (6-4 and 6-3).
The German ATP 500, once Masters 1,000, does not have the participation of Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Dominic Thiem (the winners of the last three Grand Slams), but it does have part of the list of the world top-10, as Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini.
Results of the Hamburg first round.