KITZBÜHEL, September 9, 2020
Five of the six qualifiers at the Generali Open booked their spot in the second round of the ATP 250 clay-court tournament on Wednesday.
Maximilian Marterer ousted Austrian wild card entry Dennis Novak 7-6(6), 6-4. The 25-year-old German capitalized on two of his four break point chances to advance after one hour and 44 minutes. Marterer will next take on No. 5 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.
Federico Delbonis emerged victorious from the all-Argentine affair with Juan Ignacio Londero, winning 6-4, 6-0. Delbonis saved all two break points he faced and capitalized on four of his own six break point chances to advance in one hour and 18 minutes. Delbonis will next face No. 4 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.
Yannick Hanfmann, winner of the Citta di Todi ATP Challenger two weeks ago, beat Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan to reach the second round. The World No. 118 from Germany won 55 per cent of the total points played to prevail after one hour and 12 minutes. Hanfmann will oppose No. 3 seed Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in the next round.
Qualifiers Laslo Djere from Serbia and Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler also advanced to the second round. Huesler rallied past Finnish wild card entry Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) to set a meeting with top seed Fabio Fognini of Italy on Thursday. Djere upset No. 8 seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2) to meet Jannik Sinner.
The 19-year-old reigning Next-Gen-ATP champion from South Tyrol defeated German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2 in 67 minutes.
“I enjoy playing here. My parents and friends are here. It feels a bit like being at home with the mountains and the good air. That’s exactly what I needed after the US Open. The first match on clay felt good and we will see how it goes on,” Sinner said after the battle of the generations.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert was the only qualifier to fall in the opening round. The 29-year-old Frenchman lost 6-4, 6-3 to Feliciano Lopez of Spain.
