MUNICH, April 17, 2023
Main draw action at the BMW Open by American Express went underway on a chilly Monday with temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius in Munich. In a first-round duel between two sun-drenched players, Californian Marcos Giron handled the difficult conditions in Bavaria better than his opponent and knocked out seventh-seeded Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena.
The 29-year-old US-American, who is making his second appearance at the MTTC Iphitos after losing to Frenchman Hugo Gaston last year, sent down five aces and won 81 per cent of his first-service points to secure a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory in two hours and 12 minutes.
Marcos on a mission 💪@marcos_giron93 crafts a 6-1 5-7 6-2 victory over Roberto Carballes Baena in Munich.
@BMWOpenbyAmex pic.twitter.com/lEdaOnFIwR
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 17, 2023
“Last year was my first year in Munich and it rained six hours straight ahead of my first match. Even though it is cold I was happy today. Not pure sunny skies but there are still really good conditions,” said Giron during his on-court interview. “I am really happy with the win. It was kind of a tale of three sets. The first set I came out and played great. The second set [I was] a little sloppier, he raised his level, and the third I’m really happy with it. There were a few close moments and I did well.”
Flavio Cobolli also advanced to the second round with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Australian Jordan Thompson. The 20-year-old Italian qualifier was an efficient five-of-six on break points and now awaits No. 5 seed Sebastian Baez of Argentina or Germany’s Oscar Otte.
Hanfmann outlasts Monteiro
Later in the day, local wild card entry Yannick Hanfmann battled past Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-2. The World No. 112, who hopes to carry his momentum from Houston, where won five matches in a row as qualifier, capitalized on three of his eight break-point chances to prevail after two hours and 59 minutes.
“Three hour grind in tough conditions but I love it. It’s Munich. You never know. I can be cold and it was raining a bit at the end of the second set and I knew…okay, this is my time,” said Hanfmann, who will next play defending champion and top seed Holge Rune.
“He’s very young, so very inexperienced – I’m definitely the favourite,” he joked about his upcoming task against the Dane.
The final match of the day between Marc-Andrea Huesler from Switzerland and Briton Kyle Edmund was suspended due to darkness after Huesler won the opening set in the tie-break.
Bachinger retires from professional tennis
Meanwhile on a packed Court 1, Matthias Bachinger played his last match as a tennis professional alongside Dominic Thiem. The German-Austrian combination lost 6-4, 6-2 to Dutch veteran Robin Haase and Philipp Oswald from Austria. The 36-year-old Bachinger, who was born in Munich, turned pro in 2005 and reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 85. He clinched four titles on the ATP Challenger Tour and lifted two trophies on the ITF Pro Circuit.
Former World No. 85 Matthias Bachinger 🇩🇪 retires from pro tennis.
“Munich is my hometown. I came to the tournament here as a child. Playing my last match with Dominic…I will never forget it. Lots of credit to him. It was a super nice ending for me.”#ATPTour #Munich 🍺 pic.twitter.com/JnLj0xg3Tm
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) April 17, 2023
“It was a very emotional match today,” Bachinger told the press afterwards. “Munich is my hometown. I came to the tournament here as a child. To finish my career here is fantastic. And to play doubles with Dominic, who immediately agreed to play with me. I give him a lot of credit for that and I will never forget it. It was a super nice ending for me.”
