Juan Martin Del Potro Wins First Clay Match In Three Years In Munich, Gael Monfils Withdraws
- 19 Comments
Juan Martin del Potro began his 2016 clay season on a positive note beating Dustin Brown 7-6(2), 6-2 on a chilly day at the Munich Open. The victory was the Argentine’s first on clay in almost three years since beating Andrey Kuznetsov in 2013 Rome.
“I’m very happy to win my first match in three years on clay,” del Potro said. “I was quite nervous at the end of the match and didn’t serve as well as I did early in the match. He played better in the end too. But for the conditions, we played a nice match.
“I feel better. I am starting to hit my topspin backhand, which is what I need on this surface. I am looking forward to getting even better and hitting harder on my backhand.”
The 337th-ranked Del Potro moves on to face another German, Jan Lennard Struff, in the second round tomorrow.
Here we are after my first match on clay in 3 years… 😀🎾❄️☃♠️♣️♥️♦️🃏 pic.twitter.com/0nqJqSFmMw
— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) April 27, 2016
Other winners in Munich included Dominic Thiem, Fabio Fognini and German teen Alexander Zverev.
Second seed Gael Monfils said the cold weather may have aggravated a groin injury which forced him out of the tournament for the third straight year.
Top seed David Goffin begins play Thursday. Because of bad weather, all matches were canceled on Tuesday.
THURSDAY MUNICH SCHEDULE
CENTRE COURT start 11:00 am
[5] F. Fognini (ITA) vs M. Kukushkin (KAZ)
Not Before 1:30 pm
L. Rosol (CZE) vs [8] A. Zverev (GER)
[Q] F. Mayer (GER) vs [4] P. Kohlschreiber (GER)
Not Before 5:00 pm
J. Struff (GER) vs [WC] J. del Potro (ARG)
COURT 1 start 11:00 am
[Q] I. Sijsling (NED) vs [LL] J. Kovalik (SVK)
[1] D. Goffin (BEL) vs V. Estrella Burgos (DOM)
M. Elgin (RUS) / D. Istomin (UZB) vs [4] J. Knowle (AUT) / A. Peya (AUT)
[3] H. Kontinen (FIN) / J. Peers (AUS) vs [WC] A. Zverev (GER) / M. Zverev (GER)
You Might Like:
Zverev Defending Champion Next Week at ATP Munich; Preview
Juan Martin Del Potro Won’t Play The French Open For A Fourth Straight Year
Juan Martin Del Potro Withdraws From The Australian Open
Gael Monfils: I Want To Win A Big Title, The French Open Is My Dream
Del Potro Withdraws From Estoril