ATP Munich - DRAW: Alexander Zverev seeks title vs Khachanov, Cecchinato
The International Tennis Championships of Bavaria had started way back in 1900 in Munich and the Bavarian capital has been on the tennis map ever since, moving the event to the Iphitos Tennis Club in 1974 and becoming a regular stop in the ATP calendar. Guillermo Vilas, Manuel Orantes, Ivan Lendl, Michael Stich, Roger Federer, Nikolay Davydenko, Tommy Haas and Andy Murray are all on the list of champions, with Alexander Zverev stealing the honor in the last two seasons as the first back-to-back champion in almost 20 years. The struggling German will lead the draw again next week, desperately seeking a good result after the mediocre start of the season and no titles in his hands since the ATP Finals in November.
Marrakech, Monte Carlo and Barcelona brought him no luck and he will try to change that in front of the home fans, facing Maximilian Marterer or Juan Ignacio Londero in round two. Christian Garin, Diego Schwartzman and Benoit Paire are the remaining players in the top quarter, all capable of dethroning Zverev if he fails to deliver the best tennis. The 3rd seed Marco Cecchinato decided to withdraw from Budapest due to illness and should be back in Munich, playing Ernests Gulbis or Martin Klizan in round two. Jan-Lennard Struff and Marton Fucsovics are in contention as well, with the German who stayed competitive in the entire match against Rafael Nadal in Barcelona, hoping for more of the same in front of the home crowd.
Guido Pella and Roberto Bautista Agut are the players to beat in the third quarter, facing Mischa Zverev, Taro Daniel, Ugo Humbert, Rudolf Molleker and Marius Copil before the potential quarter-final encounter. The 5th seed Kyle Edmund kicks off the campaign against Denis Kudla before the second round duel with Matteo Berrettini who is the finalist in Budapest. The three-time champion Philipp Kohlschreiber, Andreas Seppi and Karen Khachanov are the remaining contenders in the bottom quarter, with the Russian taking a wild card to seek much-needed wins after a slow start of the year.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2INWOpY
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