Rain disrupts play on Wednesday
Only three Singles matches could be completed at the BOSS OPEN on Wednesday as persistent rain wreaked havoc with the schedule. The day also saw the last two remaining German singles players bow out after hard-fought battles.
Yannick Hanfmann was defeated by Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 5-7, 7-6(4), 2-6. The 34-year-old German created no fewer than six break points in the opening set but failed to convert any of them, before being broken himself at 5-5 and ultimately losing the set 7-5. In the second set, Hanfmann saved two match points on serve, forced a tie-break and claimed it 7-4. The deciding set, however, belonged to Bellucci, who is ranked nearly 20 places below Hanfmann in the ATP Rankings. The Italian raced to a 4-1 lead with two breaks. During the following changeover, Hanfmann received treatment on his back from the physiotherapist but was unable to turn the match around.
As a result, Hanfmann will have to wait a little longer for both his 100th ATP Tour victory and his first quarter-final appearance at the BOSS OPEN.
“He’s a difficult opponent because he’s left-handed, plays a very flat backhand, is extremely athletic and constantly gives you different challenges,” Hanfmann said afterwards. He refused to blame the treatment timeout for the loss: “I’m quite tall and have to get very low for a lot of shots. My back is unfortunately a bit vulnerable. Especially at the start of the grass-court season, it helps to have a day off between matches, but I didn’t get that this time. In the end, I was missing one or two percent, and at this level that can make all the difference.”
Jan-Lennard Struff also missed out on a place in the quarter-finals. The German lost 6-7(3), 6-3, 2-6 to world No. 11 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan. The opening set went entirely on serve before Bublik edged the tie-break. Struff responded strongly in the second set, breaking early for a 2-0 lead and holding on comfortably to level the match. In the deciding set, however, momentum swung back in Bublik’s favour. The Kazakh secured an early break for 2-0 and added another on his way to a 6-2 finish, converting his second match point after 1 hour and 43 minutes.
In the third singles match of the day, France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard defeated Belgian qualifier Gauthier Onclin 7-6(1), 6-2 to secure his place in the quarter-finals as well.
Defending champion Taylor Fritz was unable to begin his title defence due to the rain delays, with his match postponed until Thursday. Fans can therefore look forward to a true “Super Thursday” featuring Frances Tiafoe, Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Jiri Lehecka all in action.