Daniel Altmaier cried uncontrollably. Again and again, the 24-year-old wiped the tears from his eyes and enjoyed the ovations for the sensation in a big tennis drama. With shouts of “Daniel, Daniel”, the audience celebrated the underdog at the French Open for the coup in a five-sentence thriller against the Italian title contender Jannik Sinner.
“I don’t know if you can call this a historic game. But that’s one to remember,” enthused Altmaier in an interview on the Suzanne-Lenglen court after soaking up the atmosphere. “I just love tennis. My team and I have invested so much in the past few months. This victory is a team effort.”
Zverev easy on
Alexander Zverev completed his own emotional test on the accident site in Paris with flying colors and also reached the third round. In his first appearance on the largest square in Stade Roland Garros, where he had injured his ankle almost a year earlier, Zverev improved significantly and defeated Slovakian Alex Molcan 6: 4, 6: 2, 6: 1.
In the next round, Zverev faces the first sporting endurance test at this French Open against the American Frances Tiafoe, seeded number twelve. In the round of 16 there could be a duel between the only remaining German tennis professionals.
With an ace, Altmaier made it 6: 7 (0: 7), 7: 6 (9: 7), 1: 6, 7: 6 (7: 4), 7: 5 after 5:26 hours. “Very strong performance!” Congratulated legend Boris Becker via Instagram. After repelling two match points in the fourth round, Altmaier celebrated one of the greatest successes of his career.
“It’s enjoyed briefly and then it goes on,” he said aggressively at Eurosport. Against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Altmaier is now about to make it into the round of 16. “The win means a lot to me. I just want to show myself on this big stage. We put the work in beforehand.” Altmaier has built up a team in Argentina. Tennis is worked more there than in Germany, he explains this step.
Yannick Hanfmann also relies on an Argentine coach. The 31-year-old from Karlsruhe lost in the evening to Argentinian Francisco Cerúndolo 3: 6, 3: 6, 4: 6. Hanfmann could not build on the strong performance in the exhausting five-set win in the first round.
Also eliminated peacefully
Shortly before, Anna-Lena Friedsam failed as the last German starter in the women’s competition in the second round. The 29-year-old from Andernach lost to the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrowa after just 62 minutes 2:6, 0:6 and largely had no chance. Previously, Jule Niemeier and Tatjana Maria had already left at the start.
Altmaier started stable and was at times 4:3 ahead with a break. After losing the tie-break to zero, he had the middle finger of his left hand treated longer. The ice therapy helped, and Altmaier, with strong nerves, converted the fifth chance to win the second set with an overhead ball after more than two hours.
Sinner seemed vulnerable, but initially turned up the heat. In just 27 minutes, Altmaier saw the third set gone. Altmaier emphasized before the game that he did not see his only second second-round game as a bonus. “If that were a reward, I wouldn’t need to go out on the pitch.”
And he continued to show great fighting spirit in the fourth round. But again the world number 79. not taking advantage of a break. Altmaier fended off the first match ball with a net scooter and saved himself again in the tie-break. There he got the set with a fine volley stop – this round alone lasted 90 minutes. In the fifth round he served to victory with a score of 5:4, suddenly his nerves were trembling. But again he took the serve from Sinner – and was ultimately allowed to celebrate.
