Tennis pro Daniel Altmaier was knocked out in the second round of Wimbledon after his second consecutive five-set match. The 25-year-old from Kempen was not rewarded for his comeback and lost his appearance, which had been postponed the day before, against Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who is the same age, 6:7 (3:7), 3:6, 6:1, 7:6 (7:3), 4:6. This means that the grass tournament is over for four of the six German tennis men in singles.
On Wednesday, the second-round encounter with the Canadian 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist was postponed until the next day due to the rainy weather typical for Wimbledon. In the sunshine, the German, who has little experience on grass, only really got going from the third round onwards. He certainly had a chance from the start, as Shapovalov also did not seem stable.
Things go better after a toilet break
After losing the second set, Altmaier disappeared from the court, but then he played more offensively. He called the physiotherapist twice, who treated his adductor area. But he was not suffering from any major problems. Altmaier equalized after sets against the fickle Canadian. Instead of using the momentum to his advantage, he lost his first service game, which was a decisive loss.
In the opening match against British outsider Arthur Fery, Altmaier slipped and subsequently reported muscular problems. With his five-set victory in the first round, he reached the second round of the Grand Slam tournament on grass for the first time.
So far, Jan-Lennard Struff from the Sauerland region has made it to the third round of the German men’s tournament and will play against Daniil Medvedev from Russia for a place in the round of 16. Alexander Zverev’s second round match is scheduled for this Thursday evening. Of the six German men in the main draw, Dominik Koepfer had to withdraw due to injury shortly after the draw.
Djokovic wavers
With his children and wife watching in the stands, Novak Dkokovic avoided a fifth set at Wimbledon and struggled to make it into the third round. In his second appearance this year at London’s Church Road, the 37-year-old tennis star from Serbia beat the 15-year-younger Briton Jacob Fearnley 6:3, 6:4, 5:7, 7:5.
The record Grand Slam tournament winner had to accept the loss of the first set two days after his trouble-free start in the grass classic and even then seemed vulnerable against the British wildcard holder. In this form, he is unlikely to be able to win his eighth Wimbledon title. Fearnley is only number 277 in the world.
The favorite must improve
“A very windy day, very challenging conditions. He made me work,” said Djokovic, referring to his opponent, who surprised him: “I probably had a bit of luck in the fourth set. This match probably deserved to go to the fifth set. But I’m happy it didn’t turn out that way.”
At 5-4 in the fourth set and the former world number one serving, the clear underdog was just two points away from forcing a decisive set. He doesn’t know whether he had shown the mentality of a champion, Djokovic said on Centre Court: “Hopefully I can play better in the next round.”
On Saturday, Djokovic will fight against Alexei Popyrin from Australia to reach the round of 16. “Physically, I felt OK,” said Djokovic, giving the all-clear. After withdrawing from the French Open, he had knee surgery at the beginning of June. Despite the short rehabilitation period, the world number two decided to compete in Wimbledon and is aiming for his 25th Grand Slam title.
