It was day one at the Bett Hulks Open in Cologne, Germany and it was the first edition of the tournament. The city was named as one of the final four tournaments on the ATP calendar. The city will actually host the tournament this week as the Indoor and next week as the Championship.
" I think it's a great move, give us players some stability especially during a pandemic and it's a good idea"
That was said by none other than Mischa Zverev in his post-match press conference. We also heard from Andy Murray who was coming off one of the worst results of his career at Roland Garros.
" I have spoken with my coach about setting some goals for the end of the year but I'm glad to be here, it's a great venue and I like the conditions".
Day 1 Action :
Oscar Otte started off the first match of the tournament by beating the number seven seed and fellow German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 and 6-3. The German qualifier had been on quite a run beating Dominik Koepfer who was the number one seed in qualifying. He was down a break in the second set but managed to rally for a big win. He will next face Radu Albot who beat Paul-Hugues Herbert 6-2, 4-6, and 6-4 in the third.
In other first-round action Steve Johnson also Filip Kraijinovic in three sets 3-6, 6-4, and 6-4, Dennis Novak beat Jordan Thompson 6-3, and 6-3, and Mischa Zverev beat John Millman in straight sets 6-1 and 6-4. Hubert Hurkacz got his campaign going by beating lucky loser Marc Polmans 6-2, and 7-5. Andy Murray will play his first-round match on Tuesday night as he faces off against Fernando Verdasco.