French Open: Rafael Nadal beats Hanfmann - and now meets Yannick Maden
As expected, Yannick Hanfmann received a lesson on the second day of the French Open from clay court king Rafael Nadal.
by SID / tennisnet
last edit: May 28, 2019, 11:26 am
The 27-year-old from Karlsruhe, who had played in the main field via qualification, lost 2: 6, 1: 6, 3: 6 to the defending champion and eleven-time winner in Roland Garros. The 180th in the world rankings fought back 1:57 hours in the "Philippe Chatrier" main square, but also lost his third match in a Grand Slam.
"It is always a special feeling to play here," said Nadal when commented by on-court interviewer Cedric Pioline that he laughed before the match. "It was a good match for me, I played well. It also went well in training before. Rome was important for self-confidence."
Yannick Maden is waiting for Nadal
The next opponent of Nadal is again a German: Yannick Maden managed on the third attempt to reach the second round of one of the four largest tournaments for the first time. The 29-year-old from Stuttgart defeated Kimmer Coppejans from Belgium 7: 6 (7: 0), 7: 5, 6: 3 in a 3:06 hour duel between two qualifiers from Belgium. Maden is the third of ten German men to win his opening match.
"I played for the first time last year, lost directly in qualifying. And now I've won four matches, which is great, of course," said Maden after his success in conversation with Eurosport presenter Birgit Nössing. And about his meeting with Nadal: "Now I'm tired, if you would tell me that I would have to play against him today, it wouldn't be that good," joked Maden.
# BETATHOMEFOWIN #
Mischa Zverev (Hamburg), on the other hand, failed for the seventh time in the first round in his eighth participation in Roland Garros. The 31-year-old from Hamburg lost to the Frenchman Richard Gasquet with 3: 6, 4: 6, 3: 6. Only last year Alexander Zverev's older brother had reached the third round in Roland Garros.
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