ATP Monaco di Baviera: Zverev sconfitto da Garin, successi per Rune e Fritz

One can always learn something by attending tournaments. Thursday evening, for example, you discovered that the round snow that fell a few hours earlier during the match between Rune and Galan (and especially on you, who had foolishly left the warmth of the press room) has a technical name: round snow.

A life-changing discovery, if slightly less thrilling than the return of the weather alert for wind gusts akin to a storm. To paraphrase: wind of change. Truly difficult conditions for the Bavarian Friday reserved for the quarterfinals of the BMW Open, and Cristian Garin took full advantage by defeating the top-seeded Alexander Zverev.

Meanwhile, Fritz, pushed to a third-set tie-break by Draper in a match of good quality, and Rune, the number 2 seed, who controlled the qualifier Huesler, who ends his run with some regrets, lived up to their roles as favorites. The last match on the court, Struff against Auger-Aliassime, was interrupted due to darkness – in other words, the simple fall of night succeeded where wind, rain, and cold had failed.

C. Garin def. [1] A. Zverev 6-4 6-4

The head-to-head record was tied 1-1, with Zverev winning the last encounter, but the defeat (7-5 in the third set) had come precisely at the quarterfinals here in Monaco in 2019. Thus, the possibility of a rematch was on the cards, but Alexander Zverev failed to seize it and succumbed to the 107th ranked ATP player, Cristian Garin, with a double 6-4. The prospect of revenge was remote, given Sascha’s admission of needing more time to adapt to clay and not enjoying the particularly cold conditions. Playing at 4°C in the rain with strong winds does not lend itself to subjective considerations. On the other hand, different weight can be given to the two sides of the same coin: challenging conditions flatten the playing field, favoring the underdog, but a top player earns their status by knowing how to handle them better.

Garin, on his part, managed to stay… cool, demonstrating more determination to secure the win, conceding and saving only two break points, both in the first set, without getting into trouble on the left diagonal and often being able to control it before effectively switching to the German’s forehand. For Zverev, after winning two consecutive titles in 2018, disappointments have followed at the BMW Open with only 2 wins in five participations.

First set – Zverev starts slow, Garin punishes

Sascha, wearing a thermal outfit under his regular uniform, while Cristian appears tough, with his shirt rising with each serve. The world number 5 is in “slow start” mode and concedes his serve in the third game, kept alive by an imprudent attack on his part and closed out by Garin with a heavy two-handed shot that confirms the 3-1 lead despite a smashed shot into the net at 30-all.

The twenty-seven-year-old from Santiago complains about the excess dirt sticking to his soles, showing them to the umpire (not simultaneously). Zverev, too, is not happy, this time about a couple of short Chilean forehands dying right after the bounce. In short, it’s very cold, raining every day, drizzling right now, and the courts are a bit heavy.

It’s Garin’s turn to serve at 5-4: Sascha doesn’t make it easy for him, contributing to his own downfall with a bad volley that gives Garin a break point, but he makes up for it with an inside-in forehand with Zverev nowhere near and takes the set on the German’s long return.

Second set – Garin makes do with another break

Sascha must immediately save two break points (Cristian rues a missed opportunity after turning the rally in his favor on the first), but he can’t avoid getting broken in the fifth game – in other words, he could have closed out the high volley, not double fault, and not be left vulnerable on the left diagonal.

Zverev is agitated, although the incident is inconsequential, he can’t believe Richard Haigh sees Garin’s serve as in for him and not by a plank’s length (the Max Planck Institute for Physics is nearby), so at the 4-3 changeover, Garin argues with the umpire:

“What are we doing? Didn’t you see me slip three times in this game?” “I saw you had some difficulties…” “At some point, something needs to be done… I’ll lose the last two games and that’s it. It’s ridiculous. It’s been raining since noon and it’s three-thirty.” “It’s a tough call whether it’s dangerous or not.”

Remember that, in and of itself, rain or other adverse weather conditions do not lead to the suspension of play unless there is a danger, exactly the point on which Sascha and Haigh differ in opinion. No tanking for Zverev, but certainly not an absolute desire to endure the conditions. Garin holds his next two service games without trouble and closes out after exactly two hours, reaching the semifinals again after Estoril.

“Not the best conditions,” Cristian said after the victory, “but I think I played well, very focused from start to finish. Such conditions require greater attention. Being aggressive was the key to the victory, and I tried not to think about the wind or the cold.” On facing a top player in a home tournament, he said: “I know Sascha well, we’ve known each other since we were juniors, he’s one of the best in the world. He wasn’t happy with today’s conditions, and I took advantage of it, but it happens in tournaments to have to play in difficult conditions.” On Fritz, his next opponent: “I saw his match with Draper, great level from both. Facing Taylor in the semi-finals will be tough, but I’m playing well this week and will try to continue to bring the same things to the court.”

[2] H. Rune def. [Q] M-A. Huesler 6-4 7-6(3)

The large audience that had steadfastly endured the elements to support Zverev had significantly thinned out by the time the two contenders from the lower quarter of the draw entered. Holger Rune was satisfied with a break in the opening set and a tie-break after saving a set point to level the head-to-head against Marc-Andrea Huesler, who had beaten him twice in 2022 when the Dane was around the 30th position in the rankings.

Choosing the response at the coin toss, a forehand winner and a backhand passing shot were decisive in immediately breaking the Swiss’s serve. Huesler had two chances to break back in the eighth game: on the first, he erred in the rally, while on the second, he made a misstep after opening up the court with a crosscourt backhand. Holger did not let him win another point on return and secured the set 6-4.

The second set was evenly poised despite both having break opportunities. The most notable of these came from the Swiss left-hander at 5-4, somehow turning the rally around to close it out with a beautiful volley that gave him a set point, but he missed the inside-in forehand. In the tie-break, Rune edged ahead thanks to the errors of the other and stretched to close out 7-3. To find out whether he will face Struff or Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals on Saturday, he will have to wait… until Saturday. The reason for the delay is detailed below.

[4] J-L. Struff vs [5] F. Auger-Aliassime 7-5 3-1 susp.

On paper, the most evenly matched duel was between Jan-Lennard Struff and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The German was winning the battle playing aggressively, seeking the net and capitalizing on the Canadian’s gifts. Indeed, clay is certainly the least suitable surface for FAA, not so much due to the nature of his shots, but simply because he… makes more errors than his opponent. Leading by a set and a break, however, he was stopped by the onset of darkness. Let’s see how the situation unfolded…

Struff overtakes in the third game with three errors and a winner, then is pegged back to 4-all by Auger-Aliassime, who tries to trouble himself again, but saves the break point with his first serve. The chance for Struff to pull ahead is merely delayed, as he only needs a beautiful backhand down the line (Felix commits three errors) to go up 6-5 and then close out with his serve.

The match is enjoyable; so far, you watched it from the press room because some slices of apple pie obstructed your path to the Center Court. You try again, and fortunately… nothing stops you from taking a seat in the stands. Well, not a physical seat, because the seats are filled with water. The wind has abated, but the intensity of the rain has increased. As has Struff’s intensity, as he breaks in the opening game.

Auger-Aliassime alters the score, then asks the umpire to call it a day because he can’t stand (meanwhile, you lament that you can’t sit down: and they say there’s no variety in today’s tennis). Adel Nour is fine with that, giving Struff the chance to win the point to go up 3-1, then, in agreement with the supervisor, the match is suspended due to darkness. In the meantime, you receive a message, “Dear media members, the parking lot will be closed tomorrow because it’s flooded and full of mud, please park in the surrounding areas.”

On page 2, the report on Fritz-Draper (by Francesco De Salvin)