Main draw: Attractive opponents for German stars

For Germany’s players at the MercedesCup at Stuttgart’s TC Weissenhof (€ 754,540) the main draw brought some very interesting match-ups in the first round.

Jan-Lennard Struff will face Canada’s Next Gen star Denis Shapovalov, the number 8 of the tournament, while wildcard player Mischa Zverev will meet France’s veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Peter Gojowczyk will battle with yet another Franceman in Gilles Simon. Philip Kohlschreiber’s first opponent is Miomir Kecmanovic from Serbia.

Top star and number 1 of the tournament, Alexander Zverev, enjoys a “by” in the first round – like fellow top-seeds Karen Khachanov (RUS/2), Daniil Medvedev (RUS/3) and Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO/4). Things can get interesting in the second round, however, where he will face the winner of John Millman (AUS) against a yet unknown qualifier. If it is Millman this will be a re-match of the first round of the French Open, where Zverev prevailed in five sets.

The two fan favorites Gael Monfils (FRA/5) and Nick Kyrgios (AUS) will also have to show their best tennis if they want to advance to the second round. Monfils will face the strong American serve-player Steve Johnson – on grass certainly a tough draw. Kyrgios will have to deal with Matteo Berrettini from Italy, the current number 31 in the world.

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