Tennis professional Daniel Altmaier lost his opening match at the Masters 1000 tournament in Monte-Carlo. The German lost to the Czech Tomas Machac in a hard-fought game 4:6, 6:1, 3:6.
After losing the first set, Altmaier showed great improvement. After a quick break to make it 3:1, he fended off break points in a competitive service game and increased it to 4:1 – the decision in the second round. In the decisive third set, Altmaier gave up his serve when the score was 2:3 – and couldn’t manage a re-break.
Altmaier’s form curve had recently been pointing upwards. After a very bad start to the new year with eight opening defeats in a row, he at least reached the final of a Challenger tournament in Naples and then won two games at the ATP 250 tournament in Bucharest.
Zverev warned about the opening game
For the German tennis star Alexander Zverev, the tournament begins after a bye with the second round match against the Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin. Zverev should be warned, the German has only won once in three meetings against the 29-year-old.