Two things that stood out in Daniel Altmaier's 2R win over Andrey Rublev at Hamburg European Open
Daniel Altmaier of Germany thrashed second seed Andrey Rublev of Russia 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the Hamburg European Open on Thursday, July 27. The match lasted 75 minutes, as the 24-year-old German demonstrated some impressive form to cruise to a victory.
The loss came just days after the Russian's title win at the Swedish Open. Altmaier will face Zhizhen Zhang of China in the quarterfinals on Friday. Zhang is playing quite well at the moment, but might find the German too hot to handle.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in Daniel Altmaier's win over Rublev in the second round match:
#1. Daniel Altmaier’s forehand topspin troubled Rublev:
On a very slow surface, Altmaier did not opt for too much power to hit through the Russian. Instead, he kept his shots a bit higher and with a fair amount of top spin to baffle his opponent. Rublev did not take the risk of venturing forward into the net to meet those high shots with volleys and paid the price for it.
The German also held his own with his one-handed backhand in the crosscourt backhand exchanges and hit a few down-the-line winners off it. He broke Rublev early in the first set to take a 3-1 lead and then further extended it by breaking the Russian once more in the set. The German won the first set to be in a commanding position in the match.
#2. Andrey Rublev struggled with his first serve in the match:
Rublev’s first serve was put to the sword by the German in the match. Altmaier broke the 24-year-old twice each in the two sets played. Rublev, meanwhile, failed to break the German even once on the day. Altmaier raced through the second set to register a comfortable win in the end.
Rublev was able to win only 50% of the points on his first serve in the match, while Altmaier managed a far better 85%. That went on to make a major difference between the two, as Altmaier booked a place in the quarterfinals.
The German is looking in fine nick in the tournament, and will pose a considerable threat to other players still in the fray. Daniel Altmaier should find it reasonable easy against Zhang in the quarterfinals and remains one of the favourites to reach the last four of the tournament.