The best way to be driven crazy by the Munich weather is at the BMW Open Alexander Zverev: just sleep! Or just don’t look out the window! That is what the best tennis professional in Germany did these days before he had to make his debut at MTTC Iphitos on Wednesday. That’s how he described it.
On the one hand, his match against the brave Austrian fighter Yurij Rodionov was not fun, as there were two interruptions due to rain, the first of which survived, as a diligent reporter from the sports information service recorded to the minute, only 2:17 hours. Munich Regen it can be hard. On the other hand, the spectators who held out still liked the victory of Zverev 7: 6 (3), 6: 2 and even raised their arms to wave the stadium at the end of the match. “I would have drunk 16 beers if I had had that time,” Zverev joked in a brief on-court interview with Munich pitch announcer legend Ralf Exel. The atmosphere is good at the ATP tournament, they don’t let the bad weather get down here.
The photos of Juan Martín del Potro hitting balls in the snow in 2016 went around the tennis world – nice free PR
On the Internet, an interested person summarized the situation, which actually appears every year, specifically: There are three things that cannot be changed in life: death, taxes – and open weather BMW. Due to the early time in the annual calendar, you will often experience spring, summer, autumn and winter in just one week. And sometimes even in one day.
Argentine US Open winner Juan Martín del Potro has probably never forgotten how he stood on the practice range in front of the beautiful clubhouse and hit balls while thick snowflakes danced around him when participated in the Bavarian capital in 2016. A video of it can still be viewed online. The photos went around the tennis world at the time, free PR for the tournament. Fellow pro John Peers from warm Australia then playfully posed the question: “Is there a snow rule?” Organizers of the BMW open quickly created an effective advertising slogan that is more valid than ever, at least from a climate point of view: “We can still say with justification: We have the toughest clay court tournament in the world ,” says Patrik Kühnen with a smile.
The former and now long-time professional tournament leader looked remarkably relaxed in Munich on Thursday as the weather struck again. Snow, Rain, fog, rain, finally the sun peeked through, that’s how it looks here and no one is surprised. If the resident of Munich gets stuck in traffic after work, everyone will immediately hit the roof of an SUV. “Of course we all want better weather,” Kühnen continued to tell the SZ. “But things you can’t change, you have to accept them and make the most of them. We are trying to organize a great tournament, unfortunately we cannot influence the weather.”
And the decision-making authority over the competition calendar does not rest with the Munich organizers. “We always had tournament week on May 1,” said Kühnen. “Now the ATP Tour has decided that the major Masters tournaments will last twelve days. As a result, a place had to be found for Madrid. The competition in Spain has now passed our old week, and we have moved on to the middle of April. .” But the good thing from Kühnen’s point of view is: “The BMW Open is still part of the clay court stretch before the French Open.” The second Grand Slam tournament of the season will be held in Paris this year from May 26.
The approach to how the snow and rain competition on the edge of the English Garden deals with all wetness is always the same. In Paris, a large group of helpers quickly pull tarpaulins over the famous Terre Battue so that the playing field is quickly ready to play again. In Munich this method does not work. “There are two key factors,” explained Kühnen: “You need drains on the right and left for the water that collects on the tarpaulin. We don’t have those in this form. And a lot of moisture builds up between the space and the tarpaulin. And then the place gets fat.” This would also increase the risk of injury for the players.
Stress test for Munich clay courts: Snow also fell at the ATP tournament on Wednesday.
(Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty)
“If the space is open, however, it will ventilate better. “When it stops after the rain, the pitches are quickly ready to play again. Players have also come to me and said: It’s crazy that you can play an hour after a downpour.”
So far there have been no complaints from the players themselves. At least there is no known complaint like the one that made Viktoria Asarenka shiver at the French Open in 2020. “I’m cold, it’s eight degrees, I live in Florida,” complained the Belarusian at a game. There are remedies for the cold, as Zverev showed on Wednesday. His long arms and legs appeared even longer. And the fact that loads can -watch Bavarian beer be a blessing, at least for them, regardless of the weather. It doesn’t have to be 16.
2024-04-18 14:18:11
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