The two Austrians Jurij Rodionov and Sebastian Ofner were eliminated in the first round of lawn tournaments on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Stuttgart semi-finalist Rodionov had to admit defeat to the German Philipp Kohlschreiber (37) after 69 minutes 4: 6 3: 6 in a generation duel in Halle. Ofner gave the Croatian Marin Cilic a tough fight for more than 2:15 hours in Queens, but lost 2: 6, 7: 6 (7/5), 6: 7 (4/7).
Ofner had played through the qualification in the main competition and claimed number 37 in the world rankings. The 25-year-old Styrian was able to fend off three match points before Cilic used the fourth.
In Halle, the number one in the tournament was eliminated in the first match. The world number three Daniil Medwedew (RUS) was defeated by the German Jan-Lennard Struff with 6: 7 (6/8) 3: 6.
Federer with a difficult win at lawn comeback
Roger Federer struggled more than expected on his comeback on Monday. The qualifier Ilja Iwaschka (Belarus) surprisingly challenged the ten-time tournament champion at 7: 6 (7/4) and 7: 5. However, after more than a year of injury and his voluntary retirement at the French Open, Federer emphasized that he wanted to collect match practice on grass for Wimbledon.
Federer makes a comeback
Roger Federer made a successful comeback on his favorite surface after 701 days. The Swiss superstar prevailed in round one against the strong playing qualifier Ilya Iwaschka from Belarus in two sets.
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“It wasn’t easy, it never is here. But it just feels good to play on grass again, ”said Federer after his fourth and decisive match point. The 39-year-old said of his game: “My serve was good and I’m relaxed. But everything can get better. “
French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas did not even start. The Greek, whose grandmother died on Sunday shortly before his final defeat against Novak Djokovic, canceled his participation at short notice.
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