Tennis professional Daniel Altmaier was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the clay court tournament in Bucharest after an exhausting double shift.
The world number 52. lost on Friday evening against the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 2:6, 6:7 (5:7). At midday he had prevailed in the round of 16 against the Croatian Dino Prizmic in a marathon match that lasted more than three hours with 3:6, 7:6 (7:1), 7:6 (9:7).
A few hours later, Altmaier lacked the necessary energy, but the tournament in the Romanian capital was a step in the right direction for the Davis Cup player from Kempen. The 27-year-old had not won a single match at ATP Tour level until the first round in Bucharest this year. However, on his favorite surface, sand, Altmaier seems to be back to his old self.
He had recently gained self-confidence by reaching the final at the Challenger tournament in Naples – on Tuesday he finally ended his dry spell on the bigger stage in two sets against Pedro Martínez. Against Prizmic, number 112 in the world, he didn’t let a 1:5 deficit stop him in the deciding set. It was no longer enough against third-seeded Marozsán, who also played his round of 16 on Friday.
