Daniel Altmaier fought his way into the second round at the ATP Masters in Rome. The 24-year-old from Kempen beat local hero Giulio Zeppieri 7: 6 (7: 3), 4: 6, 6: 0 in his first round duel on Thursday and confirmed his good form.
Altmaier had recently advanced to the quarterfinals in a Masters for the first time in Madrid. A difficult task now awaits him in Rome against the American Frances Tiafoe.
Yannick Hanfmann from Karlsruhe, who was successful in qualifying like Altmaier, is also in the next round. The 31-year-old defeated Chile’s Nicolas Jarry 6: 4, 6: 4 and now meets ninth seeded Taylor Fritz (USA).
The German number one Alexander Zverev only intervened in the second round of the tournament after a bye.