Eva Lys suffered a defeat at the start of the traditional tournament at Hamburg’s Rothenbaum. The 20-year-old local hero lost to Maria Carle 5-7, 6-3, 2-6 on Monday.
Overall, the German champion acted too inconsistently to throw the solid Argentine out of rhythm decisively.
The German number two and last year’s finalist Andrea Petkovic also intervened on Monday against Tamara Korpatsch. The same applies to Nastasja Schunk.
Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier and Sabine Lisicki, who had qualified for the main draw, were free to play.