Granollers Makes Winning Halle Debut, Faces Haas Next

© Getty ImagesMarcel Granollers is making his debut in Halle.

Sixth seed Marcel Granollers enjoyed a winning debut at the Gerry Weber Open on Tuesday, dismissing German qualifier Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes. The Spaniard broke serve three times and won 79 per cent of points behind his first serve to notch his 11th win of the season.

The No. 22-ranked Granollers is coming off a career-best Grand Slam showing at Roland Garros, where he lost to David Ferrer in the fourth round. The 26 year old goes onto face German wild card Tommy Haas, who held a 5-2 lead over Bernard Tomic when the Australian retired with an abdominal disorder.

“To be in the second round it’s obviously good for me, but at the same time it would have been nice to get more of a feel out there, see how the court is playing,” said Haas, the 2009 champion. “But it didn’t happen. Some things you can’t control. So, I’ll just try to get some more feel for it in the second match and do the same thing and try to win the match.”

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Czech Radek Stepanek earned a hard-fought 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(7) win over seventh-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi, who was coming off a fourth-round showing at Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic). Meanwhile, Serbia’s Viktor Troicki fired 21 aces in a 6-2, 7-6(6) win over German Benjamin Becker. 

Germany’s Florian Mayer set a second-round clash with No. 2 seed and five-time champion Roger Federer after beating American qualifier Tim Smyczek 6-4, 6-4 in 69 minutes.

“For sure there are easier draws,” said Mayer. “Nevertheless, I’m looking forward. I don’t have anything to lose. It’s his first match, that’s always a bit difficult. Of course, he is the absolute favourite. But I intend to give him a hard time and I think that I have a small chance, even if it’s really tiny, to keep up with him.”

After mixed results at the start of the season, World No. 29 Mayer found form last week with victory at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Prostejov. He has reached the quarter-finals on his past three visits to Halle.

Seven-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal, who arrived in Halle on Tuesday afternoon, will open his grass-court campaign against Lukas Lacko, after the Slovakian rallied from a set down to defeat Russia’s Konstantin Kravchuk 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes.