Zverev wins in Stuttgart after teenager Engel reaches first quarters
German tennis player Alexander Zverev in action against France's Corentin Moutet during their men's singles round of 16 tennis match of the Stuttgart Open tennis tournament. Marijan Murat/dpa
Top-seed Alexander Zverev had a winning start into the Stuttgart Open on Thursday while 17-year-old fellow German Justin Engel reached a quarter-final of an ATP Tour event for the first time.
Coming off a first-round bye, Zverev defeated Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) under sunny skies in his first match since last week's French Open quarter-final exit against Novak Djokovic.
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World number three Zverev was not glorious in his grass court season debut but eventually get the job done despite 34 unforced errors, and after having to save a set point in the tie-break.
Engel won his second round match 6-4, 6-4 win against seventh seeded American Alex Michelsen.
Playing in the first grass court event of his career on the ATP Tour, Engel became the youngest player to reach an ATP quarter-final on this surface since Boris Becker's first triumph at Wimbledon 40 years ago.
"This is nice to hear," he said, adding that he "simply wants to play tennis and have fun on court."
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Zverev squandered an early 2-0 lead against 91st-ranked but regrouped and took the opening set with four unanswered games, saving three break points in the sixth game.
Zverev went break up at 4-3 in the second but eventually needed a tiebreak, where a 3-0 lead came and went.
Moutet got set point at 6-5 thanks to a lucky ball off the netcord but Zverev saved it and clinched matters in straight sets when Moutet hit a forehand long, and broke his racquet in half in disgust after defeat in 1 hour 51 minutes.
"It wasn't one of my best match. I won, that's the most important thing at the end of the day. You could see that he has had a few more days on grass," Zverev told broadcasters DF1.
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Engel broke Michelsen in the third game of each set, did not face a break point, and won all 31 points on his first serve en route to victory in 1:17 hours which he sealed with a service winner.
Wildcard entry Engel named his success "unbelievable" and admitted he had been "very nervous" before the match.
Thursday's success over 35th ranked Michelsen was his first victory over a top 50 player, and he will rise in the rankings from a current 281st into the top 250.
Engel is among several talented German 17-year-olds. Diego Dedura has also started playing on the ATP Tour, while Niels McDonald and Max Schönhaus contested the junior final at the French Open on Saturday, with McDonald taking the trophy.
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