Fair weather for Germans at German Open

The 2009 German Open began with wins for the home team on Monday, as Philipp Petzschner, Daniel Brands, Simon Greul and Andreas Beck all secured passage to the second round of the ATP tournament.

Petzschner got the ball rolling for the Germans with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over France’s Florent Serra. The victory earned Petzschner a place opposite Nikolay Davydenko in the second round of the tournament. Meanwhile wildcard Daniel Brands upset Romania’s Victor Crivoi 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to set up a second round meeting with Gilles Simon of France.

Simon Greul produced another upset for the home team when he overcame a one set deficit to defeat Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Andreas Beck then completed a good day for German players by ousting Span’s Oscar Hernandez 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Other results on Monday saw another upset as Russia’s Teimuraz Gabashvili sent Andreas Seppi of Italy packing with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat. Tuesday is likely to see a number of German players fall by the wayside, as the seeded players make their debut in the second round.