At the BMW Open on Thursday, Christopher O’Connell defeated Alexander Zverev in straight sets despite having to wait an additional day to play. Holger Rune, a highly skilled player, won the base game.
On Thursday, Christopher O’Connell defeated the highest-ranked Holger Rune in straight sets, winning Alexander Zverev’s BMW Open match after Zverev had to wait an extra day to play.
After receiving a bye in the first round, Zverev’s match against O’Connell in the second round was postponed due to rain, which took up the majority of Wednesday’s schedule.
In chilly conditions in front of a German group huddled in thick covers, Zverev lost to 82nd-ranked O’Connell 7-6 (2), 6-4. He appeared to never pick up much speed and struggled to hit his most memorable serves.
O’Connell said in a court interview, “It’s certainly extreme playing Zverev here before the home group.” Never have I played in such a chilly setting. Because it’s hard, I had a hard time getting used to it. In the quarterfinals, O’Connell will now face Flavio Cobolli, a qualifier.
Rune defeated Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. He will now battle Chilean clay court specialist Cristian Garin. After a strong start to the clay season in which he finished second to Andrey Rublev in Monaco the week before, Rune wants to improve. Garin crushed 6th positioned Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6 (3).