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Daniel Altmaier of Germany beat Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Swiss Open in Gstaad on Monday (July 17).
Altmaier will face Yannick Hanfmann in the second round on Wednesday (July 19). The 24-year-old, who created a flutter at this year’s French Open by beating Jannik Sinner in the second round, will be looking to move past his compatriot to reach the quarterfinals at Gstaad.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out in Daniel Altmaier's Round of 32 win against Bonzi:
#1. Benjamin Bonzi made a lot of unforced errors in the match:
Benjamin Bonzi made Daniel Altmaier’s job a lot easier by making a lot of unforced errors, especially off his forehand. His constant errors gifted the German some easy points and allowed Altmaier to win most of the longer rallies in the match.
The German got off to a great start by winning the first three games of the match. Bonzi then broke back to reduce the deficit to 3-4, but allowed Altamier to get another break of serve by committing a double fault on break point in the eighth game. Altamier then served out the first set to go one up in the match.
#2. Daniel Altmaier’s down-the-line backhand helped him dominate:
The German, who has a powerful one-handed backhand, dictated terms with that shot of his during mutliple periods of the match. Altmaier hit a number of winners with his down-the-line backhand to earn points.
Bonzi played a number of approaches before going to the net to finish points with volleys and smashes, but Altmaier managed to pass him on a number of occasions. The second set was better contested than the first, but the German still managed to secure the decisive break of serve and seal the fate of the match.
The Frenchman particularly suffered due of his poor first serve percentage in the match. He was able to get only 51% of his first serves in, which helped Altamier’s cause. The German won 72% of the points on his first serve against Bonzi’s 68%. Bonzi faced as many as eight break points in the match and was able to save only five of them. Daniel Altmaier's performance should give him confidence ahead of his match against Hanfmann.
