Mercedes Cup 2016: Monday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule
The first matches of the main draw of the 2016 Mercedes Cup unfolded on Monday, as Sam Groth booked his spot in the second round with an easy win over Illya Marchenko, and Michael Berrer shocked Malek Jaziri in three sets.
Radek Stepanek beat James Ward in the final round of qualifying, earning a spot in the main draw, and he'll take on Denis Istomin in his first-round matchup.
Here's a look at Monday's results:
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| Samuel Groth bt. Illya Marchenko | 7-5, 6-4 |
| Michael Berrer (wc) bt. Malek Jaziri | 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-4 |
| Fabrice Martin bt. Yuichi Sugita (3) | 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) |
| Florian Mayer bt. Matthias Bachinger (wc) | 7-6 (5), 6-3 |
| Radek Stepanek (4) bt. James Ward (7) | 6-2, 6-1 |
| Sergiy Stakhovsky (1) bt. Frank Moser (wc) | 6-4, 6-4 |
For the updated schedule, visit the Pro Tennis Live app.
Recap
Monday featured just two matches of the first round, and after an entertaining―and free―weekend of tennis in Stuttgart, Germany, the fans didn't appear to be too bothered with the action on offer, per Jake Davies of Last Word on Sports:
They missed out on some excellent tennis, however. The hard-serving Groth, whose playing style is tailor-made for the faster grass courts, hit 15 aces on his way to a straight-sets win over Marchenko.
The Ukrainian was expected to control the match from the baseline but rarely managed to draw his opponent into long rallies. Groth didn't face a single break chance and lost just four points on serve while making the most of his chances.
Marchenko's serve was clicking as well, as the 28-year-old hit eight aces and comfortably won more than 60 percent of his points on serve, but two easy breaks were enough for Groth to seal the deal.
He'll face Dominic Thiem in the next round, and per Jose Morgado of Portugal's Record, the Austrian didn't get lucky with his draw:
Jaziri was expected to cruise to the next round against Berrer, a veteran without a single ATP career title on his resume, but the 35-year-old was the stronger player from the opening exchange and was unlucky not to take the first set, missing two set points in the tiebreak.
He bounced back with seven aces in the second set, however, converting two of four break chances to tie things up, and a single break in the third was enough to complete the upset.
Stepanek needed less than an hour to win his final qualifying match, as he surrendered just seven points and three games to Ward. The Czech hit just six aces but won an incredible 95 percent of points on his first serve, using a slice to drag his opponent out of the court before firing winner after winner.
The veteran recorded his best Grand Slam result at Wimbledon in 2006, and he has always loved to play serve-and-volley. On grass, that tactic is more effective than anywhere else, and he has a great chance of recording an upset against the struggling Istomin.
Per the ATP's official website, Istomin has won just four matches all year long, and while the 29-year-old is a solid lawn player, the tenacious Stepanek should negate his defensive proficiency.
Juan Martin del Potro, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Marcos Baghdatis will play their first 2016 Mercedes Cup matches on Tuesday.
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