Melbourne – Tatjana Maria and Peter Gojowczyk have been eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open of the tennis pros.
The 34-year-old Swabian Maria was defeated 4:6, 6:7 (2:7) by the clearly favoured Greek Maria Sakkari in Melbourne on Monday despite a good performance. Sakkari is ranked number eight in the world. The 32-year-old Gojowczyk lost clearly to the French Benjamin Bonzi 3:6, 3:6, 3:6.
The Munich native is one of nine German men’s tennis players in the main draw of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. Hopeful Alexander Zverev will meet Daniel Altmaier in the second evening match in the Rod Laver Arena in a German duel. The match is scheduled as the second encounter after 9.00 a.m. (Eurosport). Zverev is aiming for the first Grand Slam title of his career in Melbourne. His chances have increased due to the absence of Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic, who had to leave the country on Sunday due to his visa being declared invalid.
Only three German women had made it into the main draw of the Australian Open. Angelique Kerber, who won the tournament in 2016, will only start playing on Tuesday.
