Jule Niemeier was the last German tennis player to drop out of the tournament in Madrid. The Dortmund player lost in the third round 3: 6, 4: 6 against the number 24 seeded Belgian Elise Mertens.
Tatjana Maria and Laura Siegemund had already had to say goodbye to the high-class competition.
Niemeier started well with a 2-0 lead and defended for a long time, but after 2:07 hours of play the defeat against Mertens was certain.
Zverev and Struff win
Things are going better for the German men, who are represented with a quartet in the third round. After Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff also made it through with a 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 4), 7: 5 win over number 32 American Ben Shelton. Struff was actually already eliminated in the qualification, but the 33-year-old Sauerlander then slipped into the main field afterwards.
In the close match against Shelton, Struff averted a defeat in the tie-break and took a pioneering 3-0 lead in the third set before a break in the rain. He then lost a 5:2 lead, but prevailed after 2:20 hours.
Zverev qualified for the round of 32 against Spaniard Roberto Carballés Baena 6: 7 (6: 8), 7: 5, 6: 0 on Saturday night. There Daniel Atlmeier and Yannick Hanfmann play in a German duel for a place in the round of 16 of the Masters event.
