Predictor Picks: Could Sinner, Medvedev & Fritz be great grass picks?

  • Posted: Jun 15, 2024

The grass-court season continues with ATP 500 events at Halle and Queen’s Club, with many of the biggest stars in the sport in action.

New World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner headlines the field at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, while Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz returns to action at the Cinch Championships.

Before each tournament week, ATPTour.com looks at three players who might be good selections for fans in the PIF ATP Rankings Predictor.

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Jannik Sinner — defending 90 points
The Italian arrives in Germany as the 29th No. 1 in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings. He will try to make a splash in his first week at the pinnacle of men’s tennis.

Sinner, who seeks his first title on grass, has enjoyed success on the surface before. One year ago, he made the semi-finals at Wimbledon (l. to Djokovic) and in 2022 he took a two-sets-to-none lead before falling to Novak Djokovic in five sets.

The 22-year-old has also improved his serve, which should make him an even tougher opponent on grass. His first-round opponent will be Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, against whom he owns a 4-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record.

Daniil Medvedev — defending 90 points
The third seed in Halle is former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. The 28-year-old has enjoyed the most success on hard courts, but he has also performed well on grass.

Medvedev has won a title (2021 Mallorca) and reached two more finals (2022 ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Halle) on the surface. Last season, he reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

This year’s Australian Open and Indian Wells finalist has played consistently throughout the season and will try to maintain that as he transitions surfaces. He begins his tournament against Nuno Borges and could play Sinner in the semi-finals.

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Taylor Fritz — defending 45 points
Few players have as powerful of a one-two punch as Fritz does in his serve and forehand. The aggressive American enjoys controlling points and that has served him well on grass before.

Fritz won two of his seven ATP Tour titles on the surface, triumphing in Eastbourne in 2019 and 2022. Last year, he lost in the second round at Queen’s Club, but that defeat came against a tricky grass-court opponent in Adrian Mannarino.

Fritz will try to gain net points on the London grass, where he will pursue his second title of the season (Delray Beach). The American will open against a qualifier and if he wins, Fritz will face Cameron Norrie or Milos Raonic.

Bonus Ball — Jannik Sinner
The Italian must reach the quarter-finals in Halle to gain points this week. The good news for fans keen to select Sinner is that he has consistently earned his way deep into tournaments throughout 2024.

The only event at which the 22-year-old did not advance to the semi-finals this year was the Mutua Madrid Open, where he withdrew ahead of the quarter-finals due to injury.

Sinner advanced to the last eight in Halle last year and will try to push further into the draw at this edition.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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