Alexander Zverev delivered a rock-solid performance Tuesday to down Dominic Thiem at the Terra Wortmann Open. It was both men’s first grass-court match since 2021.

The home favourite Zverev prevailed 6-3, 6-4 at Halle’s OWL Arena to advance to a second-round clash against Denis Shapovalov. Zverev kept Thiem under pressure throughout with a sublime serving performance during which he saved the only break point he faced, with the 26-year-old finishing having won 85 per cent (29/34) of points behind his first delivery.

“I’m happy to get the win,” said Zverev. “Obviously grass is a difficult surface to get a rhythm on. It was a typical grass match, in a way, one break in each set. All-in-all I’m happy to be through and hopefully will have some more matches here.

“I was moving well. I was not hitting the ball as well as I wanted to, but it’s very difficult, the first time on grass in two years.”

With his 79-minute triumph, Zverev improved to 4-8 in his ATP Head2Head series with Thiem. The World No. 22 now holds a 13-6 record in Halle, where he reached the final in 2016 (l. to Mayer) and 2017 (l. to Federer).

“I think [the crowd] will help me a lot tomorrow, but he’s an excellent grass-court player,” said Zverev, when asked about his second-round opponent Shapovalov. “He’s been to the semi-finals of Wimbledon, so it’s one of his favourite surfaces I think. I’m looking forward to that match because I think it’s going to be a real challenge.”

Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz also advanced to the second round after holding off an inspired comeback by qualifer Christopher Eubanks.

Eubanks saved four match points in the second-set tie-break before forcing a decider in his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with Hurkacz. An early break in the third set was enough for Hurkacz to claim a two-hour, three-minute victory, however, as the sixth seed prevailed 6-4, 6-7(11), 6-3 to move to a 6-2 career record in Halle.

The defending champ is through to R2 in Halle! 👏@HubertHurkacz fights past Eubanks 6-4 6-7(11) 6-3.@ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/9VTS9aJcXF

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 20, 2023

Hurkacz’s second-round opponent will be Tallon Griekspoor, who defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 7-5. It was a sixth consecutive tour-level victory for Griekspoor, who lifted his maiden ATP Tour title on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last week.

Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare on Tuesday to earn victory on his Cinch Championships debut. The Spaniard rallied from a set down to move past French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) at the ATP 500.

Competing in his third tour-level grass-court event and first outside of Wimbledon, the top seed took time to adjust to the conditions. After dropping the first set, Alcaraz improved his movement on the slick London lawns. He used the drop shot effectively in the second set to level, before battling from a break down in the decider to advance after two hours and 34 minutes.

“It was really difficult for me at the beginning to adapt my tennis, my game to the grass,” Alcaraz said. “For me it is tough playing here but of course I enjoyed playing on the grass and playing at Queen’s. It is a tournament that I really wanted to play. It was a good performance from me on my first match on grass.

“I have never played a tournament except Wimbledon on grass and I wanted to play here. I have watched this tournament on TV and I always thought it looked like a beautiful place to play and be. I am enjoying every single second. The crowd was amazing and the court was unbelievable.”

The 20-year-old, who was playing for the first time since his Roland Garros semi-final defeat against Novak Djokovic, will next meet Jiri Lehecka after the Czech downed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(4), 6-3.

Alcaraz is chasing his fifth tour-level title of the season this week. If he lifts his maiden trophy on grass, he will return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Rinderknech caused Alcaraz problems throughout the thrilling clash in west London, repeatedly closing the net to pressure the top seed in their second ATP Head2Head meeting. The Spaniard found his best level when it mattered, though, scampering down a series of drop volleys in the third-set tie-break to improve to 36-4 on the season.

Alcaraz has captured 10 tour-level titles in his career and risen to No. 1. However, the 20-year-old has limited experience on grass, with his match against Rinderknech just his seventh on the surface. Last year the Spaniard missed Queen’s due to injury before he advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon.

“I could not play tennis on grass at home but I could practise the movement on grass when at home. I came here a few days before to play here and practise a bit. I felt really good,” Alcaraz said.

In a year of firsts, Ben Shelton ticked off another milestone Monday when he made his tour-level grass-court debut at the Cinch Championships.

After hitting on the surface for the first time just last week, the American earned his maiden win on grass when he defeated J.J. Wolf in straight sets in London.

“I only had my first session on a grass court last Tuesday,” Shelton told ATPTour.com. “There are definitely some big differences to clay. I think that the hardest part to figure out on grass is the movement. Once you get that down, it’s a lot easier to play on the surface. I think that between the movement and the ball staying a bit lower, those are two things that I just had to adjust to.

“But my first match was a lot of fun. I think the grass really helps my serve. It makes it move more and it makes it faster. I’m also willing and able to come forward and make plays at the net. I think that’s another thing that gets rewarded on a grass court. I think this is a surface that I could really do some damage on.”

The American has enjoyed a breakthrough first season on Tour, reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open before he competed on clay for the first time in April.

The 20-year claimed two tour-level wins on the surface and he reached the quarter-finals at an ATP Challenger Tour tournament in Cagliari. Ready to tackle a new surface again, Shelton is hoping to use the learning experience he gained on clay on grass.

“It’s two completely different surfaces, but it’s definitely a similar learning process,” Shelton said. “I know things that I did or didn’t do the last time around, so this time hopefully I make changes and don’t make the same mistake twice. I think that being able to go through that process once on clay courts will definitely help me for these four weeks on the grass.”

Ben Shelton” style=”width: 100%;” />
_{^{Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}}
One source of knowledge Shelton will be looking to utilise is his father, former World No. 55 Bryan Shelton, who this week has joined Ben’s team on a full-time basis. Bryan, who was the head men’s tennis coach at the University of Florida, lifted two tour-level titles on grass (Newport 1991-92) and advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1994.

“This is our first official tournament together full time. He really helps with my confidence in the way that he talks to me on the court and the way that he explains things,” Ben said.

“He is a great resource and I know a great tennis mind. He won two ATP titles on grass and made the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. To be able to have that resource, that tennis mind in my corner, kind of helping me as I go, it’s been really important and helped me a lot.”

Shelton showed early promise on grass during his first-round win at the ATP 500 event, winning 72 per cent (13/18) of net points. He revealed his father has already provided guidance, with a focus on his movement.

“He has told me a few general things, just kind of helping me find my footing and my movement,” Shelton said. “Things that you want to do or not do. To really move through the ball and not try to stop and slide, which is something that I do a lot on the clay courts and the hard courts.

“That was a big learning bit for me. Learning to take little extra steps after shots instead of sliding out of them. Also using my serve effectively and making it move in different ways because the grass really grabs the ball and makes it go.”

Twelve months ago, Shelton was No. 435 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. This week he competes at The Queen’s Club at a career-high No. 35. The American had never been outside of the United States prior to his trip to Australia at the start of the year, but has already gained a good amount of experience on Tour, with Queen’s his 15th tour-level event of the season.

“I’ve had a lot of fun. Definitely after Roland Garros it was really mixed. I was missing home and I was glad to be able to get back and spend some time in Florida. I’m really enjoying it, though,” Shelton said. “I’m enjoying all the new experiences and I love to compete. So every time that I get to play at a tournament and work my way through a draw or learn things as I go, I really enjoy it.

“I think it’s really important to find the places that you like to play, then you can make adjustments to your schedule as you go. I think that me playing a lot is going to help me in the long run and I’m really enjoying being able to experience all these different tournaments.”

Shelton will next play Lorenzo Musetti, who competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2021 and 2022. The 20-year-old Shelton has aspirations of making his debut at the 21-and-under event at the end of the season. The American is currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

“I think it would be an event that’d be really cool to play and we’ll see where we’re at by the end of the year,” Shelton said. “I think that that could be a tournament and one that would be really cool to be a part of.”

Shelton’s focus will remain on grass for now, where he will also compete at the ATP 250 event in Mallorca before making his Wimbledon debut.

ATP and Infosys have unlocked a new phase in tennis’ sustainability journey with the launch of Carbon Tracker, a first-of-its-kind app enabling players to track and mitigate travel emissions on Tour.

With hundreds of professional players travelling to more than 250 events in 50 countries across the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour each season, travel represents a significant part of players’ overall carbon emissions. Addressing this impact has become the top sustainability priority under ATP Serves, in line with ATP’s commitment to UN Sports for Climate Action.

“This initiative means a lot for tennis because tennis is luckily one of the biggest [and] one of the most popular sports in the world. But in the same way, also probably one of the sports with the most traveling, with the most flown miles,” Dominic Thiem said. “So it’s super important for tennis to step up and take the first steps towards a better future.”

Developed in collaboration with Infosys, Digital Innovation partner of the ATP Tour, Carbon Tracker is a first-of-its kind app in professional sports. It enables players to track their travel to tournaments across the season, understand their emissions profile, make more conscious travel decisions, and mitigate their impact by purchasing verified carbon credits through Gold Standard, a leading sustainable development standard and climate action partner of the ATP.

The Carbon Tracker app’s long-term ambition is to inspire greener travel on Tour. It features a dashboard that presents players with a holistic view of their emissions across multiple seasons – enabling deeper understanding and analysis of travel choices. This is supplemented with resources and quizzes to educate players on sustainable practices and environmental advocacy.

Thiem, Cameron Norrie, Andrey Rublev and Emil Ruusuvuori have kicked off proceedings by pledging to track and mitigate 100 per cent of their tournament travel emissions in 2023.

Rublev said: “As a tennis player, I have to travel a lot, especially there are a lot of flights per year [over a] long distance, different continents. So the Carbon Tracker app is a perfect first step.”

There are more than 2,900 Gold Standard-certified projects in more than 100 countries around the world. Those projects include supporting the planting of biodiverse forests in Panama to improving cookstoves in Peru and Uganda.

Over time, the certified projects have produced more than $36 billion in value supporting climate action and sustainability progress.

“I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about Gold Standard,” Ruusuvuori said. “They have great projects all around the world, like India, Peru, Ethiopia. And I’m really looking forward to exploring all the possible ways to help.” 

The Finnish star added: “Ninety per cent of tennis’ emissions come from traveling, so we know what the problem is. But even though the problem is big, and it’s going to take a lot to make a difference, we know that we can. So that’s why we started this thing.”

Thiem explained why he feels a responsibility as an athlete to not only support the cause, but motivate his colleagues to do the same.

“It’s super important that athletes, especially from a big global popular sport like tennis, speak up because they have a big fanbase,” Thiem said. “They can inspire a lot of people and in this way they can have quite a big part of helping to save the planet.”

Rublev expanded on why he feels the same way: “It’s important to use this platform in the right way to move in the same direction. If you can use your platform and you try to do something with climate and some people listen to you, and they also start to see this way, maybe their friends [will] also listen to them.

“There are many people who are doing good things and they don’t have a voice and they’re doing so many good things. And athletes, they have this power so, for them, it’s much easier to do those things. And that’s why they have to do it.”

Although travel is an unavoidable part of professional tennis, Norrie said he feels a responsibility to take action and show climate leadership.

“This is something close to my heart and it’s been incredible to see this movement gain momentum in tennis,” Norrie said. “Carbon Tracker is a great first step to onboard more players, mitigate our impact, and keep this important conversation top of mind. I’m excited to see where this leads.”

The Top 3 players on the in-app Carbon Tracker leaderboard at the end of the 2023 season will be eligible to win a $100,000 prize pool. This will be distributed in the form of donations to environmental sustainability charities of players’ choice.

Carbon Tracker will be accessible exclusively through PlayerZone, the existing player website and mobile app launched by Infosys and ATP in 2016.

ATP CEO Massimo Calvelli said: “Tennis is on a mission to Net Zero and like many sports, our travel footprint is our biggest challenge. ATP’s new Carbon Tracker makes it simple for players to join that journey, mitigating their impact today and inspiring greener choices tomorrow. This is a story of addressing difficult problems through innovation, and we would thank our partners Infosys for their collaboration and commitment to the project. The potential of this app is massive and we’re just getting started.”

Infosys Chief Marketing Officer Sumit Virmani said, “The synergy between Infosys and ATP has resulted in a very action-oriented innovation which sensitizes the need for energy transition in sports. In recent times, we have witnessed a multitude of digital sustainability platforms that are enabling organizations pave their way to net zero emissions. Together with ATP, we will strive to make tennis carbon conscious as a sport. As we drive towards a hyperconnected economy, it is imperative for us to focus on dynamically driving carbon consciousness in an innovative, sustainable, and efficient manner.”

Margaret Kim, Gold Standard CEO Margaret Kim said: “It is inspiring to see tennis leading the way towards a more sustainable sporting culture. Encouraging players to purchase Gold Standard-certified credits means they will be directly funding climate change projects that not only reduce carbon emissions, but also create many other sustainable development benefits for communities that need it most. We are excited to have ATP as a Gold Standard climate action supporter and look forward to collaborating further along the journey towards net zero.”

Netflix is set to release Part 2 of Break Point‘s first season on 21 June.

Before the next five episodes come out, ATPTour.com looks back at the first five episodes of the hit tennis docuseries.

Episode 1: The Maverick
The focus of the show’s first episode was Nick Kyrgios and his journey at the 2022 Australian Open. Break Point peeled back the onion that is Kyrgios, examining everything from his “bad boy” reputation to his soft side off the court.

A turning point in his career was Wimbledon in 2014, when he stunned Rafael Nadal. As the episode detailed, everything changed from that moment on. Swarms of fans awaited his return in Canberra and he has not departed the spotlight since. Kyrgios enjoyed the most memorable moment of his career last year in Melbourne, where he partnered close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis — portrayed as the Robin to his Batman — to the Australian Open doubles title.

Episode 2: Take the Crown
It all started with a messy hotel room. One of the biggest takeaways from this episode was that the stars are just like us — they are very human. Cameras were allowed inside Matteo Berrettini and Ajla Tomljanovic’s Melbourne messy hotel room, where they discussed not tennis, but which television series to watch.

Nick Kyrgios said Rafael Nadal is “like a god”, as the narrative was built around the game’s rising stars, including the likes of Berrettini, trying to break through. There was also a focus on Tomljanovic, who has been mentored by Chris Evert. The WTA legend said of the Australian: “You’re too nice. You’ve got to be a little bi***y out there sometimes. You’ve got to be mean.”

Episode 3: California Dreaming
Netflix cameras took “behind the scenes” to the next level when they followed Taylor Fritz during the biggest moment of his life. The American suffered an ankle injury ahead of the 2022 Indian Wells final and footage showed his team, including Michael Russell and Paul Annacone, trying to convince him to withdraw before facing Nadal.

Instead, Fritz received an injection and took the court to give it a shot. Ultimately, he claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

Maria Sakkari also featured in the episode. The Greek revealed that she once told her coaches she wanted to retire and actually did so for four days. If you need any coffee tips, the Greek would be a good source — she was up to her sixth espresso of that particular day and counting.

Episode 4: Great Expectations
The focus was on WTA stars Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur in Episode 4. Badosa was quite open about the mental side of tennis, explaining that “this sport is a drug”. There are high highs and difficult lows, and she added how tough it is to shut out negativity in the latter moments. The Spaniard revealed that she sought professional help for depression.

Fans were also introduced to Jabeur and her Tunisian team, including husband Karim Kamoun, who is her fitness trainer. Not only have they found a happy balance between their off-court and professional relationship, but Jabeur was emerging into the mainstream on and off the court.

Episode 5: King Of Clay
Would anyone be able to take down Rafael Nadal on the clay of Roland Garros in 2022? The fifth episode followed Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud in their attempts to do just that. Both men made an attempt and both failed in Paris, but there was plenty revealed about each.

There was a potentially tricky situation that was played up in the media at the time — Auger-Aliassime is coached by Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle. Uncle Toni made clear he wanted his nephew to win the match and left the stadium during their clash, the subject of controversy at the time. But Auger-Aliassime made clear none of it bothered him one bit.

Ruud reached his first major final last year at Roland Garros. He looked up to Nadal and has trained at his eponymous academy. But despite his loss, the Norwegian has developed into a force himself and has earned the respect of the tennis world. Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick said, “He’s not the person who brings attention to himself. He’s not a self-promoter.”

Hubert Hurkacz begins his Terra Wortmann Open title defence Tuesday against Christopher Eubanks in Halle. The World No. 17 will have some extra voices of support from the stands as he seeks a fast start at the grass-court ATP 500.

The Pole invited the seven winners from the inaugural Hubi Cup, an Under 12s tournament that he founded in his homeland, to Germany as his special guests at the OWL ARENA. Hurkacz was looking forward to showing his best form in front of some of the highest-ranked juniors in Poland.

“I think that’s going to be really cool [to have them at my match] and I hope the kids will enjoy it,” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “I think they definitely have a bright future ahead of them and I think seeing the players can also help them see things more clearly for themselves and see the path. I hope they will really enjoy this event.”

Hubert Hurkacz and Hubi Cup Winners” />
^{_{Hubert Hurkacz greets the talented juniors at the tournament hotel in Halle on Monday afternoon. Photo: Andy West/ATP Tour.}}

The inaugural Hubi Cup took place from 1-4 June in Wroclaw, Hurkacz’s hometown. Although the 26-year-old’s ATP Tour commitments prevented him from attending the event, he was impressed with some of the video footage he saw.

“They look good and obviously the kids are playing some great tennis and competing well,” said the six-time ATP Tour titlist. “It’s always fun to see because I was the same. I came from Poland, playing the same [sort of] events.

“It’s really a great sport to bring the kids together and enjoy tennis, to have a nice trip and see some professional players competing. I hope the kids enjoy that and have fun out there.”

Hurkacz defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev en route to the crown a year ago in Halle, where he this week competes as the sixth seed.