Sinner's first opponent as World No. 1 in Halle is…
Jannik Sinner’s life as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings will start with a first-round clash against Tallon Griekspoor at the Terra Wortmann Open.
The 22-year-old Italian will be wary of his first grass-court opponent of the year at the ATP 500 in Halle. Griekspoor won a tour-level title on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last year, and the Dutchman was the only player to take a set off Sinner during his Miami title run in March.
Yet Sinner will still enter the match with a 4-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Griekspoor. Should he pass his opening test on the German grass, the 13-time tour-level champion would take on Fabian Marozsan or Roman Safiullin. Sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is a potential quarter-final opponent for Sinner, while Daniil Medvedev and defending champion Alexander Bublik are potential semi-final opponents.
A sweet welcome for the new No.1 in Halle 🎂@ATPHalle | #TerraWortmannOpen pic.twitter.com/k1EFdJrSXu
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 13, 2024
Tsitsipas opens his campaign against home wild card Henri Squire. The third-seeded Medvedev, a finalist in Halle in 2022, plays Nuno Borges first, with Bublik starting his title defence against a qualifier.
In the bottom half of the draw, home favourite Alexander Zverev also faces a qualifier as he looks to bounce back from his Roland Garros championship-match defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. Zverev, who reached back-to-back Halle finals in 2016 and 2017, could play Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals if both players progress that far.
[ATP APP]A stacked third quarter of the draw features fourth seed Andrey Rublev, 2022 champion Hubert Hurkacz, and former Top 10 star Matteo Berrettini. Competing as the fifth seed, Hurkacz will take on Flavio Cobolli in the first round, with #NextGenATP Brazilian Joao Fonseca a potential second-round opponent.
Rublev begins his week against Marcos Giron, with Berrettini or a qualifier awaiting in the second round. The 28-year-old Berrettini has won three of his eight ATP Tour crowns on grass, and on Sunday will play for another title at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart, where he plays Jack Draper in the championship match.
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