Zverev Faces Early Test In Halle

Alexander Zverev has reached both of his grass-court ATP World Tour finals at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, losing against Florian Mayer in 2016 and Roger Federer last year. But if he is to break through at his home tournament and lift a trophy on the mown lawns for the first time, he will have to be sharp from the get-go.

In the first round, the German will confront Borna Coric, who has beaten Zverev in two of three FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings. The Croatian won in Cincinnati three years ago and at the 2017 US Open. But in the Miami quarter-finals this March, Zverev earned his first triumph in their rivalry.

Both players have shown good form this season. Zverev captured his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Madrid, and went on to win three five-setters in a row to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros. Coric, on the other hand, is 4-3 against opponents inside the Top 11 of the ATP Rankings in 2018, and he advanced to the semi-finals at Indian Wells and the quarter-finals in Miami.

Zverev could also potentially face a stiff challenge in the quarter-finals against No. 8 seed Richard Gasquet, who is competing in the Libema Open championship match on Sunday. While Zverev leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 4-0, three of the matches have gone to three sets, with the German triumphing 7-5 in the third set in Monte-Carlo earlier this year. Last year in Montreal, Zverev saved match point against Gasquet after a 49-shot rally, eventually coming out victorious.

Fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut and No. 7 seed Kei Nishikori are also in Zverev’s bottom half of the draw. And then there’s the matter of Federer, who has triumphed in Halle nine times. The Swiss is not only in form, reaching Sunday’s final at the MercedesCup to extend his winning streak on grass to 15. But the 36-year-old has a 59-6 record in Halle, with all six of those losses coming against players who broke into the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings during their career.

Federer opens his campaign against Aljaz Bedene, who he beat at this year’s Australian Open in straight sets. The earliest the top seed has lost at the tournament is the quarter-finals.

The first seeded player Federer could face is a familiar foe in World No. 22 Philipp Kohlschreiber. If they meet in the quarter-finals, the Swiss will take confidence in knowing he has won all 13 of his FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against the sixth seed. Federer has beaten Kohlschreiber three times in Halle, with their most recent match at the event, in 2015, going to a final-set tie-break.

Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem, the No. 3 seed, will make his 2018 grass-court debut against a qualifier or lucky loser. In his quarter, No. 5 seed and Stuttgart semi-finalist Lucas Pouille faces in-form #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in an interesting opener. That will be the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.