HALLE OPEN: With the grass court season well underway, one of the season’s two ATP 500 Tournaments takes place in Germany this week as the players compete in the Halle Open, a tournament which has been won a record 10 times by all-time great Roger Federer.
Hubert Hurkacz – Defending champion
Hubert Hurkacz is somewhat of an unsung hero on the ATP Tour and despite his tally of five ATP Tour titles, including one on the ATP 1000 circuit, his name is rarely in the headlines.
Having won the Halle Open last year, Hurkacz has established himself as a top grass court player. He is not only a top player in the singles department as he has four ATP doubles titles to his name, one of which came on grass.
The Polish player is currently competing in the Stuttgart Open as his first taste of grass court tennis this season and having already reached the quarter-finals he will be hoping to make a solid account of himself.
A repeat of his Halle Open success last year would put him well on the way to what could be a best ever Wimbledon performance, should he better his 2021 run where he made it as far as the semi-finals.
Daniil Medvedev – Seeking revenge
Daniil Medvedev made it as far as the final last year where he lost 6-1 6-4 after an inspired performance from the aforementioned Hubert Hurkacz.
Medvedev’s most recent success is not far behind him having won the Italian Open towards the end of May. Unfortunately, the former world number one was unable to put that winning momentum to any use as he crashed out of the French Open in the first round.
Medvedev can hardly be called a grass court specialist. Of his 20 ATP Career titles, just one of those has come on grass, and he has only reached two other finals on the surface.
Despite his lack of specialist grass court skills, Medvedev as one of the most naturally technically gifted players in the world, and the world number three on rankings, will hardly be looking to use the surface as an excuse for last year’s shortcomings. He will surely give himself a chance of atoning for last year’s final defeat by going deep in this year’s tournament.
Nick Kyrgios – Returning to action
Nick Kyrgios has been out of practise recently to say the least. He looked to return to action on the grass in his recent first round match at the Stuttgart Open, where he was far from back with a bang as he crashed out in straight sets to number 64 ranked Wu Yibing.
Form aside, Kyrgios has always been one of, and considered by some to be the most naturally talented player on the tour, and he has been able to summon this in combination with some much-needed effort and discipline from time to time.
Kyrgios reached the semi-finals here last year and that gave him the boost he needed in his grass court season to push on and eventually reach the Wimbledon final.
The Australian hothead certainly has all the tools to go at least one better here this year, and if he does so he will hope that means going one better at Wimbledon to finally lift his career first Grand Slam title.
Jannik Sinner – Italy’s best prospect
The young Italian Jannik Sinner has received praise from some of tennis’ greatest such as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and the 21-year-old has proven worthy of it so far.
Sinner took the spot of Italian number one this year as well as winning the Open Sud de France in straight sets to secure a seventh ATP Title of his career. He has won those seven titles from just ten finals, with the only concerning statistic for this tournament being that none of those finals have been on grass.
At the age of just 21 it is excusable that Sinner has not necessarily reached the top level on every surface, but it is evident that he has the skillset to do so, with the Italian having reached the quarter-final stage of every major, with three of those coming last year.
Sinner lost out in five sets to the unstoppable Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year, a performance which should give him the confidence to kick-on and make a good account of himself this year, provided he can take some momentum into the tournament, which he may well be able to gain with a win here.
