ATP Halle: Sinner wins his grass-court debut to defend his title

World No.1 Sinner made his debut after losing to Alcaraz in the French Open final, and he was the defending champion at the ATP 500 in Halle this week, beating homegrown favourite Hanfmann 7-5, 6-3 in the first round.

Sinner infographic

"I'm very happy with today's performance," Sinner said after the match, "The opponent has a strong serve and baseline skills, especially the hard break on grass, and I am relieved by my mental resilience in the crucial minutes, and if I had gone to a tie-break in the first set, the outcome could have been completely different." It's a good start. The first three rounds of grass events are never easy, so let's see what happens in the next round. Tomorrow's off-season comes at the right time, after all, the body's response to the grass is very different. "

The top seed will face a tough test in the second round against 2023 champion Bublik, who has met five times before, with Sinner holding a 4-1 advantage, with the Kazakh's only victory coming in Halle two years ago (Sinner withdrew), the year he won the title.

"I'll be ready for any surprise," Sinner said of the upcoming matchup, "He's a true talent, and grass is his favorite, and it's definitely a blessing for him to have memories of beating me and winning titles." I'm going to keep my mentality steady and try to give my best performance. "

Along the same day were fourth seed Rublev and seventh seed Makhachi, with Rublev beating qualifier Ovner 6-3, 6-4 and beating Martinez's Echeverry 6-1, 6-3 in the next round.

Czech Republic's Mahach narrowly defeated Frenkie de Jong in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to face Marosanne in the second round. American teenager Mickelson staged a comeback 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 to knock out fifth seed Cerundolo and face Tsitsipas in the second round.

Results of the remaining races:

Aliassime 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-1 Jerre[Q]

Shapovalov 6-4/4-6/7-6(4) Amber[6]

Koboli 5-7/7-6(3)/7-6(8) Fonseca[W]

Sonego 6-4, 6-2 Struf[W]

(Text, Editor/Faye Wong, Photo/Visual China)