It promises to be an entertaining week of grass-court action at the ATP Halle Open. Eight of the world’s top 20 are set to take to the cours and the tournament gets underway with six matches on day one. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Daniil Medvedev vs Nuno Borges. But who will book their spot in the second round in Halle?
ATP Day 1 Halle Predictions
Miomir Kecmanovic vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head-to-head: Kecmanovic 2-2 Sonego
Expect a lot of big forehands in this match. The pair most recently played in March, where Lorenzo Sonego won in straight sets. They also played in an ATP final on grass in 2019, where Sonego also snagged the win in a close encounter. Miomir Kecmanovic lost one of the more intense matches of the grass-court season so far last week in the Netherlands, while Sonego is yet to play a grass-court match this season. Kecmanovic tends to be inconsistent on grass courts, as the grass is statistically the Italian’s best surface. Rust may be a factor in this match, but I think Sonego will just have the edge.
Prediction: Sonego in 3
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Sebastian Ofner vs Zhang Zhizhen
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both players lost in their opening match in Stuttgart last week, with Zhang Zhizhen losing in arguably the more heartbreaking fashion; he had two match points against Dominik Koepfer but could not convert. He will be hoping to put that disappointment behind him quickly with plenty still to play for over the coming weeks. Zhang has a more aggressive style of play compared with Sebastian Ofner, and it could pay off on the faster courts, as well as a higher-ceiling. Ultimately, the Chinese #1 should win in a tight match here.
Prediction: Zhang in 3
Hubert Hurkacz vs Flavio Cobolli
Head-to-head: first meeting
Hubert Hurkacz plays his best tennis on the grass courts, especially due to his massive serve. He played better than anyone else against Novak Djokovic at last year’s Wimbledon, other than Carlos Alcaraz in the ensuing thrilling final. The Pole also won this tournament in 2022, defeating Medvedev in the final. A loss to Cobolli would be a big upset, and I don’t think Cobolli has the experience on grass to match Hurkacz’s serve, volleys and power. The Pole should have a relatively comfortable day at the office.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 2
Main photo credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
