This year’s ATP 500 event in Halle features an exceptionally strong field, including the two recent French Open finalists in Alexander Zverev and Flavio Cobolli, last year’s Halle finalists Alexander Bublik and Daniil Medevedev, among many other capable grass court players. It will certainly be an amazing week of tennis in Halle.
ATP Halle Day 1 Predictions
Nuno Borges vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Head-to-head: Borges 1-1 Aliassime
Borges might have won when the pair faced at the Australian Open earlier this year, but Aliassime’s injury definitely played a role there. Although the Portuguese has had some solid performances on grass before, including at last year’s Wimbledon, on paper Aliassime’s game is far more suited to the surface and he should even be a dark horse for Wimbledon. As inconsistent and prone to losses to lower ranked player as the Canadian is, he should be able to prevail here.
Prediction: Aliassime in 3
Max Schoenhaus vs Learner Tien
Head-to-head: first meeting
It’s not often that we can say that, but Tien should have a very clear advantage in terms of experience in this matchup. The 18-year old German has never won an ATP level match and he is unlikely to achieve that against a fast rising Tien, who has already shown the ability to play some solid tennis on grass. Under normal circumstances, the American should win with relative ease.
Prediction: Tien in 2
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Daniel Altmaier
Head-to-head: first meeting
Basilashvili played some excellent tennis to get through qualifying and, at least on paper, he got an excellent draw here against Altmaier, who tends to play his best tennis on clay. Basilashvili has been slowly climbing back up the rankings lately and might well get another important win here as he closes in on a return to the top 100.
Prediction: Basilashvili in 3
Martin Landaluce vs Terence Atmane
Head-to-head: Landaluce 1-0 Atmane
Atmane is a on five match losing streak and last week’s performance against Borges was far from encouraging for his grass court season prospects. Landaluce, on the other hand, is rising fast and showed a very good level on grass both last week in Stuttgart and in qualifying here in Halle. Under normal circumstances, the Spaniard should pull through here.
Prediction: Landaluce in 2
Flavio Cobolli vs Frances Tiafoe
Head-to-head: Tiafoe 3-1 Cobolli
Although Cobolli won arguably the most important match in their head-to-head (the Acapulco final), Tiafoe has found joy in this matchup overall and he has generally played very well on grass in recent years. Cobolli also played very well at Wimbledon last year, but he might still be a bit hangover after a fantastic run to the French Open final, which was at the same time the best result of his career but also likely the biggest disappointment (losing a 5-set final).
Prediction: Tiafoe in 3
Main Photo Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
