Day one at the Halle Open boasts a line-up of plenty of exciting matches and Last Word on Tennis is offering predictions for all of them. But who will book their place in the second round on the grass courts in Saxony-Anhalt?
Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Steve Johnson (first on Stadion)
Head-to-head: Kohlschreiber 1-0 Johnson
Kohlschreiber may be coming towards the end of his career, but the 35-year-old remains an excellent touring professional, well capable of troubling the best in the sport on his day, as evidenced by his straight-sets win over Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells. His game is perhaps better suited to slower surfaces than grass, but his ability to spread the court from both the forehand and backhand ensures he is always a challenging opponent.
Johnson has arguably underperformed on the grass so far in his career and has a torrid season, winning just six of his 19 matches so far. But he did push Gael Monfils to a third-set tiebreak last week in Stuttgart, where his wicked sliced backhand and big forehand were working well. And whilst his lack of variety on the backhand will still surely prove his undoing against the sport’s elite, he looks to have all the tools required to see off the challenge of Kohlschreiber.
Prediction: Johnson in three.
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Joao Sousa vs Hubert Hurkacz (second on Court 1)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Hurkacz and Sousa have had rather contrasting years with the Pole enjoying considerable success whilst the Portuguese has struggled badly. But he does have the advantage of having significantly more grass-court experience than his opponent, although Hurkacz did come through the qualifying to reach the main draw at Wimbledon last season. His big serve and groundstrokes should ensure that he is a danger on this surface.
But he can struggle to deal with low balls and is not particularly comfortable moving out to his forehand side. Sousa, who possesses an excellent slice and one of the most effective inside-in forehands in the game should look to expose those weaknesses. Having looked sharp in battling through the qualifying to reach the Halle Open main draw, beating both Jannik Sinner and Miomir Kecmanovic, he should feel confident about his chances against Hurkacz and rightly so.
Prediction: Sousa in three.
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Alexander Zverev vs Robin Haase (fourth on Stadion)
Head-to-head: Zverev 3-2 Haase
Zverev may have lost his opener in Stuttgart to Dustin Brown, but there are few more difficult draws for a player’s first grass-court match than the shot-maker Brown. It certainly should not detract from the positive steps Zverev made during the final stretch of the clay-court swing, which saw him win the title in Geneva before reaching the last eight at the French Open for the second consecutive year. And whilst Zverev is still not a particularly natural grass-courter, he has twice reached the Halle Open final.
But he will need to be at his sharpest to get past Haase. The Dutchman thrives on fast surfaces and has consistently troubled Zverev, despite trailing 2-3 in their head-to-head. His big serve, excellent touch and useful forehand allow him to play tennis on the front foot, whilst Zverev is typically more comfortable with a more cautious style. That will not work against Haase. But if Zverev is willing to step in and dictate, he should just about be able to out-muscle Haase.
Prediction: Zverev in three.
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