Competing in his first tournament since finishing runner-up to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in a memorable Roland-Garros final, world number one Jannik Sinner beat home hope Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-3 in 90 minutes to kickstart his grass-court campaign at the Terra Wortmann Open.
In his on-court interview, the 23-year-old commented: “I’m very happy. He is a great server and a great baseliner, so breaking him is very difficult on this surface. I am very happy with how I handled the tough situations mentally. The first set could have gone into a tiebreak, and then anything can happen.”
On the OWL Arena, Sinner delivered a solid performance, conceding just two break points in the match.
A close first set saw Italy No.1 taking his time to adjust his game to the fast grass surface while staying calm under pressure.
All in all, the three-time Grand Slam champion made a huge difference behind his serve, winning 84 percent of the points on his first delivery.
Moreover, he registered a return rate of 139 to his adversary’s 66.
Ultimately, he finished with 26 winners against 16 unforced errors, compared to Hanfmann, 21 and 21, respectively.
The 19-ATP titlist claimed his first and lone title on grass at the venue last season.
“There are a lot of strong players playing because they all want to prepare for Wimbledon,” the San Candido native added.
“I always feel particularly comfortable here in Halle because the atmosphere is always so good. Let’s see how far we can go.”
On Thursday, the Italian player will square off against world No. 45 Alexander Bublik, who has carried out momentum into the ATP 500, beginning his run on German soil with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Frenchman Alexandre Muller on Monday.
Fresh from advancing to his first major quarterfinal at Roland-Garros - he fell to Sinner in straight sets - the 27-year-old, a former champion at the grass court event, cruised past his first-round opponent in 60 minutes with a dominant showing.
The two-time Australian Open champion leads the Kazakh player 4-1 in their series, but they are even 1-1 on grass, a surface that suits the latter game like a glove.
Speaking about his upcoming rival, Sinner outlined: “He’s a great player, a great talent, and grass is his favorite surface. He beat me here in Halle; he won [the trophy] here in Halle, so it’s for sure a place he loves to play.
“I’m trying to stay calm mentally and trying to see what I can reach. He’s a great talent, a great server, and he can do whatever he wants. It’s hopefully going to be a good match.”
On a further note, fellow compatriots Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Sonego also made it through to the next round at the tournament.
Cobolli dug deep to beat Brazilian Joao Fonseca 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-6(8), a dramatic three-setter staged earlier on Tuesday.
Next, the world No. 24 will face off against Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who rallied to prevail over sixth seed Ugo Humbert 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4).
Meanwhile, Sonego dispatched local favorite Jan-Lennard Struff in just one hour.
Sinner’s doubles partner awaits the winner of the contest featuring second seed Alexander Zverev against American Marcos Giron.