Alexander Zverev continues his grass-court campaign as the tour moves to Halle. The No. 2 seed will take on the big-serving Dutchman Robin Haase. Russia’s Karen Khachanov will also be in opening day action against Damir Dzumhur.
(2) Alexander Zverev vs. Robin Haase
Zverev didn’t exactly kick off his 2019 grass court season the way he would have liked. The German ran into his countryman Dustin Brown, a player who wakes from his Challenger slumber each year during the grass court season to pick off much higher-ranked players. In that case world No. 170 upended the world No. 5 and sent Zverev to Halle early. His Halle draw isn’t much better. Haase has snagged two wins out of his five matches with Zverev, both on quicker hard courts.
Zverev had an excellent run to the quarters at Roland Garros, an effort that may have left the German fatigued for his bid in Stuttgart. The good news is that he should be well rested for his bid in Halle. Haase has had a bumpy first half of 2019. The Dutchman holds a losing 10-12 record on the season. He has a second round result in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, losing to the Chilean upstart Cristian Garin.
Given Haase’s spotty form of late, this is a match that’s entirely winnable for Zverev. He’ll be playing in front of the home crowd with a pair of rested legs. The favorite should pull through.
Cheryl pick: Zverev in 3
Ricky pick: Zverev in 3
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(3) Karen Khachanov vs. Damir Dzumhur
Khachanov had a disappointing start to the 2019 season. After a brilliant end to 2018, where he captured titles in Moscow over Adrian Mannarino and at the Paris Masters over Novak Djokovic, he started with a series of early losses–including a third round ouster at the Australian Open. He righted the ship at Roland Garros, though. Like Zverev, he posted a quarterfinal result–losing to eventual finalist Dominic Thiem.
Dzumhur, a 27-year-old from Bosnia-Herzegovina, has scarcely managed to win more than a single match at a time this year. His record is an anemic 5-10. He did manage to qualify for the event in Geneva and he won a couple of main draw matches, but there have been few results worth celebrating the rest of the season.
Khachanov shouldn’t have much difficulty getting through this one. He has clearly re-found his form just in time for the grass court season.
Cheryl pick: Khachanov in 2
Ricky pick: Khachanov in 2
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Sascha made it in two sets but it wasn’t pretty.
Miomir Kecmanovic was impressive, I thought, even though he lost to Karen.