A pair of big-hitting quarterfinal contests in the bottom half of the Halle draw will be featured on Friday afternoon. Alexander Zverev is battling Nicolas Jarry and Jannik Sinner is facing Alexander Bublik.
(9) Alexander Zverev vs. Nicolas Jarry
Zverev and Jarry will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers on Friday. They have split their four previous encounters, all of which have come on clay–including a trio in 2019, of which two went to final-set tiebreakers. Their most recent meeting came this spring in Geneva, where Jarry prevailed 7-6(3), 6-3.
The 28th-ranked Chilean has remained in stellar form since that result, but Zverev is better positioned for success in Halle. Zverev is coming off a French Open semifinal run and is playing in front of his German fans, which has so far paid dividends to the tune of straight-set victories over Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov. Jarry certainly can’t be discounted–especially not after ousting No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday–but the world No. 22 should have a slight edge.
Pick: Zverev in 3
Alexander Bublik vs. (4) Jannik Sinner
German fans were hoping to see both Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff in quarterfinal action, but Bublik had other ideas. Bublik followed up a 6-3, 6-1 rout of No. 7 seed Borna Coric by beating a red-hot Struff 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 in the second round. Unsurprisingly, the Kazakh is feeling right at home on grass following a predictably disastrous clay-court campaign.
Unfortunately for Bublik, he is running into Sinner on Friday. Their head-to-head series stands at 3-0 in favor of the ninth-ranked Italian, who just disposed of Bublik 6-4, 6-2 last week in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Sinner, whom the world No. 48 called “not human” following their 2021 Miami encounter, is 6-1 lifetime in total sets. The 21-year-old has advanced in Halle with three-set victories over Richard Gasquet and Lorenzo Sonego; both opponents are capable on grass, so requiring three sets is not particularly alarming for Sinner. Based on their ‘s-Hertogenbosch result and the No. 4 seed’s sustained form, this should be another straight-setter.
Pick: Sinner in 2
WWW?