Halle R1 previews and predictions: Zverev vs. Thiem, Sinner vs. Gasquet

First-round action in Halle continues on Tuesday, when familiar foes Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem face off again. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner kicks off his title quest with Richard Gasquet on the other side of the net.

(9) Alexander Zverev vs. (WC) Dominic Thiem

Zverev and Thiem will be squaring off for the 12th time in their careers when they collide in round one of the Terra Wortmann Open on Tuesday. It is a rematch of the famous–or infamous–2020 U.S. Open final, in which Thiem came back from two sets down to triumph 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6). The Austrian leads the overall head-to-head series 8-3, although they have never faced each other on grass and Zverev won their most recent meeting 6-3, 6-4 in the 2021 Madrid semifinals.

Of course, their head-to-head history hardly means anything right now since Thiem remains a shadow of his real self. The 29-year-old’s comeback from a wrist injury has been slow going, as he is just 7-13 on the main tour this season and even 2-4 in his last six Challenger matches. Zverev’s return from his own injury suffered at the 2022 French Open has been far more impressive. The 22nd-ranked German successfully defended his semifinal points at Roland Garros and he also advanced to semis in Dubai and Geneva. Zverev is the better grass-court player, too, and he is playing at home in Germany. In other words, he has the edge in every department.

Pick: Zverev in 2

Richard Gasquet vs. (4) Jannik Sinner

In great form this year and coming off a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon last summer, Sinner projects to be one of the top contenders at the All-England Club outside of Novak Djokovic. The ninth-ranked Italian surprisingly lost to Emil Ruusuvuori in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch quarterfinals this past week, but that leaves him well rested for Halle.

Up first for Sinner is a second encounter with Gasquet, who lost their recent Indian Wells matchup 6-3, 7-6(2). The 36-year-old Frenchman registers at 49th in the rankings and he is coming off a quarterfinal effort in Stuttgart, where he beat Chris Eubanks and Stefanos Tsitsipas before falling to Jan-Lennard Struff. Gasquet is no pushover on grass, but Sinner will likely be able to hit him off the court.

Pick: Sinner in 2