Seeds Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev will continue their Halle campaigns on Thursday, when they bid for quarterfinal spots. Sinner is going up against Lorenzo Sonego, while Rublev aims for revenge on Yannick Hanfmann.
Lorenzo Sonego vs. (4) Jannik Sinner
It will be an all-Italian affair when Sinner and Sonego square off in the Terra Wortmann Open second round on Thursday. They have faced each other once before and that showdown came earlier this season on the indoor hard courts of Montpellier, where Sinner cruised 6-4, 6-2.
The rematch figures to be more competitive, as Sonego is strong on grass and should be able to hold serve more frequently than he did in Montpellier. Unfortunately for the world No. 39, Sinner is also great on the green stuff. Halle’s No. 4 seed advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals last summer and led Novak Djokovic two sets to love before fading. Sinner needed three sets to get past Richard Gasquet on Tuesday, but with a win under his belt he should be able to raise his level and win a high-quality contest against Sonego.
Pick: Sinner in 2
(3) Andrey Rublev vs. (WC) Yannick Hanfmann
Rublev and Hanfmann will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Thursday afternoon. They have split their two previous meetings; Rublev prevailed 6-3, 6-3 6-4 at the 2021 Australian Open before Hanfmann pulled off a 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 upset last month on the red clay of Rome.
It took a while for this to be confirmed, but Hanfmann has pretty much established himself as a clay-court specialist at this point in his career. That’s not to say the 31-year-old German is hopeless on grass, but he would much prefer another shot at Rublev on the slow stuff. Although Hanfmann did well to beat wild card Louis Wessels 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the opening round, Rublev obviously represents a massive step up in competition. The world No. 7 dominated his third set against Yibing Wu 6-2 on Tuesday and that should have him off to the races in Halle.
Pick: Rublev in 2
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