Halle SF previews and predictions: Hurkacz vs. Zverev, Sinner vs. Zhang

Only one unseeded player remains in Halle, as Zhizhen Zhang will go up against No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner on semifinal Saturday. More of a blockbuster matchup features Alexander Zverev and Hubert Hurkacz.

(5) Hubert Hurkacz vs. (2) Alexander Zverev

Zverev will be looking for the surface sweep against Hurkacz when they go head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers during semifinal action at the Terra Wortmann Open on Saturday. All three of their previous encounters have gone Zverev’s way; on clay (in three sets at the 2019 Madrid Masters), on an indoor hard court (in straight sets at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals), and on an outdoor hard court (in three sets at the 2024 United Cup).

Grass definitely gives Hurkacz his best chance. The ninth-ranked Pole is a former Wimbledon semifinalist (2021) and success on this surface has continued in Halle with routine victories over Flavio Cobolli, James Duckworth, and Marcos Giron. Zverev is great on every surface, but he would much rather face Hurkacz on clay or a slow hard court. The fourth-ranked German has done well to rebound from his five-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final by beating Oscar Otte, Lorenzo Sonego, and Arthur Fils. All three matches were competitive, and both Otte and Fils pushed Zverev to a third set. Hurkacz has been the superior player all week long and is less likely to have hiccup on serve, which is obviously paramount on grass.

Pick: Hurkacz in 3

(1) Jannik Sinner vs. Zhizhen Zhang

Like Zverev, Sinner was ousted from Roland Garros by Alcaraz in a five-setter–in the Italian’s case in the semifinals. Sinner has also made a nice transition to grass, earning his spot in the Halle semis thanks to defeats of Tallon Griekspoor, Fabian Marozsan, and Jan-Lennard Struff. All three matches went three sets and Struff even forced a third-set tiebreaker.

Up next for the world No. 1 on Saturday is a first-ever contest against Zhang. The 27-year-old from China had been just 7-10 lifetime on grass heading into this week, but from out of nowhere he has made an impressive run at the expense of Sebastian Ofner, Daniil Medvedev, and Chris Eubanks–all in three sets, as well. Sinner has much more experience at the business end of these kinds of big tournaments and in general he is stellar on grass even if he hasn’t been dominant this week. It feels like only a matter of time before the 22-year-old really finds his footing on this surface and starts taking it to opponents.

Pick: Sinner in 2