Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Halle match.
With Carlos Alcaraz absent, Jannik Sinner enters the ATP Halle draw as the clear tournament favourite and returns as the defending champion. In the opening round, he will face Yannick Hanfmann, a player currently ranked outside the ATP top 100, but one capable of testing even elite-level opponents.
Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner arrives in Halle with an outstanding win record this season — three tournaments played, two finals appearances, and a Grand Slam title secured at the Australian Open. However, these results have all come on hard and clay courts. Grass remains a surface where he has yet to fully establish his dominance. Last year in Halle, he struggled against mid-ranked opposition, although he ultimately went on to win the tournament. His matches against Jan-Lennard Struff, Márton Fucsovics, and Zhizhen Zhang all extended beyond 23 games.
Yannick Hanfmann
Yannick Hanfmann has not typically been viewed as a key contender on the ATP Tour, but this season he has shown encouraging signs, especially on grass. He advanced through the qualifying rounds with comfortable victories over Yoshihito Nishioka and Nicolás Jarry, and has now played five grass-court matches this season, winning four of them. Although he has lost four of his last five encounters against top-25 players on grass, those matches have consistently gone beyond 22 games. Notably, at Wimbledon last year, he managed to take a set off Jannik Sinner.
Jannik Sinner vs Yannick Hanfmann Prediction
Jannik Sinner is the clear favourite here, but with this being his first outing of the year on grass, he may need time to find his rhythm. Yannick Hanfmann already has match sharpness and has proven he can compete against high-calibre opponents. A tightly contested match is expected, with the total likely to exceed 20 games.
