ATP HALLE PREVIEW

The clay season has ended and we’re now in week 2 on the grass after a number of 250 events last week. Alex De Minaur won in Hertogenbosch while Jack Draper  took the title in Stuttgart.

Both men will be appearing in London this week for the Cinch Championships. With the top players back in action, repeating those feats for either player will be a challenge. 

Top names in Halle this week, and the favourites for the title are Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev. Indeed, the field for Halle 2024 is stacked with quality as the other 5 players to fill the top 8 are

4. Andrey Rublev

5. Hubert Hurkacz

6. Stefanos Tsitsipas

7. Alexander Bublik

8. Felix Auger Aliassime

Sinner will opening against Tallon Griekspoor in round one and with all playing to form, is likely to meet Tsitsipas in the first quarter final. Roman Safiullin and Fabian Marozsan will be a challenge for the higher seeds in this quarter.

Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Bublik are the big names in the second quarter. Bublik is the defending champion and has shown big improvements in temperament and consistency in 2024. Medvedev is the big favourite to emerge here, as we also wait to see how healthy Bublik is after his injury loss in the Stuttgart quarter finals.

Andrey Rublev will meet Marcos Giron in the first round, while his biggest threat in the third quarter, Hubert Hurkacz, will meet Flavio Cobolli. Both are expected to reach at least the quarter finals where Hurkacz’ serve could give him an edge over Rublev.

Alexander Zverev is a dominant favourite in the fourth quarter, and will meet a qualifier in round one. The other top seed in the quarter, Auger-Aliassime has been in decent form this season but is unlikely to trouble the German.

We are likely to see Sinner v Medvedev and Zverev v Hurkacz in the semi-finals with Sinner lifting the trophy against Zverev in the final. 

Tip: Sinner at 2.72 on the exchange looks a smart bet, while Matteo Berrittini could be a dark horse at odds of 11.

Patrick.