World No. 1 Jannik Sinner began his Halle Open campaign with a straight-sets victory on Tuesday, just over a week after his gruelling French Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.
The 23-year-old Italian overcame Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-3 on grass, rebounding from the five-hour, 29-minute marathon defeat at Roland Garros.
Sinner sealed the opening set with a late break and struck again in the second to close out the win over the world No. 138. “I’m very happy about my performance,” Sinner said in his post-match interview.
“The first set could have gone to a tie-break and then anything can happen. First matches on grass are always tricky — even the second and third ones — so we’ll see what comes next.”
The defending Halle champion will face 2023 title-holder Alexander Bublik in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Reflecting ahead of the tournament, Sinner admitted he had endured “a few sleepless nights” after his five-set loss to Alcaraz in Paris.
Meanwhile, world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, a two-time Halle finalist, begins his campaign against American Marcos Giron on Wednesday, while third seed Daniil Medvedev — the 2022 runner-up — takes on France’s Quentin Halys.
