Sinner wins Halle title in first tournament as World No. 1
Jannik Sinner, the World No. 1 seed, won his maiden event in Halle, after a very difficult week.
The Italian player began his career with a set down in all three of his matches, but he rallied each time to beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(8), 7-6(2) on Sunday to win the ATP 500 trophy.
It has great significance. Sinner stated, “It was a difficult contest versus Hubi. “I was aware that I needed to serve extremely well and that you only play a few crucial points the entire set. I was therefore content and made an effort to perform at my highest level throughout the crucial times. I’m thrilled to have won this competition because it feels nice to triumph on grass for the first time.
Sinner became the eighth player in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings (since 1973) to win a trophy in his debut tournament as the World No. 1 after securing his first grass-court championship.
Participants who place first in the world in the first eventPlayer CompetitionJannik Sinner – Halle, 2024Andy Murray at the 2016 ATP FinalsNovak Djokovic in Montreal in 2011Pete Sampras, Hong Kong, 1993Stefan Edberg, Long Island, 1990Mats Wilander, Palermo, 1988Bjorn Borg at Monte-Carlo in 1979Jimmy Connors, Indianapolis, 1974
Sunday’s match in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series saw the doubles partners, Sinner and Hurkacz, who advanced to the second round in Halle, step onto the court level at 2-2. There was hardly much interaction between the two players in their initial meeting on the grass. However, Sinner outperformed in the crucial areas to win in one hour and fifty minutes.
“He served a couple of second serves in the tie-break, which then could make the difference,” Sinner said at pivotal points. “I suppose that today’s key was that.”
Throughout the match, there were no service breaks. However, according to Infosys ATP Stats, Sinner won 85% of his serve points while Hurkacz only won 69%.
Hurkacz missed a short forehand wide, giving Sinner a mini-break in the first-set tie-break and the upper seed the advantage. Hurkacz, however, lost the opportunity to take the first set at 7/6 after giving up his first set point at 6/5. Sinner advanced, applying pressure on his opponent, and Hurkacz failed to connect on a difficult forehand pass from a good distance behind the baseline.
Hurkacz was forced to miss a backhand into the net as Sinner secured his third set point with baseline depth after squandering another opportunity.
There was lots of entertainment even if there were no service intervals. Hurkacz hit one of the shots of the week in the second set after Sinner lobbed him. The Pole then completed an over-the-shoulder forehand flip passing shot to win it all. The crowd erupted in approval as Sinner clapped his racquet in recognition of the amazing performance.
Later in the set, Sinner even attempted to make the same shot. The Italian had a good chuckle with his teammates even if he missed it in the net.
The 22-year-old again claimed the early lead in the second-set tie-break. Hurkacz missed a last-second backhand slice long, but this time he did not give up and won his fourth title of the year.
Sinner will now focus on Wimbledon, where he hopes to win his second major championship of the year (he took home the Australian Open).
I’m merely anticipating it. I played very fantastic tennis last year, and I made it to the semifinals. Thus, let us see what this year holds,” Sinner stated. “I must admit, I feel more assured. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the grass here may differ slightly from that of Wimbledon. However, I have one week to get ready, so perhaps the competition will go well.
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Sinner became the 17th male player in active competition to win a tour-level championship on clay, hard, and grass. On hard courts, he has won 12 of his 14 tour-level titles.
