Nine days after he lifted his first Grand Slam trophy on the clay of Roland Garros, Alexander Zverev needed all of his serve to begin his grass season the way a home favourite is supposed to.
The opener. The top seed dropped the second set before steadying himself to beat the World No. 64 Vit Kopriva 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 at the Terra Wortmann Open on Tuesday. Zverev leaned heavily on his first delivery, winning a commanding share of those points, but the one game he lost on serve arrived at the worst moment, when Kopriva broke to force a decider.
From 2-2 in the third he reeled off four straight games to put the match away. The win, according to the ATP Tour, drew Zverev level with Rafael Nadal for the most match wins at ATP 500 level — a milestone for a 28-year-old who has now reached the Halle final twice and the semi-finals in each of the last three years. He next meets compatriot Yannick Hanfmann for a quarter-final place.
The upset. The headline casualty was the defending champion. Alexander Bublik, the No. 7 seed who beat Daniil Medvedev in last year’s final, was knocked out in the first round by Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 7-6(6), 6-1, the grass swing again proving unkind to the man holding the trophy. Bublik is the second defending champion to fall early this fortnight after Gabriel Diallo’s exit in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Around the draw. Hubert Hurkacz, the 2022 champion in Halle, produced the cleanest performance of the day, dismissing eighth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-2; he plays home wild card Daniel Altmaier next. Medvedev, a two-time Halle finalist, eased past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4 and will face Terence Atmane.
Ethan Quinn recovered from a one-sided first set to oust Karen Khachanov 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 and earn a meeting with third seed Ben Shelton or Lorenzo Sonego, while Sho Shimabukuro claimed his first win as a top-100 player by beating Tallon Griekspoor and lined up a clash with Frances Tiafoe. Fabian Marozsan also advanced.
What’s next. With Zverev, Medvedev and Hurkacz all through and Bublik gone, the bottom of the draw has cracked open. The German will fancy his chances of a first Halle title on a surface that has historically rewarded big serving — and of moving past Nadal’s 500-level mark outright.
