This week, the tennis world has ATP 500 tournaments on grass in Hale (Germany) and London (England). Although there have been no big surprises in the first round, the seeded players all have had a very difficult start.
Alcaraz - Rinderknech: 3-set battle, tie-break decides (London Open)
Alcaraz had a tough start despite only facing a player who entered the tournament thanks to a "reserve ticket".
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| World number three Medvedev faces difficulties in second round |
Although he only participated in the London Open as a "lucky loser" (lost in the qualifying round but still entered the main round because another player withdrew), Arthur Rinderknech surprised the number 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz. The opening set, the two players were tied until game 8, when Rinderknech took advantage of Alcaraz's mistake to gain a break-point and won 6-4.
The "cold water" in set 1 helped Alcaraz wake up and regain his form in set 2. The Spanish player won a break-point in the pivotal 11th game to win 7-5.
The climax of the match took place in the deciding set. The two players fought for every point, even having to decide the result in a tie-break.
In this nerve-wracking "shootout", Alcaraz showed his superiority when he won overwhelmingly 7-3, ending the dramatic battle that lasted 2 hours and 37 minutes. Entering the second round of the London Open, Alcaraz will face Jiri Lehecka.
Halle Open 2023: Thiem cannot cause a surprise on the day Zverev shows his true form.
In the past 3 years, Thiem is no longer a worthy opponent for Zverev. This is clearly shown in Zverev's 2 consecutive victories.
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| German tennis player Zverev shows his strength |
In their most recent meeting in the first round of the Halle Open 2023, Zverez continued to show his superior class. In the first set, the German player quickly defeated Thiem with a score of 6-3.
In the second set, Thiem tried to struggle but only made it a little more difficult for Zverez. Then Thiem continued to accept defeat with a score of 4-6.
It took Zverez only 1 hour and 20 minutes to defeat Thiem. This helped the 1997-born player save his energy for the next round, as well as maintain his impressive winning streak against Thiem.
Andy Murray stopped in the first round of London Open against 7th seed Alex De Minaur.
After 2 Challenger titles, Andy Murray was full of confidence entering his London Open opening match. However, his opponent, 7th seed Alex De Minaur, proved to be too superior. After only 1 hour and 26 minutes, De Minaur defeated Murray 2-0 (set score: 6-3, 6-1) to advance to the second round to meet Diego Schwartzman.
In other matches, Grigor Dimitrov easily defeated Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 6-4. Meanwhile, third seed Taylor Fritz and fourth seed Frances Tiafoe also needed only 2 sets to overcome opponents Bernabé Zapata Miralles and Botic van de Zandschulp.
Top seeds Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas will have to be wary of the formidable opponents they will face at the Halle Open if they do not want to miss out on a place in the quarter-finals.
No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev – Laslo Djere: 6:30 p.m., June 21, round 2 Halle Open
Daniil Medvedev has just had a smooth start at the ATP 500 Halle Open in Halle (Germany) when he defeated American opponent Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-3 in the opening match. Entering the second round of this pre-Wimbledon grass court tournament, the former world number 1 Russian will face Laslo Djere, Novak Djokovic's compatriot.
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| Top seed Alcaraz struggled to get through the first round |
Djere, the Serbian tennis player ranked 65th in the world, just won 7-6 (3), 6-3 against Oscar Otte in the opening round of this year's Halle Open. He also has a head-to-head record equal to Daniil Medvedev.
In their first match, in the first round of the Hungarian Open 2017 in Budapest (Hungary), Djere had a shocking 6-0 win over Medvedev in the first set before luckily winning the ticket to the next round when he tied his opponent 5-5 in the second set when his Russian opponent retired due to injury.
When they met again in the second round of Roland Garros last year, Medvedev successfully avenged his loss with a convincing 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over his opponent. However, in the first time the two sides will meet on grass at the Halle Open, the Russian No. 1 seed will still have to be very wary of the Serbian player if he does not want to cause a shock.
Nicolas Jarry – 2nd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas: Around 8pm, June 21, round 2 Halle Open
Tsitsipas had to go through a very difficult 3-set match to come back to defeat French opponent Gregoire Barrere 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the first round of this year's Halle Open. The next challenge awaits former 2019 ATP Finals champion Nicolas Jarry.
The Chilean had shocked Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Liberma Open in Rosmalen (Netherlands) in 2019 on grass. This year, when they met again in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters on clay, Jarry lost to the Greek star 3-6, 4-6.
The upcoming match at Halle Open promises to be a tough challenge for second seed Tsitsipas on his way to the quarterfinals.
Also in the second round of the tournament in Germany, 9th seed Alexander Zverev will face tough opponent Denis Shapovalov at 10:30 p.m. on June 21.
Hoang Nam
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