The Halle Open first round ended today with the last two clashes involving Matteo Berrettini and Alex Michelsen, and Luciano Darderi and Jan-Lennard Struff. This was Struff’s first match since he had to withdraw from the Stuttgart Open before his quarterfinal clash with Brandon Nakashima on the 14th of June.
Arthur Fils and Dominik Koepfer then started the Halle Open second round after defeating Tomas Machac and Felix Auger-Aliassime respectively in their first-round clashes. Following that match was Christopher Eubanks’ clash with the defending champion, Alexander Bublik. The 2nd and 3rd seeds, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, would face Lorenzo Sonego and Zhang Zhizhen respectively later in the day in their second round clashes.
Berrettini Shakes Off Stuttgart Open Final Loss
Alex Michelsen started the Halle Open first round clash with Matteo Berrettini on his back foot. The American, Michelson, quickly broke the Stuttgart Open finalists serve in the second game of the first set with a powerful forehand that Berrettini returned into the net. However, he gifted Berrettini a break in the seventh game when a backhand volley dropped beyond the baseline.
Berrettini took the first set via a tiebreak win after Michelsen failed to return a big forehand from the Italian. In the sixth game of the second set, Matteo Berrettini turned the screws on Alex Michelsen, securing his spot in the Halle Open second round.
With Berrettini looking to break serve, Michelsen tried a wide serve and volley combo which the Italian countered with a huge crosscourt forehand that whizzed past the American. Two games later, Berrettini opened up a three-break lead on Michelsen.
On set point, Berrettini chased down a defensive drop shot at the net to score a backhand winner down the line. Matteo Berrettini will face Marcos Giron, who upset Andrey Rublev in their first round encounter, in the second round.
Struff Comeback Sends Him To Halle Open 2nd Round
Home favorite, Jan-Lennard Struff faced the Italian Luciano Darderi in the last Halle Open first round clash.
Both players played dominantly on their first and second serves, each breaking the 90% mark in the efficiency of their serves. Neither of them faced a single break point as they fought to a first-set tiebreak that Darderi dominated.
The second set started similarly to the first, but Struff got the first and second break point opportunities of the match in the fourth game. Darderi saved both to hold serve. Struff continued to dominate on serve but also challenged Darderi on his serves. The Italian cracked in the 12th game to gift Struff the second set and kickstart the comeback.
Luciano Darderi came out strong in the deciding set. He broke Struff’s serve in the fifth game on his third breakpoint opportunity of the game after racing to a 0-40 lead in the game. Struff got the break back immediately, winning his second of two break point opportunities in the next game. Struff went on to pepper Darderi’s serve in the 10th game, dragging the game past nine minutes producing three break points until Darderi successfully held serve.
The pair then served into a tightly contested deciding set tiebreak. Jan-Lennard Struff held three match points at 6-3 but Darderi saved each one. Three points later, it was Darderi’s turn to save a match point. Struff saved it and the contest continued until the German broke Darderi’s serve on match point to win 12-10. Struff will face Stefano Tsitsipas in the second round.
Halle Open Second Round Starts
Arthur Fils started the Halle Open second round against Dominik Koepfer. The young Frenchman was excellent on serve, scoring 28 of 35 first serve points and 20 of 36 second serve points. He also faced five breakpoints throughout the match and saved all.
Arthur Fils broke Koepfer in the sixth game of the first set and stayed on serve to win the first set 6-3. He then broke the German in the first game of the second set to increase his advantage in the tie. The Frenchman then stayed on serve to win the set 6-4. He’d face either Lorenzo Sonego or Alexander Zverev in the Halle Open quarterfinal.
After winning the first set of his second round clash with Alexander Bublik with a tiebreak, Christopher Eubanks fell a break of his serve down to concede the second set 4-6 and allow Bublik back into the match. The American then broke Bublik’s serve in the eighth game of the third set before serving out the match to a 6-3 win. The American will face either Daniil Medvedev or Zhang Zhizhen in the Halle Open quarterfinal.
About the Author
Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management. He’s also the author of the mystery thriller novel “The Eye of Ra.” For more articles by Ebenezer Ugorji, click here and here!
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