2024 Halle Open Semifinals Schedule and Preview: Sinner seeks final spot as Zverev and Hurkacz set for exciting clash

The semifinals of the ATP 500 Halle Open are set to begin this Saturday, June 22, at the OWL Arena. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner remains in contention after overcoming a tough challenge against Jan-Lennard Struff and will face the surprise semifinalist Zhizhen Zhang, who is in the semifinals of an ATP 500 for the second time in his career.

On the other hand, World No. 4 Alexander Zverev returned to winning ways this week, following his defeat in the French Open final two weeks ago, and quietly advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, where he will face 5th seed Hubert Hurkacz in an intriguing match to return to the final.

Zverev seeks third Halle Open final

The day will be opened by recent Roland Garros runner-up Alexander Zverev. The German has 15 victories in his last 16 matches and aims to reach his third final at the Halle Open. The world No. 4 fell in 2016 and 2017 to Florian Mayer and Roger Federer, respectively, while in 2023 he exited in the semifinals against Aleksander Bublik.

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This week, he secured wins over Oscar Otte (No. 474), Lorenzo Sonego (No. 57), and Arthur Fils (No. 37). Zverev has been flawless on the grass with his serve and has yet to concede breaks to any of his opponents.

His opponent will be Hubert Hurkacz (No. 9), who knows what it takes to lift the trophy in Halle, having been champion in 2022 by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final. The Pole always proves formidable on grass and has been dominant this week without dropping a set so far.

Hurkacz entered the draw as the 5th seed and began with a victory over Flavio Cobolli (No. 49), marking his 200th professional win. He later defeated James Duckworth (No. 88) and Marcos Giron (No. 53). The Pole has shown consistency over the past year and is making his seventh appearance in a tournament semifinal, already ensuring his best historical ranking as No. 7 once Halle concludes.

Currently, Zverev leads their head-to-head encounters 3-0, with their last meeting earlier this year in the United Cup final.

Hubert Hurkacz at the 2023 ATP Finals.

Sinner challenges Zhang in pursuit of the final

Jannik Sinner (No. 1) maintains his pace in his stellar 2024 season. Despite a semifinal loss at the French Open, he claimed the ATP's top ranking for the first time and has demonstrated his form this week in Halle. The surface change hasn't hindered Sinner, who has secured 36 wins in his last 39 matches.

The 22-year-old hasn't had an easy path in the tournament but has managed to assert his dominance. He came back from a set down against Tallon Griekspoor (No. 28) in the first round (6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2) and also had to battle in the third set against Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (No. 45) (6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3). The quarterfinals against Jan-Lennard Struff (No. 41) were even more dramatic, with Sinner clinching victory in a third-set tie-break (6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(3)).

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The 2024 Australian Open champion will face Zhang Zhizhen (No. 42), the surprise semifinalist. The Chinese player has kept his composure in crucial moments and returns to his second ATP 500 semifinal so far.

Zhang secured a new career-high ranking of world No. 33 with victories over Sebastian Ofner (No. 52), third seed Daniil Medvedev (No. 5), and grass-court specialist Christopher Eubanks (No. 44), all in three-set battles. The 27-year-old became the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals of a grass-court tournament and has no prior matchups against Sinner.

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