Halle Open ATP Day Three Round-up | Shelton and Medvedev impress as Auger-Aliassime and Fritz come out on top in three-set thrillers

Second round action at the Halle Open commenced today, but first up was the final two matches in the first round. Stuttgart Open finalists Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz entered the dray, and began with wins.

The champion, Shelton is gunning for back to back titles on grass. He began that in fine fashion by defeating Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 6-3. The Italian was a late replacement for the injured Nick Kyrgios, but could not take down the number three seed in Halle.

Shelton thought he had the advantage in the first set but was immediately broken back by Sonego who made it 4-3 on serve. He was not allowed to do that at the end of the set with Shelton converting the first set point against the serve, taking command. Just a single break was again enough in the next set, but this one came earlier. Shelton strode into a 4-2 lead before seeing it out on serve.

That was most definitely a comfortable win if you compare it to the Fritz’s battle with Zizou Bergs. The American number two grinded out a 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4 win in an absolute thriller.

After the pair traded breaks at the start, 10 consecutive holds led to a tiebreak. Fritz got the set done and dusted with the second looking like it was heading in the same direction. Bergs, who has missed two break points earlier, was not left to regret them. He broke in the 12th game and sent the tie the distance. Disappointed by his failed title defence in Stuttgart, Fritz is determined to get back to title winning form on a surface he loves. It was his turn to break, but much earlier in the set. He again made inroads on the bergs serve late on, creating two set points. These were not taken, but a hold to love wrapped up proceedings and avoided Fritz of a surprising upset.

That was not the only three-set cracker in store today. Felix Auger-Aliassime came from a set down to defeat young talent Learner Tien 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5). The match took two and a half hours with both players putting on a show in a brilliant contest.

Auger-Aliassime was the better in the early stages, but the first set quickly shifted momentum. After surviving break points, Tien failed to take a brace of them later on as it went to a tiebreak. The American fended off a late comeback to win 7-5 and was halfway to victory.

He would come so close yet so far to defeating the number two seed. The second set did not see a break opportunity until the 11th game with both players not being troubled when starting a point. Auger-Aliassime found the breakthrough and a hold to love forced a deciding set. He was the one to break first in what looked like a definitive break, but Tien responded instantly to get it back level. A tiebreak occurred and the 7-5 scoreline this time went the way of a relieved Auger-Aliassime. He missed a huge opportunity in Paris when he lost in the quarter-final to eventual runner-up Flavio Cobolli, and he will not want to let another opportunity like that slip through his grasp.

Daniil Medvedev faired better when he took on Terence Atmane. The two-time finalist will hope to go one step further than last year as he boosts his chances with a 6-4, 6-4 win against the Frenchman.

2026 Medvedev has been very inconsistent, ranging from defeating Carlos Alcaraz and winning two ATP titles to losing 6-0, 6-0 against Matteo Berrettini at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He showed his firm intentions early on by breaking enroute to a 3-0 lead.

After dominating the early proceedings, Atmane attempted to come back into it. He has five break chances but each one of them were rebuffed by the Russian who with his first set point got ahead. The second and definitive break came in the ninth game of the second set where Medvedev all-but confirmed the win. He set himself up with a chance to serve it out and did so to reach a second consecutive quarter-final on grass.

The other second round action saw Frances Tiafoe continue to make his merry way through the tournament. Following an eye-catching win over Cobolli, he dumped out Sho Shimabukuro 6-4, 7-5.

Tiafoe started on the front foot. He went from 2-1 down to 4-2 ahead in a deadly spurt that sent his Japanese opponent on the back foot. Both players had a single chance to break, but both were missed. Another one cropped up for Shimabukuro as Tiafoe was serving it out. The American relinquished any chance of this being converted, taking the first set.

It was Shimabukuro’s turn to have a turn in the lead via break. That advantage would not last more than one game as Tiafoe quickly got things back to square one. He then struck late before serving it out to reach the quarter-final and send a statement to the rest of the tournament that he is a challenger.

A popular victor was home hero Daniel Altmaier. With German fans patiently waiting to see Alexander Zverev back on court, they had to make do with the German number three who managed to give them something to celebrate, defeating the big serving Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

There was work to do after the first set. A single break was enough for the former Wimbledon semi-finalist to sit on. The reverse occurred in the next set with Altmaier also taking a 5-2 lead before winning the set two games later on serve.

It all came down to one final set, and it was the German who made the most of it. 5-4 down, he got all square at 5-5 before a hugely crucial break set himself up with a shot at the match. He was by far the better player in the final stages as se secured a second hold to love in three games to march on as a triumphant winner.