Medvedev and Tsitsipas back on track and open accounts at Halle Open

Two of the top seeds at the Halle Open opened the first day of action with victories in Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev.

Defeated early in Rosmalen and Stuttgart respectively, Medvedev in particular got back on track to continue his superb season.

In doing so, he became the first player to reach 40 wins this season. He was never in danger in Halle against Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-3.

He will next play Serbian Laslo Djere who took down home hero Oscar Otte 7-6(3), 6-3. He lost out last year to Hubert Hurkacz in the final where he won all eight sets he played en route to the championship match.

It also continues his grass court success with the World No.3 owning a 65.4 winning percentage on the surface.

Stefanos Tsitsipas was also victorious on Monday, but it wasn't as easy as expected for the Greek.

He saw off Gregoire Barrere 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) and came from a set and a break down to seal a two hour 22 minute.

He was more consistent in the second half of the match when it mattered most in particular during the deciding set tie break and now faces Nicolas Jarry.

“I just tried smiling. It kind of worked,” said Tsitsipas, when asked about how he kept his cool when trailing in the second set. “At that point you think, ‘I’ve been giving 100 per cent’. I was trying to think, ‘What can I do better?’

“I wasn’t too consistent with my returns. He had a few second serves where I tried to do much. I just thought I could have done much better in that department and psychologically I think it helped my opponent [settle].”

Also through was Denis Shapovalov who was making his debut at Halle and saw off Lloyd Harris 7-6, 6-4. A former semi-finalist at Wimbledon, he certainly has the tools to be a threat at SW19 in a few weeks time.