Zverev prevails over Thiem in grass court opener in Halle

Alexander Zverev is through to the second round where he will face Denis Shapovalov at the 2023 Halle Open after taking down Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday evening.

It was a superb serving display from Zverev who kept him under pressure throughout with a dialled in display.

He saved the only break point he faced as was his dominance and won 85% of his points behind his first serve.

Hubert Hurkacz who is defending champion also found his way through seeing off Christopher Eubanks in another standout display.

“I’m happy to get the win,” said Zverev. “Obviously grass is a difficult surface to get a rhythm on. It was a typical grass match, in a way, one break in each set. All-in-all I’m happy to be through and hopefully will have some more matches here.

“I was moving well. I was not hitting the ball as well as I wanted to, but it’s very difficult, the first time on grass in two years.”

Next is Shapovalov tomorrow and he hopes that the crowd will get him through.

“I think [the crowd] will help me a lot tomorrow, but he’s an excellent grass-court player,” said Zverev. “He’s been to the semi-finals of Wimbledon, so it’s one of his favourite surfaces I think. I’m looking forward to that match because I think it’s going to be a real challenge.”