This week’s ATP 500 event in Halle marks Jannik Sinner’s first outing as the new World No. 1 and his first match of the grass-court season.
“It’s going to be very special,” Sinner said in his pre-tournament press conference. “Because there are not many grass-court tournaments throughout the year. I play only here and at Wimbledon, so [I have] only two chances. But in general, it feels great to be back on grass.”
“It’s different. The first day you have to move on grass, which is tough, especially when you play against a guy who has already adapted to the grass in the first round. So I’m happy to be back and hopefully I can show some good tennis early on.”
Sinner opens against Grigor Dimitrov, who reached the semi-finals last week at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and lifted the trophy there in 2021. The Italian has won all four of their previous meetings.
Looking ahead to the first-round clash, Sinner said, “It’s going to be very tough. Overall, he plays well on grass, so it’s going to be a tough match, but I’m looking forward to playing on grass. It’s a good test for me, my first match on grass, to see where my level is. I’ll give everything, I’m looking forward to the crowd here. The atmosphere is great, and I’ll try to enjoy it.”
(Written and edited by George,)
