Zverev battles into second round in Halle – Hanfmann awaits

In the second set, Kopriva fought his way back and leveled the match 6:4. Zverev was able to rely on his serve, as so often in his career. In the third set, the German gained the decisive advantage with the break to 3:2 in a tight game. Without any problems, he then marched to a 6:2 set win and secured his ticket to the round of the last 16.

Tribute to the Paris champion

Already on Sunday before the start of the tournament, Zverev had been honored on the Centre Court in Halle for his French Open title. Tournament director Ralf Weber paid tribute to the 29-year-old as an identity figure of the tournament. "Alexander Zverev gehört seit vielen Jahren zur Identität unseres Turniers. Er ist nicht nur Deutschlands erfolgreichster Spieler seiner Generation, sondern auch ein Publikumsliebling in Halle", said Weber. Zverev sei Zverev und genieße in der westfälischen Tennis-Hochburg einen besonderen Stellenwert.

That grass is not Zverev's favorite surface is an open secret. "Rasen ist der Belag, wo ich wahrscheinlich am wenigsten Erfolg gehabt habe in meiner Karriere", said Zverev after the match. Back in 2016, then 19 years old, he reached the final in Halle but lost there to Florian Mayer. A year later, he lost the final against the then record winner Roger Federer. Zverev has therefore still not won the title in Halle.

Zverev's difficult relationship with grass

That grass represents the biggest adjustment in the tennis season was emphasized explicitly by Zverev: "Der Wechsel von Sand auf Rasen ist der extremste, den wir im Tennis haben." After the Paris triumph on clay, the adjustment is particularly large. Nevertheless, Zverev showed a fighting spirit: "Ich bin ja dafür bekannt, dass ich mich in Wimbledon etwas schwerer tue… Deshalb hoffe ich, dass ich in diesem Jahr auch auf Rasen gutes Tennis zeigen kann."

At the same time, Zverev warned against complacency: "Ich darf jetzt nicht sagen: Okay, jetzt bin ich Grand-Slam-Champion und kann mich entspannen." The expectations of him are different after Paris, the pressure higher. The fans in the stadium also noticed the tension. "Ich finde, dass die Fans hier eigentlich immer super sind. Und klar, als es schwieriger wurde, waren sie mit dabei", said Zverev.

Hanfmann: 100th tour win and confidence

In the round of 16, an unexpectedly uncomfortable opponent now awaits: Yannick Hanfmann. The 34-year-old from Karlsruhe had previously won surprisingly clearly 6-2 and 6-2 against the Brazilian João Fonseca, world number 25. For Hanfmann, it was the first win on the Centre Court in Halle, although he had already played there three times. "Das ist natürlich so ein Match, was man sich erhofft, aber es ist nicht immer klar, dass es dann so kommt", said Hanfmann. "Es war eine super Atmosphäre."

The win against Fonseca also marked Hanfmann's 100th ATP tournament win on tour – a milestone in the career of the 34-year-old, who lives and trains in Karlsruhe. In addition, Hanfmann had won the doubles final in Stuttgart the previous week alongside Jan-Lennard Struff and had therefore already traveled to Westphalia in good form. Against Zverev, he would go into the match as a clear underdog but without pressure, signaled the man from Karlsruhe: "Ich werde mich auf die Challenge sehr gut vorbereiten."

Zverev himself paid respect to his future opponent. "Yannick hat ein super Match gespielt gegen João und zeigt hervorragendes Tennis auf den Rasenplatz", said the French Open winner. "Er hat letzte Woche in Stuttgart das Doppelturnier gewonnen." Zverev also pointed out that Fonseca had played his first match on grass in Stuttgart and therefore may not yet have been fully match-sharp: "Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass er vielleicht ein bisschen rusty war."

Doubles, tournament format and Wimbledon preparation

In addition to singles, Zverev is also competing in doubles in Halle. On the first day of the tournament, he played alongside his Brazilian friend Marcelo Melo and also advanced a round there. The tournament in Halle, officially the Terra Wortmann Open, is an ATP 500 event and thus the third-highest category on the ATP Tour. A total of six top-10 players had entered the 32-player main draw, including Zverev as the top-seeded player.

The Halle dress rehearsal serves as an important form test ahead of the grass-court highlight of the season, the Wimbledon Championships. These begin on June 29, 2026 – Zverev's best result there so far was reaching the round of 16. At the French Open, Zverev had won his first Grand Slam title in 2025, and at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he also won the gold medal.

Open account in Halle

Halle thus remains a tournament with an open account for Zverev. He reached the final twice, and lost twice – against Mayer in 2016 and against Federer in 2017. The upcoming task against Hanfmann is considerably harder to assess than the first-round match against Kopriva. Should Zverev come through the round of 16 on Thursday, the big names in the draw will move closer as the tournament progresses – along with the chance of the Hamburg native's first Halle title.

For Hanfmann, the duel with Zverev is the biggest stage the Centre Court in Halle has held for him so far. "Es hat Spaß gemacht, auf Platz zu sein", he said after his win over Fonseca – and looked ahead to Thursday, when he gets to face the first German Grand Slam champion since Boris Becker.