Thursday’s tennis recap. Strong Germans in Halle and a youth revolt at the Queen’s Club

The week is halfway through and the current tennis tournaments are at a similar stage. How are things going on the courts? Which players are heading for tournament triumphs and which of the favourites are already out of the game? The grass court season has progressed and the current tennis events are among the best that take place on the fastest surface during the year. With the exception of Wimbledon of course. Take a look at the highlights of the ATP 500 events at Queen’s Club and Halle so far.

ATP 500 Halle

Daniil Medvedev is the number one player in the German tournament. The Russian tennis player has finally made his mark here. Since his unexpected triumph on the Roman clay in two events, he has not made it past the first round. At the most prestigious tournament in Germany, he defeated Giron and Djere, both players from the second half of the elite 100 rankings, and he is going to take on the eighth seeded Spaniard Bautista.

Stefanos Tsitsipas made it through to the second round after an unconvincing performance, but was no match for Chile’s Jarry. The latter avenged his defeat from the clay Monte Carlo. Nicolas Jarry has been skipping tournaments on grass for the last three years, but in Halle he became one of the most closely watched players by knocking out the world number five.

The outstanding home players

Alexander Zverev has announced his assault on tournament triumph and so far he is executing the plan to perfection. Without losing a set and without any major complications he defeated both Austrian Thiem and Canadian Shapovalov. His next opponent will be the aforementioned Chilean representative.

Jan-Lenard Struff continues his ride on the German grass courts. The thirty-three-year-old tennis player played the final in Stuttgart a few days ago and today he will be the favourite for the eighth-final duel with Kazakhstan’s Bublik.

The thirty-three-year-old German is playing in the form of his life. He impressed tennis fans in Madrid, where he reached the final match as a lucky loser. He has lost only four of his last 17 matches. One of them was inflicted on him at the French Open by Jiri Lehecka. With that name, we move on to the tournament at the Queen’s Club.

ATP 500 Queen’s Club

Jiri Lehecka will face world number two Carlos Alcaraz in England. He came through the opening round with his ears scratched and it is a big question whether he will prove his quality on grass. If the Czech tennis player surprises the favoured Spaniard, he will get closer to the 32nd position on the ranking and will be sure to be among the seeded tennis players for Wimbledon.

That was the goal of a British tennis legend named Andy Murray. But he did not extend his winning streak as he succumbed to Australian de Minaur. But his thoughts of success at Wimbledon certainly didn’t take off.

Youth ahead

We mentioned two youngsters two paragraphs earlier. The other duo have already managed to secure Friday’s quarterfinals. Holger Rune will take on Lorenzo Musetti. Musetti, a 21-year-old Italian, and Rune, a year younger than Denmark, both tasted victory on grass for the first time in their careers at Queen’s Club and one of them will play in the semi-finals in London.

Sebastian Korda is another 20-year-old to join the party. The son of 1998 Australian Open winner Peter Korda has a chance to shine on clay after a medical break and a slow start. He reached the Wimbledon eight-finals the year before last and made an emphatic claim for attention at the current event at Queen’s Club when he outplayed compatriot Tiafoe.

Britain’s hope never dies

The home fans still have someone to cheer for. Cameron Norrie remains in contention after the elimination of Andy Murray. The world number 13 will face Sebastian Korda. Norrie is currently the British number one in the ATP rankings and reached the final of the prestigious tournament last year.

The Johannesburg native, who has lived much of his life in New Zealand, managed to beat Korda this February after two defeats. With the support of the British crowd, he will be a slight favourite in Friday’s quarter-final.

Source: ATP, TennisPortal