ATP Tour

Zverev’s quick response too much for Giron in Halle

Is 2025 the year Alexander Zverev finally gets his hands on the trophy at the Terra Wortmann Open?

The home favourite and second seed made a confident start to his latest campaign at the grass ATP 500 on Wednesday in Halle, where he eased past Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round. Competing just three days after his Stuttgart final defeat to Taylor Fritz, Zverev stormed back to winning ways with an emphatic 79-minute victory inside OWL Arena.

“It was a great match from me. I thought it was quite high level,” said Zverev. “Maybe he wanted to play a bit better than he did, but I felt like I didn’t let him play that well, which was important for me. A good start to the tournament and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

All the love for a win at home ❤️@ATPHalle | #ATPHalle pic.twitter.com/tzo7CvZCuG

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 18, 2025

Zverev is now 19-8 in Halle, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings previously reached back-to-back finals at the event (2016 l. to Mayer, 2017 l. to Federer), while he also made semi-final appearances in 2023 and 2024.

A 24-time ATP Tour champion, Zverev is chasing his seventh title on home soil. He won the sixth of those in Munich on clay in April, but he is yet to lift a trophy on German grass despite reaching three finals (Halle 2016-17, Stuttgart 2025).

After a hard-fought opening few games against Giron, Zverev took complete control of the match by reeling off seven straight games from 2-2 in the first set. The German was dominant on serve throughout, which allowed him to play with freedom in return games: Zverev did not face a break point and completed his win having won 82 per cent (28/34) of points behind his first delivery.

“I just felt aggressive generally, especially on the returns,” said Zverev of his approach to the match. “I felt like I was taking the time away from him. When he’s on top of the ball and has time to play, it’s very difficult with him because he moves quite well and can control the rallies quite well. I had to take that away. All in all I was happy with today.”

With his win, Zverev improved to 4-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Giron. The 28-year-old German also leads his second-round opponent, Lorenzo Sonego, by the same scoreline. Zverev will be aiming to down Italy’s Sonego in the second round in Halle for the second consecutive year.

Karen Khachanov also made a rock-solid start to his campaign. The eighth seed overcame ‘s-Hertogenbosch finalist Zizou Bergs 7-5, 6-3 to set a second-round meeting with Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In second-round action, Daniil Medvedev and Alex Michelsen both advanced to set a quarter-final showdown. Medvedev's earned his 400th tour-level win with a 6-2, 7-5 result against Quentin Halys. The 2022 Halle finalist is 10th on the list of active players for most wins.

Michelsen edged Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 7-5, improving to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against the Greek and repeating the result from their Australian Open first-round meeting earlier this season.

The American, who upset fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo in his Halle opener, did not face a break point against Tsitsipas until he was broken while serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. Undeterred, he continued to target the Tsitsipas backhand and broke back immediately with a blistering forehand passing shot. In one final bit of drama, Michelsen was forced to save a break point—his second of the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats—as he served out the victory on his second opportunity.