Andrey Rublev takes Hanfmann revenge with win in Halle; Griekspoor upsets Hurkacz

Halle (Germany): Andrey Rublev, the 2021 finalist, booked his spot in the last-eight stage of the Terra Wortmann Open with a straight sets win against Yannick Hanfmann here.

Rublev delivered a solid display to hold off the World No. 53 Hanfmann, winning 7-6(5), 6-3 at the grass-court ATP 500 event. With this win, Rublev improves his record in Halle to 8-3.

Home favourite Hanfmann had led 5/3 in the first-set tie-break but was unable to push on and forge a repeat of his victory in the pair’s fourth-round meeting last month at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.

After winning five of the final six points to claim the first-set tie-break, Rublev carried the momentum into the second set, in which he established an ultimately unassailable 4-0 lead.

With the OWL Arena roof closed during the second set to shelter the court from the torrential Halle rain, Rublev pushed on to a one-hour, 39-minute triumph in which he converted three of his six break points.

The World No. 7 will now prepare for his sixth tour-level quarterfinal of the season against last week’s ‘s-Hertogenbosch winner Tallon Griekspoor. The 25-year-old Rublev is a 13-time ATP Tour titlist and is chasing his maiden crown on grass this week in Germany.

Griekspoor saved a match point against defending champion Hubert Hurkacz to notch a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(8) victory and extend his winning run to seven matches. The Dutchman knocked off the sixth seed on his fifth match point after Hurkacz battled back from 3/6 in the decisive tie-break to move within one point of the quarter-finals at 8/7.

The result levels the pair’s ATP head-to-head series at 1-1 less than one month after Hurkacz downed Griekspoor in five sets in the French Open second round.

Entering Halle at a career-high ATP Ranking of World No. 29, Griekspoor is seeking the third ATP Tour title of both this season and his career.

Jannik Sinner retires from match with an injured adductor muscle

Jannik Sinner’s preparations for Wimbledon were disrupted Friday when the Italian retired from his match against Alexander Bublik in the Halle Open quarterfinals with an adductor muscle injury.

Organizers said Sinner, ranked ninth in the world, strained his adductor while sliding to reach one of Bublik’s frequent drop shots. Sinner took a medical timeout following the first set and retired after going a break down in the second with Bublik leading 7-5, 2-0. It was not immediately clear how serious the injury might be.

Sinner was playing in the quarterfinals for the ninth time this season and was also a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon last year. Bublik will face either Alexander Zverev or Nicolas Jarry when he plays in a semifinal match for the first time since reaching the last four in Marseille in February.