Jannik Sinner played against Hubert Hurkacz his first final in a Masters 1000, lost in Miami in 2021, and his first match at the Nitto ATP Finals, also in 2021. In Halle he will face him in the first final on grass (2-2 the overall budget of the previous ones).
He arrives at the challenge, against a player he has always defined as one of his great friends on the circuit and with whom he played the doubles tournament in Halle, after beating the Chinese Zhizhen Zhang, world number 42, in the semi-final. “I won four tough matches, it’s a good preparation for Wimbledon; then next week I won’t play and it will be good for me and for my body” she said in the hot interview after the semi-final.
Against Zhang, he explained, “it was a tough match, with more rallies than yesterday and that’s what I needed. Today Zhang played well. He served and returned well, I had to be very careful, I saved a set point in the second But anything can happen on grass.”
The final, he concluded, “will be very balanced, he plays very well on grass. It will still be a good day, I will try to have fun, I hope to show good tennis”.
Sinner is the 12th player to reach the final in the first tournament played as world number 1. Here’s who did it before him:
2016: Andy Murray, Nitto ATP Finals – Title
2011: Novak Djokovic, ATP Masters 1000 Montreal – Title
2003: Juan Carlos Ferrero, Bangkok – Final
1995: Andre Agassi, Tokyo – Final
1993: Pete Sampras, Hong Kong – Title
1990: Stefan Edberg, Long Island – Title
1988: Mats Wilander, Palermo – Title
1983: Ivan Lendl, Brussels – Final
1979: Bjorn Borg, Monte-Carlo – Title
1974: Jimmy Connors, Indianapolis – Title
