Jannik Sinner Admits He Still Struggles With Transition From Clay to Grass After Getting 1st Win in Halle

Jannik Sinner is chasing his second grass-court title at the Halle Open which he won last year by beating Hubert Hurkacz.

Jannik Sinner Admits He Still Struggles With Transition From Clay to Grass After Getting 1st Win in Halle

Jannik Sinner (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Jannik Sinner has kick-started his campaign in the grass swing. He is participating at the Halle Open to defend his title as well as lift his second trophy on the surface.

Sinner has not yet learned to adapt quickly to grass after the clay swing. The transition from clay to grass is considered one of the toughest challenges and Sinner admitted that he too has struggled while switching from clay to grass. Following his win over home favorite Yannick Hanfmann, 7-5, 6-3, Sinner told Tennis TV:

It’s not easy, I can assure you, although it may seem different from the outside. It takes time to find that adaptation; you can’t practice as much as you’d like before facing that first match. So, I am happy to have at least one more match on the grass before Wimbledon arrives; it was very important to me.

Sinner, who won the Umag Open in 2022 by beating Carlos Alcaraz, came close to doubling his clay-court titles tally twice but both times, the Spaniard ruined his chances. Before arriving in Halle, Sinner lost to the five-time Grand Slam champion in the Italian Open and the French Open finals.

At Roland Garros, he made the final for the first time and took a 2-0 and also had three championship points in the fourth set but he failed to convert them. Alcaraz needed five hours and 29 minutes (longest French Open final) to beat Sinner and defend his crown but he won’t have a chance to meet the Italian before Wimbledon as he is in London, bidding for his fourth grass-court title at the Queen’s Club Championships.

Jannik Sinner to meet Alexander Bublik in the second round

Jannik Sinner has a tough challenge in the second round in the form of Alexander Bublik, who is chasing his second title at the Halle Open following his victory in 2023. En route to his first grass-court title, Bublik received a walkover from the 23-year-old in the quarterfinals.

Alexander Bublik and Jannik Sinner
Alexander Bublik and Jannik Sinner (via Tennis365)

Before setting up the clash with the World No.1, Bublik went past Alexandre Muller. Bublik, the winner of the Turin Challenger, hasn’t yet lifted an ATP title this season. The 28-year-old, who last won the 2024 Open Sud de France, has met Sinner five times and trails 1-4 in the head-to-head matchups. That lone defeat was in Halle back in 2023.

Sinner and Bublik are 1-1 on the grass as they also faced each other in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2023 which Sinner won. Ahead of their meeting in the current tournament, Sinner acknowledged that facing Bublik won’t be an easy task for him. He told Tennis TV:

It’s a match with completely uncertain predictions; he is a tremendous player with immense talent, and we all know that grass is his favorite surface. He already defeated me on this same surface, in this same tournament. I remember he was champion here a couple of seasons ago.

The upcoming match will be their second meeting this season, following the quarterfinal of the French Open. Bublik lost that match in straight sets and was also handed a bagel and a breadstick.

Sinner is chasing his second title of the season and has reached the finals of every tournament he played this year, winning just the Australian Open by beating Alexander Zverev. Then he served his three-month doping ban and returned to court at the Italian Open.

Sinner last year beat Hubert Hurkacz in the Halle Open final. After Halle, the Italian will fly to London for Wimbledon where he was the semifinalist in 2023 (lost to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic). Last year, Daniil Medvedev knocked him out after a tight five-set quarterfinal.

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz Believes He Doesn’t Have Any “Mental Advantage” over Arch-Rival Jannik Sinner