Scouting Report: Sinner, Alcaraz headline at Halle, Queen's Club

The grass-court season continues with ATP 500 events at Halle and Queen’s Club. Many of the sport’s biggest stars, including World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz will be in action.

There is plenty at stake at the Terra Wortmann Open and the Cinch Championships. Who will battle through the loaded fields?

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each tournament.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN HALLE
1) Sinner Makes Debut As No. 1: For the first time, Sinner will compete as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. The Italian is the top seed in Halle, where he played in qualifying in 2019 as a 17-year-old and trained with Roger Federer. Sinner, who made the quarter-finals at the ATP 500 event last year, will begin his grass-court season against Tallon Griekspoor.

2) Zverev At Home: One week ago, Alexander Zverev was a set from winning the Roland Garros title. How will he bounce back as his grass season begins? The German made back-to-back Halle finals in 2016 and 2017 and the semi-finals last year. A semi-finalist in 2023, the second-seeded Zverev will try to make a good start against a qualifier.

3) Medvedev Seeks First Title Of 2024: Daniil Medvedev is a 20-time tour-level titlist who will try to add to his trophy cabinet for the first time this year in Halle. The 28-year-old owns a 6-3 record at the ATP 500 event, where he advanced to the final in 2022. The third seed will play Nuno Borges in the first round.

4) Past Champions: Two former Halle titlists are in the field: defending champion Alexander Bublik and 2022 winner Hubert Hurkacz. According to Infosys ATP Stats, they have both led the ATP Tour in aces for a season (Bublik in 2021, Hurkacz in 2023) and are dangerous opponents on grass. Bublik, the seventh seed, opens against a qualifier. Hurkacz, the fifth seed, plays Flavio Cobolli in the first round and could meet #NextGenATP Brazilian Joao Fonseca in the second round. The 17-year-old is making his tour-level grass-court debut.

5) Sinner Doubles Up: Sinner is among several singles stars competing in the doubles field. The Italian is partnering Hubert Hurkacz, while Andrey Rublev plays with Zverev. The top seeds are Roland Garros finalists Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN QUEEN’S CLUB
1) Alcaraz Defending Champion: Last year, the Cinch Championships was just the third grass-court event of Alcaraz’s professional career. Not only is he the defending champion this time around, but also a Wimbledon titlist. Alcaraz carries a 12-match grass-court winning streak into London’s ATP 500 event and will try to retain the momentum from his triumph at Roland Garros.

2) In-Form De Minaur: Of the Top 12 players in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, only seventh-placed Alex de Minaur — who will climb to sixth with a title Sunday in ‘s-Hertogenbosch — has never competed in the Nitto ATP Finals. The Australian is on course to make his debut at the season finale this year and will try to maintain his form at Queen’s Club. The defending finalist, seeded second this edition, will face a tricky opening test against Lorenzo Musetti.

3) Murray Back For More: Former World No. 1 Andy Murray owns the record for Queen’s Club titles with five. Will he roll back the years over the next week to add a sixth singles trophy from the event to his resume? The last time the Scot claimed the crown in singles was in 2016. He opens his tournament against a qualifier.

4) American Contingent: With qualifying still to be completed, there are sixth Americans in the main draw: Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda, Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima. Fritz, Paul and Shelton are seeded fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Korda has shown good form by reaching the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final (to be played Sunday) and Nakashima, who began his season at World No. 134, is up to No. 63 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

5) Queen's Club Doubles Trial: Queen’s Club is the second tournament participating in the 2024 ATP Doubles Trial. The top four seeds are all major champions, including first seeds Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden (2024 Australian Open) and third seeds Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic (2024 Roland Garros). Twelve of the Top 35 players in the PIF ATP Rankings are competing in the doubles draw as well as Murray, who won the title in 2019 with Feliciano Lopez. Murray and Daniel Evans open against defending champions Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]