Photo: Breakpoint Images/Terra Wortmann Open

BOUNCE-BACK ABILITY

Jannik Sinner will aim to banish the pain of Roland Garros defeat the only way he knows how this week at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle: With a quickfire return to winning ways.

The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings will compete as the top seed and defending champion at the grass ATP 500. Sinner, who has not lost consecutive tour-level matches since November 2022, revealed how time spent at home with family and friends helped him recuperate mentally from his heartbreaking Paris final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. Now in Halle, his focus has turned to defending his crown.

"I think that for me to play another tournament is positive, because every match is a new beginning, and I must be mentally ready to give my all on the court,” said Sinner. “Therefore, it is great I can be here in Halle. Yes, I had already a few sleepless nights, but I think every day it gets better.”

Meanwhile his Roland Garros nemesis Alcaraz will kick-start his 2025 grass season as the top seed at the HSBC Championships, held at London’s Queen’s Club. Alcaraz has also spent time relaxing, with friends in Ibiza, after the drama of the Roland Garros final.

“My friends go every year, so I go too. It doesn’t matter where,” said Alcaraz. “The point is to switch off mentally, recharge physically and come back ready for the grass season.”

THIS WEEK

Photo: ATP Tour

An ATP 500 doubleheader across the grass of Halle and London will feature seven of the world’s Top 10 players. Both events run from 16-22 June.

CHAMPIONS

Photo: Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images

G. Diallo (CAN) d Z. Bergs (BEL) 75 76(8)

Gabriel Diallo prevailed in a championship match between two players chasing their first ATP Tour title at the Libema Open. The Canadian edged Zizou Bergs to triumph at the ‘s-Hertogenbosch ATP 250 to banish memories of his defeat in the Almaty final last October. “It just means the world to me,” said Diallo. Read First-time Winner Spotlight

[2] T. Fritz (USA) d [1] A. Zverev (GER) 63 76(0)

Taylor Fritz further bolstered his already impressive grass-court record by lifting his fourth ATP Tour title on the surface with victory at the BOSS OPEN. The American downed home favourite Alexander Zverev in Stuttgart to seal his first trophy of 2025. Fritz has returned to his career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings as a result of his run.

POP QUIZ

Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper are the top two seeds at the 2025 HSBC Championships in London. The pair has met on the Queen’s Club lawns before, in the second round last year.

Do you know who triumphed in that match, which remains Alcaraz and Draper’s only Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting on grass so far?

Diallo Darts Into Top 50: Gabriel Diallo earned a double prize for his Libema Open win. As well as claiming his maiden ATP Tour trophy, he has also climbed into the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time. Diallo, who saved two match points in the second round against Jordan Thompson in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, is up 11 spots to No. 44.

EDITOR'S PICKS

SPOTLIGHT

Photo: ATP Tour

SHELTON'S SURGE

Three years ago Ben Shelton had just cracked the Top 500 in the PIF ATP Rankings and was unsure whether he would turn professional following his sophomore year as a student-athlete at the University of Florida. Ever since, the American lefty has been on a rocketship towards the top of the ATP Tour.

Shelton reached his latest milestone on Monday when he broke into the world’s Top 10 for the first time. By joining countrymen Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the elite group, there is now a trio of Americans in the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time since Andre Agassi, James Blake and Andy Roddick in April 2006.

“I’m gonna go look and worry about the end of this tournament first,” Shelton said in Stuttgart Friday during an on-court interview when told of the news. “I’ve got to see it first. So if that is true, that’s really cool, a big milestone in tennis.”

QUIZ ANSWER