(Tennis news) After defeating seasoned Richard Gasquet in his opening match, Jannick Sinner met fellow countryman Lorenzo Sonego in the second round. In the opening set, both players had a few breakpoint opportunities, but neither was able to take advantage of them to gain the upper hand. Sonego won the subsequent tie-break to take the lead in the competition. Jannick Sinner lifted his level, his back against the wall. The 21-year-old just needed one serve break in each of the final two sets to complete a comeback triumph (6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4).

Alexander Bublik defeated Borna Coric in straight sets to earn a matchup with Jan-Lennard Struff in the next round. The two got the match started by exchanging service breaks, which put them both in a precarious position. To win the first set, the Kazakh again broke his opponent’s serve down the line. In the second set, Struff had a 3-0 advantage, but Bublik rallied to tie the match.

The latter’s efforts ultimately fell short, and he dropped the set in the ensuing tie-break. In the third set, the pair squared up, with the sixth game of the set serving as the decisive point. Alexander Bublik advanced to lead 4-2 after saving the crucial serve break on seven break points. In the following game, he saved a few break opportunities on his own serve and went on to win the match 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3.

Head-to-Head

In the head-to-head matchup, Jannick Sinner is up 3-0 over Alexander Bublik. At the Libema Open a week ago, he defeated them in straight sets.

Predictions

In the previous round, it took both players three sets to win. It was Sinner’s second consecutive three-set match in Halle. His recent matches have shown a very poor break point conversion rate. Against Gasquet, the young Italian had a 3/20 break point record and 2/11 against Sonego. Otherwise, Sinner’s serve and ground game have been respectable. He needs to be more decisive when it comes to crucial issues, or it will cost him sooner rather than later. He knocked out Bublik just last week after defeating him and putting on a respectable effort.

Jannick Sinner successfully handled Bublik’s explosive serve by never once dropping his own. When serving against Struff in the previous round, the Kazakh blasted 23 aces and won 84% of first serve points, which were quite amazing serving statistics. To maintain a fair contest, he will also need to duplicate the same figures in the following round.

In the past three matches between the two teams, Bublik has only been able to win one set. All of the former’s attacks can be met by the latter. There’s a good chance that the Italian will triumph once more, as has happened in the past.

Jannick Sinner to win in 2 sets.

Also read: Stefanos Tsitsipas faces early disappointment in the Halle Open