Jannik Sinner to play for first grass-court title against Hubert Hurkacz in Halle

In his first event since rising to the world No. 1 ranking, Jannik Sinner will play for his first career grass-court title at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle after defeating China's Zhang Zhizhen in Saturday's semifinals, 6-4, 7-6(3).

Sinner had never previously been beyond the semifinals at a grass-court tournament, most recently recording that feat last summer at Wimbledon. But four tough wins this week, including three three-setters, have helped him to break new ground. The Australian Open champion won three titles on hard courts in the year's first quarter, also triumphing in Rotterdam and Miami.

The world No. 1 will face fifth seed, and 2022 Halle champion, Hubert Hurkacz in the final. Hurkacz denied No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev a spot in his third Halle final with a 7-6(2), 6-4 win in the first semifinal.

Sinner booked his spot in the semifinals by outlasting German Jan-Lennard Struff in a third-set tiebreak in the previous round--the first tiebreak the Italian won in four played this week. The margins were equally thin for Sinner against Zhang, who had previously upset Daniil Medevedev in the second round, and beat Christopher Eubanks from a 5-2 third-set deficit in the quarterfinals.

"It means a lot. I had four very tough matches to go to the final," Sinner said in his post-match interview. "It was a good match today. Definitely more rallies than yesterday and that's exactly what I needed today. I'm happy and let's see what's coming tomorrow."

The pair combined to strike 17 aces, and two crucial break points both went Sinner's way. He broke Zhang's serve to win the first set, and ripped a forehand winner--one of his 30 overall winners in the match—to save the only break point he faced in the second set. It was also a set point.

"In important moments, [I was] trying to serve well," the Italian said. "He returned actually really well in some moments so I had to be very careful. I had to save a set point in the second set. If not, I had to go again in three sets. But this is a grass court, anything can happen."

Hurkacz and Sinner have split four previous meetings, which includes a three-set win for Sinner on clay in Monte Carlo this year. They've neved played on grass, and Hurkacz is seeking to join Roger Federer, Tommy Haas and Yevgeny Kafelnikov as men who've won multiple singles titles in Halle.