Alcaraz starts grass-court campaign with win over Cerundolo at Queen’s Club; Sinner reaches round of 16 in Halle

Carlos Alcaraz began his grass-court season by beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-5 in the first round at Queen’s Club on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Spaniard returned to action following his French Open title and extended his grass-court winning streak to 13 matches.

The streak dates back to last year, when Alcaraz won the Queen’s Club title before defeating Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.

Alcaraz, ranked No. 2. improved to 17-2 on grass for his career and 13-0 against players ranked outside the top 20 on the surface. Cerundolo is ranked No. 26.

Sinner beats Griekspoor to reach Halle last 16

Jannik Sinner reacts after a point against Tallon Griekspoor.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Italian Jannik Sinner beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-7 (8/10), 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday to reach the last 16 of the Halle ATP grass court tournament in his first match as world number one.

Sinner, 22, who moved to the summit of the rankings with a semifinal finish at this month’s French Open, was made to work early on by the Netherlands’ Griekspoor in central Germany.

Griekspoor, 27th in the rankings, won the first set before Australian Open champion Sinner recovered to claim victory, two weeks out from the start of Wimbledon.

Sinner will face Hungarian Fabian Marozsan in the next round.

(With inputs from AFP)