Halle 2024 Day 1: Men's singles predictions ft. Daniil Medvedev vs. Nuno Borges, Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Dominik Koepfer

The conclusion of the 2024 French Open signaled the arrival of the grass season. The first stop for many of the top-ranked players, the Halle Open, promises to kick things off in style with some intense clashes on Day 1 itself.

The World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev finds himself taking on Portugal's Nuno Borges, while Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz get things underway. Lorenzo Sonego and Roman Safiullin will face tough challenges in the opening round as they play Miomir Kecmanovic and Fabian Marozsan, respectively.

So without further ado, let's look at the predictions for some of these matches.

#5 Hubert Hurkacz vs. Flavio Cobolli

Fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz and Flavio Cobolli will face each other for the first time in their careers.

Hurkacz's prowess on grass is well-known in the tennis fraternity. Over the years, the Pole has become a force to be reckoned with on the surface and has gone to the latter stages of Wimbledon on a couple of occasions as well. He was the last member to defeat Roger Federer in SW19 and did so in some style 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 to reach the semifinals in 2021.

The big server won the Halle Open in 2022 but faced a shocking upset to Tallon Greikspoor last year.

On the other hand, young sensation Flavio Cobolli burst onto the scene this year making massive strides with his performances on clay but is yet to find his footing on grass. He started his swing at the BOSS Open but lost to Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round itself.

Hurkacz's dominance on the surface should make this a routine win for the Pole with the possibility of an upset looking highly unlikely.

Predicted Winner: Hubert Hurkacz

#4 Lorenzo Sonego vs. Miomir Kecmanovic

Lorenzo Sonego and Miomir Kecmanovic will take each other on for their fifth career match with both players winning two matches each.

Sonego has been a shadow of his former self for some time now and has taken his poor run of form into this year as well. The Italian does have the expertise to excel on grass and has proven it in many cases. He won the Antalya Open in 2019 and has made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021. Interestingly, he defeated Kecmanovic in the final in Antalya to lift the title.

The Serb kicked off his season at the Libema Open but faced an exit in the first round. He lost to Tallon Greikspoor from a set up in a hard-fought match 7-6(3), (7)6-7, (3)6-7. The 24-year-old has been stepping his game up in recent times and could become a massive threat during the season.

Miomir Kecmanovic should be able to take out Lorenzo Sonego in a match that one can expect to be very close.

Predicted Winner: Miomir Kecmoanovic

#3 Roman Safiullin vs. Fabian Marozsan

Roman Safiullin and Fabian Marozsan set up another first-time meeting in Halle.

Roman Safiullin found the breakthrough performance of his career on the grass surface when he made it to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Wimbledon. He ousted Roberto Bautista Agut, Corentin Moutet, Guido Pella, and Denis Shapovalov before falling to World No.1 Jannik Sinner. Since then, there has been a steep increase in the quality of the Russian's game, however, he has yet to win a title.

Meanwhile, Marozsan has just begun to make strides in his game but has yet to find his breakthrough performance. Interestingly, the Hungarian's preferred surface is clay where he has won Challenger and ITF titles. He kicked off his grass swing at the BOSS Open but suffered an opening-round defeat to Hamad Medjedovic from a setup.

Sfiullin is a proven performer on the surface, whereas, the Hungarian is trying to find his footing on a surface he hasn't found much success on. The Russian should comfortably see off Marozsan.

Predicted Winner: Roman Safiullin

#2 Daniil Medvedev vs. Nuno Borges

Third seed Daniil Medvedev and Nuno Borges will face each other for the second time in their careers. They met this year at the Australian Open in the fourth round where the Russian defeated Borges in four sets.

Medvedev is considered a major threat on the hardcourts and though he may not be as successful on the other two surfaces, he is still not to be taken lightly. The Russian has a title on the surface having won the Mallorca Championships in 2019. He also reached the semifinals of Wimbledon last year where he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz and was the runner-up in Halle in 2022.

Borges has been having a great season reaching the fourth round of a Major and reaching a career-high ranking of 46. However, he hasn't had much experience playing on grass in his career. The Portuguese entered the main draw of Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023 but was defeated in the first round on both occasions.

A routine win Medvedev seems to be on the card. Having said that, the Portuguese will have the chance to trouble him a bit while the Russian adjusts to the grass.

Predicted Winner: Daniil Medvedev

#1 Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Dominik Koepfer

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Dominik Koepfer will play each other for the second time in their career.

Aliassime has been struggling with form since last year but found a much-needed high-quality performance at the Madrid Masters where he reached the final. He is a former quarterfinalist at Wimbledon defeating the likes of Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev en route. He will look to get some wins in Halle before heading into Wimbledon to get his form back.

On the other hand, Koepfer has been on the tour for many years but has failed to make any impact on the grass surface. He has competed at Wimbledon four times but has never been to the second week. His grass swing started at the BOSS Open where he made an impressive comeback win against Zhang Zhizhen. However, he was defeated by Lorenzo Musetti in a similar manner ending his run.

Though the Canadian may not be at his best, he still should be able to manage a win against the tricky German to level their head-to-head.

Predicted Winner: Felix Auger-Aliassime