Jannik Sinner didn't have an easy time in his first match as the reigning world number one, but he still won it in three sets.
The Italian opted to start his grass season at the 2024 Halle Open, where he had to face Tallon Griekspoor in the opening round. The Dutch player was never an easy out, especially not recently after further improving on the grass courts.
He has a good serve and plays pretty well from both sides, even though he can be quite streaky at times. Sinner didn't play any grass match this year so this was a proper challenge to start the season on the green surface for him.
The opening set had him save a break point early, but he didn't drop his serve. It arrived in a tie-break, in which the world no. 1 player held a 5-1 lead only to throw it away and lose it 8-10.
It was a very bizarre sequence but also a testament to Grieksppor's strength. Sinner's loss in the first set meant that he had to be better in the second set, and he answered the call.
He wasn't perfect because he still allowed break points to his opponent, but he was able to outplay him over the course of a couple of games to snatch away that second set, 6-3.
As the pressure mounted on Griekspoor, he started to fade a bit. The final set wasn't that great for him because he kept giving the top seed decent looks, and the Italian broke him midway through the set
On his own serve, Sinner looked as good as ever cruising through the games. He was able to keep that lead and then finish it off in three sets with the final score being 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2.
It was a good win for Sinner, who avoided losing his first match as the world number one. As he said before the event, keeping world number one will be a new challenge.
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