Top-15 star set to challenge Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev in Halle
The 27th edition of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle will take place between June 17-23 and the organizers have already signed six great players who will fight for the title in the last serious preparation for the third Grand Slam of the season at Wimbledon. Established in 1993, Halle has become one of the most important events on grass beside Wimbledon and Queen's, upgrading to the ATP 500 level in 2015 and with stellar winners list that includes Michael Stich, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Tomas Berdych, Tommy Haas, Lleyton Hewitt and the nine-time champion Roger Federer!
Two and a half months before the start of the new edition, the organizers have signed six great players that will compete for the title, including Roger Federer, 2016 and 2017 finalist Alexander Zverev, 2016 semi-finalist Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori who will play in Halle for the seventh straight year. Hyeon Chung is also on the list although he would need a wild card to enter the main draw directly, struggling with injuries and form recently and dropping out from the top-100. The sixth confirmed player for 2019 Halle field is the world no. 12 Karen Khachanov, deciding to fight for the crown in Halle for the third straight year after losing in the semi-final to Federer on debut in 2017 and Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarters a year ago.
The 22-year-old Russian had a breakthrough run in the past season, claiming 46 wins and lifting three ATP titles, including the first at Masters 1000 level in Paris at the end of the year, beating Novak Djokovic in the title match to come on the verge of entering the top-10. Karen is yet to crack the elite group after a mediocre start of 2019, reaching the quarter-final at Indian Wells but suffering the first-round exit in five other tournaments, earning only 280 points in the first three months of the new season. Karen will try to bounce back during the clay swing and gain the form before Halle where he won five out of seven matches so far, preparing himself for another great run in June against high-quality opponents.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2YOLApX
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