Alexander Zverev and Yannick Hanfmann have certainly had different careers. One German finally took his first title at a Grand Slam recently when Zverev won the French Open. The other, Hanfmann, is 34 years old and has never won an ATP-sanctioned event in singles.
This would imply that their round of 16 match at the Halle Open on Thursday was not going to be close. The two have only played once before, and that was in 2018. Zverev is in a different form eight years later, and he won the first match.
By beating Hanfmann, Zverev would be taking one more step toward something he has never done before: Win a title at a grass-court tournament. He's reached finals before, twice at the Halle Open, but he's only won singles titles on hard courts (15 in total) and clay (10).
Alexander Zverev defeats Yannick Hanfmann at the 2026 Halle Open
The ATP No. 3's game is not well-suited for grass, surprisingly. He serves blisteringly well, and he moves well. He would be an excellent serve-and-volley threat in the 1970s, but in the 21st century, he simply can't find his way deep in events. That could change in Halle.
Midway through the first set, Zverev got the break he would need to take the set 6-3. His serve was simply too much for the older German, even though Hanfmann was playing well. Zverev was still just a tick better.
The younger German was also doing some of the small things that could make him dangerous to his opponents at Wimbledon. Zverev was coming into the net more and picking up the short shots by Hanfmann with ease. Doing the same against better players like Jannik Sinner is still going to be a huge challenge, but Zverev appears to be improving on the surface.
The second set, though, was even tougher against Hanfmann. Each player held serve, and the match slowed. One might have wondered if this match would follow the previous one for Alexander Zverev when he took the first set against Vit Kopriva before losing the second set, and then having to take the match in set three.
Zverev wouldn't need to do that against Hanfmann, however, He got a mini-break in the second-set tie-breaker and took it 7-4 to move into the Halle Open quarterfinals. He will next play the winner of the Mattia Bellucci and Raphael Collignon match.
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