Jannik Sinner Returns to Halle as World No. 1, Ready to Make Grass-Court Debut

Jannik Sinner, the newly crowned ATP world No. 1, is set to make his debut at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, Germany, where his tennis journey began five years ago.

Sinner, the first Italian to reach the top of the men's rankings, received a congratulatory cake upon his arrival in Halle. Before embarking on his grass-court season preparations, he returned to his hometown of Sexten, Italy, to celebrate his historic achievement with his family and friends.

"It was nice to share this moment with my little hometown," Sinner said. "It was a funny story because I was supposed to do something with the kids after Australia. We set the date already for this, so I went home after Roland Garros when I also became No. 1. So we celebrated everything together."

Sinner's journey to the top began in Halle in 2018, when tournament director Ralf Weber granted him a qualifying wild card. Although he didn't advance past the qualifying rounds, the gesture left a lasting impression on the young player.

"This is a place where they believed in me, they gave me a wild card in qualies back in the day," Sinner said. "So I'm happy to come back here and hopefully I can show some good tennis early on."

Sinner will open his campaign against Tallon Griekspoor, a seasoned grass-court competitor who won the title in 's-Hertogenbosch last year. Griekspoor has won three matches in Den Bosch this week, but his title defense bid was ended by Sebastian Korda in the semifinals.

Sinner has won their first four meetings, all on hard courts, but Griekspoor picked up his first set in the series during a third-round defeat at the Miami Open in March.

Sinner is eager to make a strong start to his grass-court season and prove that he deserves his place at the top of the rankings. With his exceptional talent and determination, he is poised to make a deep run in Halle and continue his ascent as one of the most promising players in the world.

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