Early doubles exit: Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego fell short in Halle Open

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner made another doubles appearance on Tour, this time alongside compatriot Lorenzo Sonego at the Halle Open. Before starting their respective singles campaigns, they debuted in doubles this Monday, but suffered a first-round defeat.

It was Sinner's first appearance since his loss in the Roland Garros final a week ago. The three-time Grand Slam champion surprised a few days prior by being announced in the doubles draw with Sonego. This marks the first time he's entered a doubles tournament on Tour since Halle 2024, where he partnered with Hubert Hurkacz and lost in the quarterfinals.

The Sinner-Sonego duo had previously teamed up at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals. They played the quarterfinals against the Netherlands (a victory over Tallon Griekspoor / Wesley Koolhof) and in the semifinals, they decided the doubles rubber against Novak Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic, giving the Italians passage to the final.

However, this time they couldn't overcome their opponents Alex Michelsen and Karen Khachanov, two players who, while focused on their singles careers, are sporadically seen in doubles draws.

The match took place on the Schauinslandreisen Court, the second most important court of the tournament. The Italians dominated the first part of the match, easily taking the first set and gaining an advantage in the second. The score was 6-2, 3-0 until Khachanov/Michelsen began their comeback, recovering the break and then taking the set to send everything to a super tie-break. The victory ultimately went to the American and the Russian with a score of 2-6, 7-5, [10-3].

With this, Sinner makes an early exit from the doubles draw and will have to concentrate exclusively on singles. His first-round match will be against Yannick Hanfmann, while Sonego will debut against Jan-Lennard Struff.