Hamburg, Gstaad, and Atlanta previews and predictions

A busy stretch of nine tournaments in the span of three weeks continues in Hamburg, Gstaad, and Atlanta. This week also begins a streak of four in which at least a 500-pointer is on the schedule: Hamburg now, Washington, D.C. thereafter, and then consecutive Masters 1000s in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Hamburg welcomes Dominic Thiem back to his favorite surface, while another clay-court event in Gstaad features Fabio Fognini, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Borna Coric. Meanwhile, the U.S. Open Series kicks off on the hard courts of Atlanta—where John Isner and Nick Kyrgios are the headliners.

German Tennis Championships

Where: Hamburg, Germany
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 1,619,935 Euros
Points: 500

Top seed: Dominic Thiem
Defending champion: Leonardo Mayer

Draw analysis: Is a return to clay just what the doctor ordered for Thiem? It should be, in part because this is hardly a strong draw by 500-point standards. The second-highest seed in his half of the bracket is Pablo Carreno Busta, who has struggled since reaching the Rome quarterfinals. Philipp Kohlschreiber may be the beneficiary of Carreno Busta’s soft section, which would be nothing new for the German in front of his home fans. He is a two-time semifinalist in Hamburg and has advanced to the quarterfinals on two other occasions. Five of his eight career ATP titles have come in Germany and six of his 10 runner-up performances have done the same. As for Thiem, he may have to deal with either Benoit Paire or Bastad runner-up Richard Gasquet in the quarters.

Marco Cecchinato, Sunday’s champion in Umag, will try to keep his hot streak going in the bottom half of the draw. Cecchinato opens with Gael Monfils, with the winner potentially to meet defending champion Leonardo Mayer. Diego Schwartzman, Damir Dzumhur, and Bastad semifinalist Fernando Verdasco also have plenty of potential to make some noise.

First-round upset alert: Gael Monfils over (6) Marco Cecchinato. Cecchinato is in outstanding form at the moment, but there are no opening byes in Hambug and he would not have benefited from one anyway as the No. 6 seed. The Italian will therefore have little rest on the heels of a title-winning run in Umag. As for Monfils, he is showing signs of life really for the first time since his season-opening triumph in Doha. The Frenchman reached the third round of the French Open, the semifinals in Antalya, and the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Hot: Damir Dzumhur, Marco Cecchinato, Richard Gasquet, Henri Laaksonen

Cold: Pablo Carreno Busta, David Ferrer, Pablo Cuevas

Quarterfinal predictions: Dominic Thiem over Benoit Paire, Philipp Kohlschreiber over Aljaz Bedene, Fernando Verdasco over Damir Dzumhur, and Diego Schwartzman over Gael Monfils

Semifinals: Kohlschreiber over Thiem and Schwartzman over Verdasco

Final: Kohlschreiber over Schwartzman

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Sarasin Swiss Open

Where: Gstaad, Switzerland
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 501,345 Euros
Points: 250

Top seed: Fabio Fognini
Defending champion: Fabio Fognini

Draw analysis: Aside from possible fatigue, what is not to like about Fognini’s chances in Gstaad? He is the No. 1 seed and the defending champion, and he is coming off a title in Bastad on Sunday. The Italian has an opening-round bye so he should get some rest until Thursday, at which point he will open with either qualifier Yannick Hanfmann or qualifier Jurgen Zopp. Joao Sousa will likely be Fognini’s toughest test prior to the semifinals. The top half of the bracket is also home to Andrey Rublev, Feliciano Lopez, Guido Pella, and Federico Delbonis.

At the bottom of the draw, Bautista Agut is back on the court for the first time since sustaining a hip injury in a fall against Coric during Halle semifinal action. The Spaniard could run into a pair of young countrymen in Jaume Munar and Roberto Carballes Baena prior to the Gstaad semis. Another Coric-Bautista Agut semifinal is possible, although Robin Haase could cause a problem for the Croat in the quarters.

First-round upset alert: Federico Delbonis over (8) Feliciano Lopez. Lopez leads the head-to-head series 2-0, but one meeting came on grass (at Wimbledon earlier this month) and their only previous clay-court encounter went three sets. On the slow stuff, Delbonis has a chance—something he definitely did not have at the All-England Club. The Argentine is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Bastad, while Lopez has not played since Wimbledon so is just now making the transition from grass back to clay.

Hot: Fabio Fognini, Borna Coric, Guido Pella, Matteo Berrettini, Jaume Munar

Cold: Roberto Bautista Agut, Andrey Rublev, Nicolas Almagro

Semifinal predictions: Joao Sousa over Andrey Rublev and Borna Coric over Roberto Bautista Agut

Final: Coric over Sousa

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BB&T Atlanta Open

Where: Atlanta, Georgia
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $668,460
Points: 250

Top seed: John Isner
Defending champion: John Isner

Draw analysis: Outside the Big 4, who have racked up all kinds of accolades at all kinds of tournaments, perhaps no one is better at a single event than Isner in Atlanta. In the eight years of this tournament’s existence, the former University of Georgia standout has reached the final on seven occasions and has won the title four times. He has never lost prior to the semis. This field is not exactly loaded and Kyrgios is on the other side of the bracket as the No. 2 seed, so an eighth final is well within Isner’s sights. That being said, Alex de Minaur would not be the easiest of opening opponents and left-hander Mischa Zverev could be tricky in the quarters. Matthew Ebden, Frances Tiafoe, Ivo Karlovic, and Marcos Baghdatis are also in the top half of the draw.

A weaker bottom half is marked by the return of Hyeon Chung, who has not played since Madrid in early May due to an ankle injury. When healthy, Chung has been outstanding in 2018—with a semifinal run at the Australian Open, back-to-back quarterfinal performances in Indian Wells and Miami, one other semifinal result, and three other quarterfinal appearances. The 22-year-old South Korean is on a collision course with Kyrgios for the Atlanta semis. Jeremy Chardy and 2017 runner-up Ryan Harrison will be among those trying to crash the party.

First-round upset alert: Marius Copil over (5) Frances Tiafoe. Tiafoe should win this, but there are some alarm bells involved. The 20-year-old American may be feeling pressure with a somewhat rare seed by his name and he is 0-2 lifetime in Atlanta plus an additional loss in qualifying. Copil, meanwhile, is a huge hitter who can take the racket out an opponent’s hands when he is serving well.

Hot: John Isner, Matthew Ebden, Jeremy Chardy, Cameron Norrie, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Tim Smyczek, Hubert Hurkacz

Cold: Hyeon Chung, James Duckworth, Ricardas Berankis, Donald Young

Semifinal predictions: John Isner over Frances Tiafoe and Nick Kyrgios over Ryan Harrison

Final: Isner over Kyrgios

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