Finals previews and predictions: Opelka vs. Brooksby, Ruud vs. Schwartzman

The inaugural Dallas event will feature two Americans in the final on Sunday, as Reilly Opelka goes up against Jenson Brooksby. In Buenos Aires, the Argentine faithful will hope to have a champion of their own as Diego Schwartzman faces Casper Ruud.

Dallas Open: (4) Jenson Brooksby vs. (2) Reilly Opelka

It will be an all-American affair when Opelka and Brooksby go head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Sunday. They previously faced each other this past fall in Antwerp–also on an indoor hard court–and Brooksby cruised 6-4. 6-4.

However, there is a lot to like about Opelka’s chances in this rematch. The world No. 23 generally does his best work at home, as he has reached all four of his ATP finals in North America and is 2-0 in the United States. Opelka has been the best player in Dallas all week long, with no sets lost, no service games lost, and not even a single break point faced. Brooksby, who is 0-1 lifetime in ATP finals, played the longest match of the tournament on Saturday night–saving four match points before outlasting Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) in two hours and 54 minutes. The 21-year-old has to be fatigued, and Opelka is simply better than everyone else in Dallas.

Pick: Opelka in 3

Argentina Open: (1) Casper Ruud vs. (2) Diego Schwartzman

Ruud and Schwartzman will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers when they battle for the Buenos Aires title. Schwartzman leads the head-to-head series 5-2 after winning their most recent meeting 6-3, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Masters last fall. However, three of their encounters came in 2018–before Ruud emerged as the player he is now–and the Norwegian won their most recent clay-court contest 6-3, 6-3 at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Even though Schwartzman is playing at home in Argentina, Ruud has to be considered the favorite on Sunday. The world No. 8 established himself as one of the best clay-courters in the world last season and even produced enough solid results on hard courts to make a debut appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals. So far this week Ruud has eased past Roberto Carballes Baena, Federico Coria, and Federico Delbonis. Schwartzman earned his spot in the final by beating Jaume Munar, Francisco Cerundolo, and Lorenzo Sonego. The second seed needed two tiebreakers against Munar and three sets against both Cerundolo and Sonego. A rain-delayed quarterfinal between Schwartzman and Cerundolo had to be completed on Saturday. In what is sure to be a grueling clay-court grind, Ruud will definitely have more left in the tank.

Pick: Ruud in 3