If you prioritize quantity over quality, the February swing on the ATP Tour is for you. Actually, the quality isn’t bad—but it’s the sheer volume of tournaments that defines the month. This particular week is the biggest of all, with four events on the schedule: Doha, Marseille, Rio de Janeiro, and Delray Beach. Half of the top 10 is in action: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Where: Doha, Qatar
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $1,071,030
Top seed: Denis Shapovalov
Defending champion: Nikoloz Basilashvili
Draw analysis: Doha used to be a season-opening event, but that all changed when the Covid-19 pandemic started rearranging tennis schedules in 2020. Now this tournament gets a little bit lost in the February shuffle, and a much weaker field than usual is a result. Denis Shapovalov is the top seed at No. 12 in the world and even Marin Cilic has a first-round bye even though he is outside the top 20. Speaking of Cilic, a bye is the only good thing about his draw. The 33-year-old Croat has to go up against Botic Van de Zandschulp in round two and possible quarterfinal foes include Karen Khachanov and Emil Ruusuvuori. Roberto Bautista Agut, Dan Evans, and Andy Murray are also part of a loaded bottom half.
Shapovalov’s side of the bracket is friendlier. The Canadian is not in great form, though, so the door could be open for Nikoloz Basilashvili, Alexander Bublik, Lloyd Harris, Soonwoo Kwon, Arthur Rinderknech, or Lorenzo Musetti. Bublik recently secured his first ATP title in Montpellier, while Musetti picked up some much-needed momentum by reaching last week’s Rotterdam quarterfinals.
Quarterfinal predictions: Arthur Rinderknech over Denis Shapovalov, Soonwoo Kwon over Lorenzo Musetti, Botic Van de Zandschulp over Emil Ruusuvuori, and Roberto Bautista Agut over Dan Evans
Semifinals: Kwon over Rinderknech and Bautista Agut over Van de Zandschulp
Final: Bautista Agut over Kwon
Open 13
Where: Marseille, France
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 250
Prize money: 545,200 Euros
Top seed: Stefanos Tsitsipas
2021 champion: Daniil Medvedev (not playing)
Draw analysis: Auger-Aliassime finally won his first ATP title on Sunday. After being 0-8 lifetime in ATP finals, the Canadian took down Rublev in the Rotterdam semis and Tsitsipas in the championship match. His path to the Marseille final could be reversed. He is on a collision course with Tsitsipas for the semis, while Rublev is on the other side of the draw this time around. Auger-Aliassime should not have any trouble in his first two rounds, and the same can be said for Tsitsipas.
Rublev’s road may be a bit more difficult. The second-seeded Russian awaits either Mikael Ymer or Richard Gasquet in round two before possibly running into an in-form Tallon Griekspoor in the quarterfinals. Aslan Karatsev is a potential semifinal opponent for Rublev in what would be an intriguing all-Russian showdown.
Quarterfinal predictions: Stefanos Tsitsipas over Alexei Popyrin, Felix Auger-Aliassime over Ilya Ivashka, Aslan Karatsev over Kamil Majchrzak, and Andrey Rublev over Tallon Griekspoor
Semifinals: Auger-Aliassime over Tsitsipas and Rublev over Karatsev
Final: Auger-Aliassime over Rublev
Rio Open
Where: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Surface: Clay
Points: 500
Prize money: $1,660,290
Top seed: Matteo Berrettini
Defending champion: Cristian Garin
Draw analysis: Just like Auger-Aliassime vs. Tsitsipas in Marseille, there could also be a semifinal rematch in Rio. Ruud overcame Diego Schwartzman in three sets for the Buenos Aires title this past weekend and they are on the same side of the Rio draw. It won’t be a cakewalk to get there, however, as Schwartzman is on course to meet Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the last eight and Ruud’s section includes Lorenzo Sonego, Laslo Djere, and Miomir Kecmanovic.
Berrettini is making a rare appearance on the Golden Swing and he is being greeted with a rough draw. The Italian will kick off his campaign against either Sebastian Baez or Brazil’s own Thiago Monteiro, while Carlos Alcaraz also finds himself in the top quarter. Berrettini needed five sets to get past Alcaraz at the Australian Open. Meanwhile, defending champion Cristian Garin is in a relatively open section that also features veterans Pablo Carreno Busta, Fabio Fognini, and Fernando Verdasco.
Quarterfinal predictions: Carlos Alcaraz over Matteo Berrettini, Pablo Carreno Busta over Cristian Garin, Diego Schwartzman over Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and Casper Ruud over Miomir Kecmanovic
Semifinals: Alcaraz over Carreno Busta and Ruud over Schwartzman
Final: Ruud over Alcaraz
Delray Beach Open
Where: Delray Beach, Florida
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $593,895
Top seed: Cameron Norrie
2021 champion: Hubert Hurkacz (not playing)
Draw analysis: As always, Delray Beach has a distinct American flavor. Exactly half of the 28 players in the field hail from the host nation, including first-round bye recipients Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul. Opelka, who lives in Delray, is coming off a title in Dallas on Sunday. The 6’11’’ American won his hometown tournament in 2020, so that should give him even more confidence heading into this week. All three of Opelka’s ATP titles have come in 250s in the United States. Jack Sock in the second round and Brandon Nakashima in the quarters may not be easy for Opelka, however.
On the other side of the bracket, Sebastian Korda hopes to go one step further than he did last year in Delray Beach. Adelaide champion Thanasi Kokkinakis is a tough first-round opponent for Korda in a section that is also home to No. 1 seed Cameron Norrie. With Norrie struggling so far to build on his breakthrough 2021 campaign, Dallas runner-up Jenson Brooksby may be favored to reach another final.
Quarterfinal predictions: Sebastian Korda over Cameron Norrie, Jenson Brooksby over Tommy Paul, Maxime Cressy over Grigor Dimitrov, and Reilly Opelka over Brandon Nakashima
Semifinals: Korda over Brooksby and Opelka over Cressy
Final: Korda over Opelka
who ya got?
Rio: Exactly the same apart from QF Ruud over Sonego
Marseille: SF: Tsitsi revenge over FAA , Rublev over Herbert ,
F: Rublev over Tsitsipas
Doha : SF: Shapo over Musetti, RBA over Cilic
F: Shapo over RBA
Delray: SF: Brooksby over Korda ,Opelka over Giron
F: Opelka wins again
Not one but FOUR tournaies this week on totally different surfaces – doesnt get much better
Doha :Shapo over Bautista
You can get an Interceptor on ebay for 40 grand, if there’s someone you want to impress…;)
Never knew they were made in West Brom back in the day when the UK had a car industry 🙁
🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗
Echos of Jenson Button and the Brooksby brothers..
Assuming we are talking about Brooksby…!😀😀
Not sure where to put this so I’ll leave it here. Just seen that Novax has said that if he has to get the jab he won’t defend either RG or wimby.
This is full on nuts. Says he isn’t anti vax but it’s his personal choice so yah boo sucks.
Is he going to sacrifice his career on this particular altar?!😕😕and
PS no one is really going to believe this isn’t anti vaxx and he will become the hero of a load of far right lunatics.
amy,
My sister texted me the latest about Novak. So he is going to trash what is left of his career. We already have enough far right lunatics here! Especially in Florida with our governor, Little Hitler. He is going after gays now. I guess if you are willing to let people die of Covid, then it’s best to try to distract by go8ng after gays.
I have zero patience with anti-vaxxers. I was lucky enough to get the vaccine for polio. My parents had to live through the fear of getting it. We all got it in school. No controversy, no stupid nonsense about conspiracy theories. I don’t know when people became so ignorant. There have always been mandatory vaccinations to go to school. In the military. So many viruses and diseases have been wiped out.
Maybe Novak wants to be a martyr.
Nny, as you say he is trashing his own legacy. He increasingly comes across as downright solipsistic with his tone deaf statements and lack of awareness of the weight of public opinion and feeling.
And he will become an anti vaxx icon. The centre of that movement is dominated by the far right and far right conspiracy theories many of which are frightening and dangerous.. So his stance is pretty shameful.
Is he trying to force the hand of the slams to change their rules to admit him? I don’t know what he’s doing but he is so ambitious and obsessed with history it’s hard to believe that he is just accepting he can’t play.
The internet has made the world a whole lot dumber. It was supposed to be a source of knowledge, but people forgot that platforms can be used to spread ignorance just as quickly, maybe even more quicky.
I am indifferent to NoVax’ future plans. Never liked him anyway and there’s plenty of other tennis to watch.
He will get covid on time and recover in his own country..just 3-4 weeks before French.. that will give him an exception.. or he will get vaccinated in Serbia..lol
Expect a big article how his entire family got infected and recovered one by one in April/May timeframe.
amy,
I agree. Novak is obsessed with records and overtaking Rafa and Fed. So I find it hard to believe he would just not play.
De Santis, little Hitler, is touting Florida as a place of freedom. It is a cesspool of right wing fanatics. He is going after minorities, gays. Next they will be burning books. Just like Nazi Germany. He is such an embarrassment.
I thought they were already burning books in Florida. I know they have been banning them. I saw that mega tosser Greg Locke was burning Harry Potter books! in Texas.
It’s a bottomless sewer.
The erasure of history which is going on is the hallmark of totalitarian states. That’s why Putin shut down Memorial in Russia and has jailed historians of the Gulag on bogus charges. Milan Kundera said that they always get rid of the historians first so they can rewrite people’s memories.
They are banning books. They are trying to mess with the curriculum in schools. This guy De Santis is the scum of the earth. Using hate and conspiracy theories to divide and conquer so people won’t notice that he is not doing his job.
The Republicans are officially a neo-fascist party. Hakeem Jeffries called them the Republican Cult party.
Guys do you want to have a good laugh. Read this . You will drop dead laughing. The extent to which his fans have lost their sanity is hilarious
https://mobile.twitter.com/lamonfizz/status/1493561664620273665
This is exactly the kind of thing you see on anti vaxxer social media sites with the names switched round.
Nole Farm have become indistinguishable from the far right ( I have seen these anti vaxxer sites and they all traffic in far right conspiracies).
I didn’t laugh. I think it is insane. These people have lost their minds.
The ignorance and stupidity is appalling.