With a stacked field in Basel, even the first round offers a slew of intriguing matchups–including Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday. Alejandro Tabilo and Marin Cilic are also taking the court.
(3) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Francisco Cerundolo
Surprisingly, Tsitsipas and Cerundolo will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they finally meet in round one of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Tuesday night. It has been a mostly disappointing year for Tsitsipas, but he can get into Nitto ATP Finals contention if he wins the title this week. Although it’s unlikely given his lackluster current form, the 11th-ranked Greek is a very good indoor hard-court player. He has captured four titles on this surface, including the year-end championship in 2019.
Cerundolo is also coming down the stretch of what has been a mediocre 2024 campaign. The world No. 30 owns a 31-28 record that is highlighted by a clay-court title in Umag. Cerundolo did well to reach the Almaty semifinals last week, but he got destroyed by Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-2. The Argentine is not particularly comfortable on indoor hard courts, which is why Tsitsipas should have a significant edge in this one.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
(PR) Marin Cilic vs. Alejandro Tabilo
Cilic’s fall swing already includes what is perhaps the most surprising title on the ATP Tour this entire season. The 36-year-old Croat had barely played any tennis at all in 2024 because of knee problems and went into Hangzhou at No. 777 in the world. From completely out of nowhere, Cilic won the tournament–the 21st of his slam-winning career. The former world No. 3 has not won a match since then (0-2 record), but he is well rested and can clearly be dangerous whenever he takes the court.
Up first for Cilic in Basel is a first-ever meeting with Tabilo, who seems to have hit the wall at the end of his best-ever season. The 21st-ranked Chilean was on fire early in the year and at times during the summer, but now he is a disastrous 2-10 in his last 12 matches. Given that this is also a surface that slightly favors Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion appears to be in line for a victory on Tuesday.
Pick: Cilic in 2
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