This is the time of year when the ATP Tour is normally heading back from Asia and moving to Europe for its final stops. Well, the action is—in fact—moving to the indoor hard courts of Europe. But it is coming not from Asia, but from…Indian Wells! That’s right; a brief California swing replaced Asia on a calendar that had to be revamped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now the home stretch begins in Antwerp and Moscow, and both tournaments are missing a couple of hometown heroes. An injured David Goffin won’t be able to play in front of the home fans in Antwerp, while would-be top seed Danill Medvedev withdrew from Moscow to rest up for his 2021 finale in Paris and Turin (Nitto ATP Finals). The list of players who are playing this week, however, still includes Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, Diego Schwartman, Aslan Karatsev, Karen Khachanov, and Andy Murray.
European Open
Where: Antwerp, Belgium
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: 508,600 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Jannik Sinner
2020 champion: Ugo Humbert (not playing)
Draw analysis: Having been passed by Cameron Norrie in the race to the Nitto ATP Finals, Sinner needs all the help he can get as he bids for one of the last remaining spots. Based on his draw in Antwerp, the 20-year-old should have little trouble advancing to the semifinals. At that point, however, Sinner could run into either Roberto Bautista Agut or Lloyd Harris. In all likelihood it will be Harris, as the South African has been on fire of late.
As a whole, the bottom half of the bracket is more entertaining from start to finish. It is home to Schwartzman, Murray, Frances Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka, Alex de Minaur, Jenson Brooksby, Brandon Nakashima, Benoit Paire, and Botic Van de Zandschulp. Murray and Tiafoe have to go head-to-head right off the bat in the marquee matchup of round one. The winner will meet Schwartzman, who is seeded second behind Sinner. Good luck in that section of the draw!
Hot: Lloyd Harris, Reilly Opelka, Jenson Brooksby, Henri Laaksonen, Botic Van de Zandschulp, Brandon Nakashima
Cold: Dusan Lajovic, Benoit Paire, Jan-Lennard Struff, Marton Fucsovics, Lorenzo Musetti
Semifinal picks: Lloyd Harris over Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur over Jenson Brooksby
Final: Harris over de Minaur
VTB Kremlin Cup
Where: Moscow, Russia
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: $697,125
Points: 250
Top seed: Andrey Rublev
Defending champion: Andrey Rublev
Draw analysis: Medvedev’s late withdrawal was a bit of a hit for the tournament, but the host nation still has a great chance of producing the champion. In fact, the top three seeds all hail from Russia: Rublev, Karatsev, and Khachanov. Karatsev and Khachanov are on a collision course for the semifinals in the bottom half of the bracket, but they may be hard-pressed to advance that far. Mackenzie McDonald is a possible quarterfinal foe for Karatsev, while Khachanov opens against an in-form James Duckworth and could meet Alexander Bublik in the last eight.
Rublev’s half isn’t quite as deep, but the big problem for him is that Ilya Ivashka looms as a likely quarterfinal opponent. Ivashka has been playing the best tennis of his life dating back to Wimbledon. As for Rublev, motivation may be an issue (even playing at home) at a fall-swing 250 tournament when he has already clinched—for all intents and purposes—a spot in the year-end championship.
Hot: Ilya Ivashka, Mackenzie McDonald, James Duckworth
Cold: Laslo Djere, Guido Pella, Adrian Mannarino
Semifinal picks: Marin Cilic over Andrey Rublev and Mackenzie McDonald over Alexander Bublik
Final: Cilic over McDonald
WWW?
Opelka v Brooksby – wish Id known that before having the big man in the final.
Upset all over it
Andy lost tp Diego but he played really well even after such a long match.At this point Id predict Harris over Schwartzman in the final .Fucsovics palyin really well also.
Diego’s court position was so much better than Andy’s! “Get forward,” is something I’ve been shouting throughout all my years of supporting Andy.
Infuriating!