The Australian Open is just one week away, so most of the top players in the world have made their way from the United Cup, Adelaide, or Pune to Melbourne. Still, there are two more tournaments on the appetizer menu and plenty of intriguing action to take place in Adelaide and Auckland. Among the participants in action this week are Casper Ruud, Cameron Norrie, and Andrey Rublev.
ASB Classic
Where: Auckland, New Zealand
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $546,355
Top seed: Casper Ruud
Defending champion: Ugo Humbert
Draw analysis: For the first time since the pandemic hit in 2020, Auckland is back on the schedule. Ruud is the top seed and John Isner is a two-time champion, and they are on a collision course for the quarterfinals. Elsewhere in the top half of the draw, two seeds are already gone; Francisco Cerundolo withdrew and Alexander Bublik lost to David Goffin in round one. The path is now open for Goffin, Richard Gasquet, or 2020 winner Ugo Humbert to reach the semis.
At the bottom of the bracket, Americans Jenson Brooksby, J.J. Wolf, and Ben Shelton all have a good chance to make some noise. Norrie, however, will have other ideas. The TCU product played extremely well at the United Cup and should be able to keep his momentum rolling right into the Australian Open.
Semifinal predictions: David Goffin over John Isner and Cameron Norrie over Jenson Brooksby
Final: Norrie over Goffin
Adelaide International
Where: Adelaide, Australia
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $642,735
Top seed: Andrey Rublev
Defending champion: Thanasi Kokkinakis
Draw analysis: Rublev has never had any concerns about playing too much, so it’s no surprise that he signed up for this tournament – especially after losing right away last week to Roberto Bautista Agut. The top seed will have to be on top of his game from the start, because defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis is first up for him on the heels of an opening bye. Rublev could also face Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarterfinals and Bautista Agut in the semis.
It is the unseeded contingent that looks particularly strong on the bottom half of the bracket. Among the dangerous floaters are Jack Draper, Emil Ruusuvuori, Mikael Ymer, Marc-Andrea Huesler, and Arthur Rinderknech. A potential second-round showdown between Draper and Tommy Paul would be especially intriguing.
Semifinal predictions: Andrey Rublev over Benjamin Bonzi and Jack Draper over Pablo Carreno Busta
Final: Rublev over Draper
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