The second to last week of tennis’ regular season (pre-World Tour Finals) is here, with a pair of 500-point tournaments on the schedule. Roger Federer headlines the Basel field and is joined by Marin Cilic, David Goffin, and Juan Martin Del Potro. In Vienna, meanwhile, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem are among those battling for the title.
Swiss Indoors Basel
Where: Basel, Switzerland
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: 1,837,425 Euros
Points: 500
Top seed: Roger Federer
Defending champion: Marin Cilic
Draw analysis: Federer does not have Rafael Nadal to deal with in Basel, although that would not necessarily have been an issue for the 36-year-old Swiss based on their 2017 head-to-head history. And it also does not necessarily mean that Federer has an easy path to what would be an eighth career title at this event. The No. 1 seed opens with familiar foe Frances Tiafoe, who has tested him in a pair of competitive meetings this season. Federer would then face either Benoit Paire or Steve Johnson in round two before possible dates with Denis Shapovalov (quarterfinals) and Goffin (semis).
Goffin and Del Potro are the two Basel competitors whose World Tour Finals statuses is still up in the air. Del Potro needs a title in order to put himself in serious contention, otherwise he would likely have to win next week’s Paris Masters. The recent Stockholm champion should coast through two matches before potentially running into Roberto Bautista Agut. Cilic, who is set to make another appearance in London, has the most favorable road through the draw of anyone in the Basel field.
Hot: Roger Federer, David Goffin, Juan Martin Del Potro, Adrian Mannarino, Marton Fucsovics, Peter Gojowyczk
Cold: Jack Sock, Vasek Pospisil
Quarterfinal predictions: Roger Federer over Adrian Mannarino, David Goffin over Robin Haase, Roberto Bautista Agut over Juan Martin Del Potro, and Marin Cilic over Jared Donaldson
Semifinals: Federer over Goffin and Cilic over Bautista Agut
Final: Federer over Cilic
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Erste Bank Open
Where: Vienna, Austria
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 500
Prize money: 2,035,415 Euros
Top seed: Alexander Zverev
2016 champion: Andy Murray (not playing)
Draw analysis: World Tour Finals hopefuls Sam Querrey and Kevin Anderson are on a collision course for a semifinal showdown in the bottom half of the Vienna bracket. Somewhat understandably, Anderson has cooled off significantly since making a surprise run to the U.S. Open final. The 6’8’’ South African is a wide open quarter of the Vienna draw because Thiem is mired in a hard-court slump, but Anderson could be troubled by Lucas Pouille in round two. Another U.S. Open upstart, Andrey Rublev, will likely give the second-seeded Austrian problems in round one. Querrey is in a softer section because No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov withdrew citing fatigue.
Zverev, who is making his debut at the O2 Arena next month, could continue his campaign with two very different Frenchmen. The 20-year-old German, a three-set winner over Viktor Troicki on Monday, will run into Gilles Simon in round two and possible Antwerp champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters. A red-hot Diego Schwartzman has a good opportunity to make a semifinal run out of a section in which the seeds are—or were—Pablo Carreno Busta and John Isner.
Hot: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Damir Dzumhur, Ricardas Berankis, Diego Schwartzman, Andrey Rublev
Cold: Dominic Thiem, Gilles Simon, Karen Khachanov, Pablo Cuevas, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
Quarterfinal predictions: Alexander Zverev over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Diego Schwartzman over Philipp Kohlschreiber, Grigor Dimitrov over Sam Querrey, and Lucas Pouille over Richard Gasquet
Semifinals: Zverev over Schwartzman and Dimitrov over Pouille
Final: Zverev over Dimitrov
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