The 2025 tennis season is already upon us even though the calendar has not yet turned. Joining the United Cup–which is already in progress–are two ATP 250 tournaments in Brisbane and Hong Kong. Both have attracted strong fields to begin the new year, headlined by Novak Djokovic taking his talents to Brisbane. Also competing Down Under are Grigor Dimitrov, Holger Rune, Frances Tiafoe, and Nick Kyrgios. The Hong Kong field features Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti, Karen Khachanov, and Arthur Fils.
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It’s time to break down the upcoming action.
Brisbane International
Where: Brisbane, Australia
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $766,290
Top seed: Novak Djokovic
Defending champion: Grigor Dimitrov
Draw analysis: ATP 250s don’t get much bigger than this, especially since Djokovic is the draw. The 37-year-old Serb pulled the plug on his 2024 campaign following the Shanghai Masters and skipped the Nitto ATP Finals, so to say that he is well rested for 2025 would be an understatement. Djokovic, who is making just his second appearance in Brisbane and first since 2009, will kick off his season against Aussie wild card Rinky Hijikata. He could face Gael Monfils in round two and potentially either Kyrgios or Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals. Finally back on the court, Kyrgios is part of a stacked quarter that also includes Tiafoe, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Sebastian Korda, and Jakub Mensik.
The bottom half of the bracket is much weaker, although Dimitrov and Rune cannot be discounted from title contention. Matteo Berrettini, perhaps the most dangerous unseeded player in Brisbane, opens against Jordan Thompson and could meet Dimitrov in the quarters.
Quarterfinal predictions: Novak Djokovic over Alexei Popyrin, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard over Jakub Mensik, Holger Rune over Alejandro Tabilo, and Matteo Berrettini over Grigor Dimitrov
Semifinals: Djokovic over Mpetshi Perricard and Rune over Berrettini
Final: Djokovic over Rune
Bank of China Open
Where: Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $661,585
Top seed: Andrey Rublev
Defending champion: Andrey Rublev
Draw analysis: Hong Kong won’t make as many headlines as Brisbane, but the 28-man draw is a decent one. Rublev, Musetti, Khachanov, and Fils are the top four seeds with byes. A formidable unseeded contingent is headlined by Denis Shapovalov, Kei Nishikori, and Jerry Shang, with Shapovalov and Nishikori going head-to-head in round one.
Fils probably has the easiest path to the title. The 20-year-old Frenchman doesn’t have any particularly adept hard-court players near him in the draw and the bottom half as a whole is weaker. The toughest section will see the Shapovalov-Nishikori winner go up against Khachanov in the last 16 before possibly running into Brandon Nakashima in the quarters.Â
Quarterfinal predictions: Jerry Shang over Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov over Brandon Nakashima, Arthur Fils over Miomir Kecmanovic, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Lorenzo Musetti
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Semifinals: Khachanov over Shang and Fils over Davidovich Fokina
Final: Fils over KhachanovÂ
Holgar in Brisbane….Rublev in HK.