Before the U.S. hard-court summer gets underway next week in Washington, D.C., the the post-Wimbledon clay swing continues to go strong in Estoril and Kitzbuhel. Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who captured respective ATP titles in Bastad and Gstaad on Sunday, are among those in action.
Here are my previews and picks for this week’s ATP events.
Millenium Estoril Open
Where: Estoril, Portugal
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 612,620 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Andrey Rublev
2025 champion: Alex Michelsen (not playing)
Draw analysis: Rublev beat Luciano Darderi in the Bastad final on Sunday. It would be no surprise if there is a rematch seven days later in Estoril. They are without question the cream of the crop in another unspectacular ATP 250 draw, although the other two players with first-round byes — Alejandro Tabilo and Alexander Blockx — may have something to say about that. The issue with Blockx is that he sustained at ankle injury at the French Open and has played sparingly since that stroke of bad luck.
Stan Wawrinka is making is final appearance in Estoril and does not have an easy road through the bracket. The 41-year-old Swiss opens against Roman Andres Burruchaga before possibly facing Nuno Borges in the last 16 and Blockx in the quarterfinals. Another veteran to watch this week is Pablo Carreno Busta, who has a more favorable draw and should be able to play his way into a quarterfinal showdown against Rublev.
Hot: Andrey Rublev, Luciano Darderi, Jesper de Jong, Damir Dzumhur, Jaime Faria
Cold: Stan Wawrinka, Pedro Martinez, Taro Daniel
Quarterfinal predictions: Andrey Rublev over Luca van Assche, Camilo Ugo Carabelli over Alejandro Tabilo, Roman Andres Burruchaga over Daniel Merida, and Luciano Darderi and Jaime Faria
Semifinals: Rublev over Ugo Carabelli and Darderi over Burruchaga
Final: Darderi over Rublev
Generali Open
Where: Kitzbuhel, Austria
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 612,620 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Alexander Bublik
Defending champion: Alexander Bublik
Draw analysis: Bublik is the No. 1 seed and the defending champion in Kitzbuhel, making him an obvious title favorite. What could possibly go wrong?!?! Perhaps a lot. The Kazakh went back-to-back last summer in Gstaad and Kitzbuhel, but this time around he lost right away in Gstaad to Quentin Halys. Momentum isn’t there, plus he will probably have to go up against either Raphael Collignon or Daniel Altmaier in the last eight. Collignon is coming off a runner-up performance in Gstaad, while Altmaier is always dangerous on clay.
At the bottom of the draw, Valentin Vacherot continues his comeback from a foot injury. The previously in-form Monegasque has played only three matches since Madrid, including a quarterfinal exit from Gstaad at the hands of Collignon. Vacherot is on a collision course with fellow big hitter Jan-Lennard Struff for the quarters, while Arthur Rinderknech and Juan Manuel Cerundolo also find themselves on that side of the bracket.
Hot: Ignacio Buse, Jan-Lennard Struff, Raphael Collignon, Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Cold: Valentin Vacherot, Sebastian Baez, Alexandre Muller
Quarterfinal predictions: Alexander Bublik over Daniel Altmaier, Tomas Martin Etcheverry over Ignacio Buse, Miomir Kecmanovic over Yannick Hanfmann, and Mariano Navone over Quentin Halys
Semifinals: Etcheverry over Bublik and Navone over Kecmanovic
Final: Etcheverry over Navone
who ya got?