Ferrer back in action in Hamburg, Goffin headlines Gstaad field

Two of last week’s title winners, David Ferrer and Andrey Rublev, are getting right back in action at the German Tennis Championships. Ferrer is coming off the 27th ATP title of his career in Bastad, while the 19-year-old Rublev was a lucky loser in Umag and rolled all the way to victory.

Having failed to lift a winner’s trophy since the fall of 2015, the 35-year-old Ferrer got the job done in Bastad with wins over Federico Delbonis, Dustin Brown, Henri Laaksonen (saved two match points), Fernando Verdasco, and Alexandr Dolgopolov. He will go up against Nikoloz Basilashvili in his Hamburg opener and could face Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals.

Rublev’s run in Umag also included one win in a third-set tiebreaker (against Fabio Fognini) prior to a 6-4, 6-2 beatdown of Paolo Lorenzi in Sunday’s final. The Russian will try to maintain his hot streak when he takes the court against Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Hamburg first round. Either Rublev or Kohlschreiber will run into Gilles Simon in the last 16 before a possible date with Benoit Paire in the quarters.

The top two seeds in Hamburg are Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Pablo Cuevas.

Quarterfinal picks: Ramos-Vinolas over Verdasco, Khachanov over Ferrer, Paire over Simon, and Kuznetsov over Schwartzman

Semifinals: Khachanov over Ramos-Vinolas and Paire over Kuznetsov

Final: Khachanov over Paire

Hamburg may offer 500 points to its champion, but the Swiss Open Gstaad actually boasts the strongest field this week. Featured in the field of that 250-point tournament are David Goffin, Roberto Bautista Agut, Feliciano Lopez, and Fabio Fognini, all of whom will enjoy opening-round byes. Lorenzi is also back in action, while a strong unseeded contingent includes Dolgpolov, Dustin Brown, Ernests Gulbis, and Mikhail Youzhny.

Goffin awaits either Youzhny or Radu Albot and the top-seeded Belgian could go up against Dolgopolov in the last eight. Bautista Agut is on a collision course for the quarterfinals with Brown, while Fognini is in a section that is also home to Lorenzi and Gulbis.

Quarterfinal picks: Goffin over Monteiro, Lopez over Sousa, Fognini over Gulbis, and Bautista Agut over Brown

Semifinals: Lopez over Goffin and Bautista Agut over Fognini

Final: Bautista Agut over Lopez

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