Finals previews and predictions: Draper vs. Berrettini, De Minaur vs. Korda

The first grass-court titles of the summer will be determined on Sunday. Jack Draper meets Matteo Berrettini in Stuttgart, while an all-seeded showdown in ‘s-Hertogenbosch pits Alex de Minaur against Sebastian Korda.

BOSS Open: (6) Jack Draper vs. (PR) Matteo Berrettini

Berrettini will be bidding for his third Stuttgart title when he faces Draper for the first time on Sunday. The 95th-ranked Italian lifted this trophy in both 2019 and 2022; now he is back in the final following victories over Roman Safiullin, Denis Shapovalov, James Duckworth, and Lorenzo Musetti. Only Safiullin has managed to take a set off Berrettini and nobody else has even forced a tiebreaker.

Draper may be in the early stages of his career but he is already a force on grass, too. The 40th-ranked Brit has put himself in position to be seeded at Wimbledon, as he will climb to No. 32 in the world even if he loses this match. Draper secured his spot in Sunday’s final by beating Sebastian Ofner, Marcos Giron, Frances Tiafoe (in a third-set tiebreaker), and Brandon Nakashima. This should be a grass-court contest of the highest quality. An edge goes to Berrettini due to his overpowering serve on grass and his experience (eight ATP titles compared to Draper’s zero).

Pick: Berrettini in 3

[yop_poll id=”1213″]

Libema Open: (1) Alex de Minaur vs. (7) Sebastian Korda

De Minaur and Korda will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they battle for the ‘s-Hertogenbosch title. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in De Minaur’s favor, but Korda won their only previous grass-court matchup 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(5) in the 2021 Wimbledon first round. They most recently met earlier this year on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam, where De Minaur got the job done 6-4, 6-3.

De Minaur went on to triumph in Rotterdam, highlighting what has been an awesome season. The ninth-ranked Australian also won the Acapulco title and he is coming off a quarterfinal run at Roland Garros. So far in ‘s-Hertogenbosch he has ousted Zizou Bergs, Milos Raonic, and Ugo Humbert in straight sets. Korda has advanced with wins over Tristan Schoolkate, Luca Nardi, Tommy Paul, and defending champion Tallon Griekspoor–all in straight sets, as well. Given how well both guys are playing, Sunday’s showdown promises to be high quality and competitive. Grass will help Korda shorten points–which he needs to do in this matchup–but De Minaur had his number in their last two encounters and the top seed’s defense will likely be too tough once again.

Pick: De Minaur in 3

[yop_poll id=”1214″]