Finals previews and predictions: Medvedev vs. Moutet, Auger-Aliassime vs. Lehecka

All-seeded final showdowns will take place in all three ATP 250 locations on Sunday, including in Almaty and Brussels. It’s Daniil Medvedev vs. Corentin Moutet at the former, Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Jiri Lehecka at the latter.

Almaty Open: (8) Corentin Moutet vs. (2) Daniil Medvedev

Medvedev is one win away from would be–shockingly–his first ATP title since May of 2023 in Rome. The 29-year-old Russian has been to seven finals since then but has lost all of them, including three later in 2023, three last season, and one in 2025 (Halle). Medvedev will now play for the Almaty trophy on Sunday following victories over Adam Walton, Fabian Marozsan, and James Duckworth. Amazingly, the world No. 14 is bidding for his 21st ATP title at a 21st different tournament.

Standing in Medvedev’s way is Moutet, with the head-to-head series tied 1-1. Medvedev prevailed 6-4, 6-2 on the grass courts of Mallorca in 2022 before Moutet survived 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an absolute circus of a match this summer in Washington, D.C. The 41st-ranked Frenchman has cooled off a bit since reaching the D.C. semis, but he has heated back up this week with defeats of Bernard Tomic, Alexander Shechenko, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Alex Michelsen. There is a different kind of pressure on Moutet, but it is pressure all the same. The 26-year-old lefty has never capture an ATP title; he is 0-2 lifetime in finals. Count on this being Medvedev’s time to finally emerge from his trophy-less drought.

Pick: Medvedev in 3

European Open: (3) Jiri Lehecka vs. (2) Felix Auger-Aliassime

Auger-Aliassime and Lehecka will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they battle for the Brussels title on Sunday. They split their two previous encounters; Lehecka scored a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) victory at the 2023 Australian Open, while Auger-Aliassime advanced via retirement at 3-3 in the opening set at the 2024 Madrid Masters.

With Lorenzo Musetti’s quarterfinal exit from Brussels and Holger Rune’s injury in Stockholm, Auger-Aliassime has a chance to gain some serious ground in the race to Turin–an opportunity that rarely happens at ATP 250s. The 13th-ranked Canadian is building on his U.S. Open semifinal showing with Brussels defeats of Damir Dzumhur (in a third-set tiebreaker), Eliot Spizzirri, and Raphael Collignon. Lehecka beat Gilles Arnaud Bailly 6-3, 6-2, got a third-set retirement from Benjamin Bonzi, and then scraped past Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in two tiebreakers. The 17th-ranked Czech dropped only seven service points in the entire match against Mpetshi Perricard. No, Mpetshi Perricard will never be considered a bastion of returning–but that is still an impressive serving display. Although Auger-Aliassime may be a slight favorite on paper, this feels like a complete 50-50 mathup. A rock-solid Lehecka has a good chance to pull off a minor upset.

Pick: Lehecka in 3