Casper Ruud and Alexander Bublik will kick off their Gstaad campaigns on Thursday as second-round action continues at this ATP 250 tournament. They are going up against Jaime Faria and Quentin Halys, respectively.
Jaime Faria vs. (2) Casper Ruud
Nobody is happier to see the grass-court season end and clay resume than Ruud. Late June and early July is effectively an annual vacation for the 13th-ranked Norwegian, and sure enough he played only one match — and three total sets — on grass this summer (lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the Wimbledon first round). Predictably, though, it was a much different story on clay in the spring. Ruud’s 16-5 record on dirt included a runner-up performance in Rome (lost to Jannik Sinner) and a quarterfinal finish Madrid.
Up first or the second seed at the Swiss Open on Thursday is round-two showdown against Faria, who lost their only previous encounter 7-6(3), 6-2 in a 2024 indoor-hard court Davis Cup rubber between Portugal and Norway. The 22-year-old has also played well on the red stuff this season, with a third-round effort at Roland Garros as a qualifier and a 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-4 win over Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday. With Ruud motivated to get back to his winning ways and with no time to waste as clay-court tennis in 2026 nears its end, he should secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
Pick: Ruud in 2
(1) Alexander Bublik vs. Quentin Halys
Bublik and Halys will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. Before last season, clay probably would have been the surface Halys would have picked to face Bublik. Not anymore. The Kazakh’s 2025 campaign was highlighted by a quarterfinal run at Roland Garros and then his post-Wimbledon swing featured back-to-back titles in Gstaad and Kitzbuhel. Bublik arrives in Gstaad with even more more confidence this time around, going three rounds farther at the All-England Club with a pair of five-set victories (including over Frances Tiafoe) prior to a round-of-16 setback against Taylor Fritz.
Halys already has a match under his belt this week, having outlasted Federico Cina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) on Tuesday. The Frenchman is a decent 13-13 on the main tour this year with a fourth-round appearance at the Miami Masters and third-round result at the French Open. Unfortunately for Halys, this probably isn’t a great matchup for him. Bublik can exceed the world No. 90’s firepower and also brings far more variety to the table.
Pick: Bublik in 2
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faria in 3; Bublik in 2.