Halle and Queen’s Club preview and predictions

Russian players may not be allowed at Wimbledon this summer, but they will certainly have a strong presence this coming week in Halle. Daniil Medvedev is the top seed, while Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, and Aslan Karatsev are also in attendance. It’s an impressive field from top to bottom, also including Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hubert Hurkacz, and Nick Kyrgios. Although the Queen’s Club list isn’t quite as loaded, the British fans will be firmly on the Andy Murray bandwagon. Defending champion Matteo Berrettini and French Open semifinalist Marin Cilic are two of the other main title contenders.

Terra Wortmann Open

Where: Halle, Germany
Surface: Grass
Prize money: 2,134,520 Euros
Points: 500

Top seed: Daniil Medvedev
Defending champion: Ugo Humbert

Draw analysis: Halle may feel a little bit different this year with 10-time champion Roger Federer absent, but the 2022 field is still a great one. Four top-10 players are suiting up: Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Rublev, and Auger-Aliassime. There are no easy draws for anyone—not even the top seeds. In the top half of the bracket, Medvedev’s opening match will come against David Goffin and Rublev has to face Nikoloz Basilashvili. Rublev would then run into either Miomir Kecmanovic or Oscar Otte before possibly meeting Khachanov in the quarterfinals.

At the bottom of the draw, Tsitsipas and Kyrgios could square off as early as the second round. Sebastian Korda and Holger Rune are potential quarterfinal opponents for whoever wins that Tsitsipas-Kyrgios clash. Auger-Aliassime may have the best draw in a relatively soft third quarter of the bracket, although Hurkacz and defending champion Ugo Humbert wouldn’t be pushovers in the last eight for the fourth-seeded Canadian.

Hot: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Holger Rune

Cold: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut, Ugo Humbert, Aslan Karatsev

Quarterfinal predictions: Daniil Medvedev over Marton Fucsovics, Andrey Rublev over Karen Khachanov, Felix Auger-Aliassime over Hubert Hurkacz, and Nick Kyrgios over Sebastian Korda

Semifinals: Rublev over Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime over Kyrgios

Final: Auger-Aliassime over Rublev

Where: London, England
Surface: Grass
Prize money: 2,134,520 Euros
Points: 500

Top seed: Matteo Berrettini
Defending champion: Casper Ruud

Draw analysis: If you thought a draw could not get more imbalanced than the French Open, think again. Obviously Queen’s Club won’t get nearly as much attention since it’s an ATP 500 event as opposed to a Grand Slam, but this bracket is about as lopsided as humanly possible. There are a ton of dangerous grass-court players in the bottom half, led by Berrettini—the defending champion and also the winner in Stuttgart on Sunday. Also present are Murray (the runner-up in Stuttgart and five-time champion of Queen’s Club), Cameron Norrie, Denis Shapovalov, Reilly Opelka, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Sonego, and Dan Evans. Berrettini-Evans is a first-round match and the second-seeded Italian could be in line for a rematch with Murray in round two. Another intriguing opener is Norrie vs. Dimitrov, with the winner likely to meet Botic van de Zandschulp.

The top half of the bracket is home to a lot more grass-court novices, including top seed and French Open runner-up Casper Ruud. At least Cilic is there, and Sam Querrey landed in the top half after he qualified on Sunday—so that could make things slightly more interesting. The door also looks wide open for whoever wins a first-round showdown between No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz and British wild card Jack Draper. Alexander Bublik cannot be counted out on this surface, either, and he may be able to give Cilic some trouble in the last 16.

Hot: Casper Ruud, Cameron Norrie, Marin Cilic

Cold: Denis Shapovalov, Stan Wawrinka

Quarterfinal predictions: Jenson Brooksby over Casper Ruud, Marin Cilic over Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie over Reilly Opelka, and Matteo Berrettini over Frances Tiafoe

Semifinals: Cilic over Brooksby and Berrettini over Norrie

Final: Cilic over Berrettini