The U.S. hard-court swing gets underway this week, but the post-Wimbledon clay-court swing is still going strong at the same time. Hamburg is the headliner of another trio of tournaments, as the 500-point field is led by Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Zverev. Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, Chris Eubanks, and John Isner lead the way on the hard courts of Atlanta, while Dominic Thiem hopes to build some momentum in Umag.
Here are my previews and picks for this week’s ATP events.
Hamburg European Open
Where: Hamburg, Germany
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 1,831,515 Euros
Points: 500
Top seed: Casper Ruud
Defending champion: Lorenzo Musetti
Draw analysis: Ruud and Rublev are the top two seeds, so they are favored to meet in a second consecutive final after battling for the Bastad title this past week. However, it won’t be easy for either man to make that happen. Ruud will open in Hamburg against Sebastian Baez and his quarter of the draw also includes Miomir Kecmanovic and Arthur Fils. Rublev will kick off his campaign against Bernabe Zapata Miralles before possibly running into Francisco Cerundolo in the quarterfinals and Lorenzo Musetti in the semis.
Zverev’s quarter of the bracket also features Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, whose first-round match is against Gstaad champion Pedro Cachin. Musetti’s section includes Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Laslo Djere, and Botic van de Zandschulp. Etchverry vs. Djere is another tough first-rounder.
Hot: Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Arthur Fils, Yannick Hanfmann, Daniel Altmaier, Pedro Cachin,
Cold: Miomir Kecmanovic, Botic van de Zandschulp, Dusan Lajovic, Sebastian Baez, Rudolf Molleker
Quarterfinal predictions: Casper Ruud over Arthur Fils, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti over Laslo Djere, and Andrey Rublev over Yannick Hanfmann
Semifinals: Davidovich Fokina over Ruud and Rublev over Musetti
Final: Rublev over Davidovich Fokina
Atlanta Open
Where: Atlanta, Georgia
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $737,170
Points: 250
Top seed: Taylor Fritz
Defending champion: Alex de Minaur
Draw analysis: As usual, the first stop of the hard-court summer comes with a distinct American flavor. Four of the eight seeded players hail from the host nation, including No. 1 Fritz and No. 5 Eubanks. Isner is obviously returning to his stomping grounds, where he is aiming for a seventh title. Sixth-seeded Ben Shelton, 2021 Atlanta runner-up Brandon Nakashima, and Newport finalist Alex Michelsen are also American title contenders.
The favorite, though, has to be De Minaur. Atlanta’s second seed has not lost in his two previous trips to this event, having triumphed in both 2019 and 2022. De Minaur will open against either fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis or Gael Monfils, while Ugo Humbert is the other seed in the bottom quarter of the draw. Eubanks, the Mallorca winner and a Wimbledon quarterfinalist, is a potential semifinal opponent for De Minaur. Fritz’s path to the final could include Yibing Wu in round two, Shelton in the last eight, and Isner, Michelsen, or J.J. Wolf in the semis.
Hot: Chris Eubanks, Ugo Humbert, Alex Michelsen
Cold: Dan Evans, Gael Monfils, John Isner, Maxime Cressy
Quarterfinal predictions: Ben Shelton over Taylor Fritz, John Isner over J.J. Wolf, Chris Eubanks over Ethan Quinn, and Alex de Minaur over Ugo Humbert
Semifinals: Shelton over Isner and De Minaur over Eubanks
Final: De Minaur over Shelton
Plava Laguna Croatia Open
Where: Umag, Croatia
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 562,815 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Jiri Lehecka
2021 champion: Jannik Sinner (not playing)
Draw analysis: Umag pretty much always features the kind of field that makes the title completely up for grabs. There is little to no star power to speak of, as Jiri Lehecka is the No. 1 seed and he is ranked just 33rd in the world. What’s more, Sebastian Ofner is ranked No. 58 and he has a first-round bye. That’s not to say this field is completely without big names. Thiem is back in action, Marin Cilic is playing on tour for the first time since early January in Pune, and Stan Wawrinka is seeded sixth.
Thiem and Cilic find themselves in the top quarter of the draw with Lehecka and up-and-coming Italian Matteo Arnaldi. The top half is otherwise very weak, so this is a good opportunity for either Thiem or Arnaldi to make some serious noise. On the other side, Wawrinka could face either fellow Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler or Federico Coria in round two. Lorenzo Sonego, Roberto Carballes Baena, Alexander Shevchenko, and Gstaad runner-up Albert Ramos-Vinolas are also looking to contend.
Hot: Sebastian Ofner, Matteo Arnaldi, Christopher O’Connell
Cold: Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic, Marco Cecchinato
Quarterfinal predictions: Matteo Arnaldi over Dominic Thiem, Sebastian Ofner over Zsombor Piros, Federico Coria over Roberto Carballes Baena, and Alexander Shevchenko over Jaume Munar
Semifinals: Arnaldi over Ofner and Coria over Shevchenko
Final: Arnaldi over Coria
who ya got?