The summer is always a busy time of year on the tennis circuit; that is especially the case in 2024 since this is an Olympic year. With the Paris Games coming up late this month, the remainder of the July schedule is condensed and that means there are a whopping four tournaments this week in the immediate aftermath of Wimbledon. A midsummer clay-court swing begins in Hamburg, Gstaad, and Bastad, while the final grass-court tournament of the season takes place in Newport.
There is no rest for the weary following another Wimbledon final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, won–again–by the Spaniard. It’s time to break down the next four tournaments on a jam-packed ATP schedule.
Hamburg Open
Where: Hamburg, Germany
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 1,891,995 Euros
Points: 500
Top seed: Alexander Zverev
Defending champion: Alexander Zverev
Draw analysis: The field in Hamburg really isn’t any better than that of Gstaad or Bastad, so with 500 ranking points up for grabs this is a huge opportunity for all involved. Alexander Zverev is, of course, a considerable favorite as the top seed and defending champion. The German also has home-court advantage, but a path to the final that could include Facundo Diaz Acosta in round two, Flavio Cobolli in the quarters, and either Francisco Cerundolo or Matteo Arnaldi in the semis is not an easy one.
On the other side of the bracket, Arthur Fils is coming off a fourth-round performance at the All-England Club and is even better on clay than grass. The Frenchman faces a difficult opener against experienced clay-courter Jaume Munar. Whoever wins that contest could go a long way in Holger Rune’s section, as the Dane has been struggling of late. The winner of an all-Italian showdown between Luciano Darderi and Lorenzo Sonego could also make a run.
Hot: Alexander Zverev, Arthur Fils, Matteo Arnaldi, Zhizhen Zhang, Flavio Cobolli, Zizou Bergs
Cold: Holger Rune, Laslo Djere, Soonwoo Kwon
Quarterfinal predictions: Alexander Zverev over Flavio Cobolli, Matteo Arnaldi over Francisco Cerundolo, Sebastian Baez over Luciano Darderi, and Sebastian Ofner over Zizou Bergs
Semifinals: Zverev over Arnaldi and Baez over Ofner
Final: Zverev over Baez
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EFG Swiss Open Gstaad
Where: Gstaad, Switzerland
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 579,320 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Defending champion: Pedro Cachin
Draw analysis: Gstaad arguably boasts the best draw of the week. Among the contenders are Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Jan-Lennard Struff, Matteo Berrettini, and Stan Wawrinka. Also in the field is Grand Slam champion and the soon-to-be-retired Dominic Thiem.
The draw sets up well for Wawrinka, who will be hoping to make a run in front of the home crowd–presumably for the last time. He is in the same section as No. 2 seed Ugo Humbert, who is definitely at his worst on clay. Etcheverry or Struff is the favorite in the bottom half, whereas the other side boasts Tsitsipas, Auger-Aliassime, Berrettini, Thiem, and 2023 champ Pedro Cachin. Thiem vs. Fabio Fognini is a possible second-round showdown, with the winner likely to tangle with Tsitsipas in the quarters.
Hot: Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Jan-Lennard Struff
Cold: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Stricker, Botic van de Zandschulp, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Dominic Thiem, Damir Dzumhur
Quarterfinal predictions: Stefanos Tsitsipas over Fabio Fognini, Matteo Berrettini over Yannick Hanfmann, Jan-Lennard Struff over Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Stan Wawrinka over Ugo Humbert
Semifinals: Tsitsipas over Berrettini and Struff over Wawrinka
Final: Tsitsipas over Struff
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Nordea Open
Where: Bastad, Sweden
Surface: Clay
Prize money: $579,320
Points: 250
Top seed: Andrey Rublev
Defending champion: Andrey Rublev
Draw analysis: Everyone must have thought that a Masters 1000 triumph in Madrid would cure all that ailed Andrey Rublev. Instead, it proved to be a simple aberration as opposed to the hold. Since then, the hard times have returned for the sixth-ranked Russian. Will a return to Bastad be just what the doctor ordered? Rublev is the top seed and won the tournament last year, so he has every reason to pocket some much-needed success. The draw is favorable, too, as the only real danger in his half comes in the form of Tallon Griekspoor and Roberto Carballes Baena.
Casper Ruud’s side of the bracket is tougher, also home to Cameron Norrie, an in-form Mariano Navone, and…wait for it…Rafael Nadal. Norrie has always been good on clay and he picked up some momentum by upsetting Jack Draper at Wimbledon. Navone’s breakthrough season features runner-up performances at clay-court events in Rio de Janeiro and Bucharest. Nadal skipped the grass swing and is now gearing up for his final Olympics with a rare appearance at an ATP 250. Norrie, Navone, and Nadal are all in the same loaded quarter of the draw.
Hot: Casper Ruud, Tallon Griekspoor, Mariano Navone
Cold: Andrey Rublev, Rafael Nadal, Cristian Garin
Quarterfinal predictions: Roberto Carballes Baena over Andrey Rublev, Tallon Griekspoor over Nuno Borges, Mariano Navone over Rafael Nadal, and Casper Ruud over Cristian Garin
Semifinals: Carballes Baena over Griekspoor and Ruud over Navone
Final: Ruud over Carballes Baena
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Infosys Hall of Fame Open
Where: Newport, Rhode Island
Surface: Grass
Prize money: $661,585
Points: 250
Top seed: Adrian Mannarino
Defending champion: Adrian Mannarino
Draw analysis: No, the grass-court season is not yet over. One more tournament remains on the docket: the final installment of the Hall of Fame Open in Newport. That means grass-court wizard Adrian Mannarino has one last chance to salvage what has been a disastrous summer so far. Like Zverev in Hamburg and Rublev in Bastad, Mannarino is both the No. 1 seed and defending champion. Given his own malaise and the presence of other capable grass-court performers in the draw, the Frenchman could be in for a struggle. He is on course to meet either Rinky Hijikata or Mackenzie McDonald in the last eight before possibly facing Alex Michelsen in the semifinals.
In addition to Michelsen, the other Americans worth keeping an eye on this week find themselves in the bottom half of the bracket. Last year Chris Eubanks won the Mallorca title and reached the Wimbledon quarters, while Brandon Nakashima has excelled on grass this summer and Marcos Giron has been in strong form throughout the 2024 campaign. Nakashima vs. Jakub Mensik is a potential second-rounder; Eubanks vs. Aleksandar Vukic is a possible quarterfinal.
Hot: Marcos Giron, Brandon Nakashima, Rinky Hijikata
Cold: Adrian Mannarino, Chris Eubanks, Benoit Paire, Maxime Cressy, Mackenzie McDonald, Reilly Opelka
Quarterfinal predictions: Rinky Hijikata over Adrian Mannarino, Alex Michelsen over Arthur Rinderknech, Aleksandar Vukic over Marc Polmans, and Brandon Nakashima over Marcos Giron
Semifinals: Michelsen over Hijikata and Nakashima over Vukic
Final: Nakashima over Michelsen
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