After playing each other in the Bastad final this past weekend, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev won’t get started in Hamburg until Wednesday. Ruud kicks off his campaign against Sebastian Baez, while Rublev faces Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
(1) Casper Ruud vs. Sebastian Baez
Ruud could not wait for the grass-court swing to end, and as usual he has immediately raced back to clay courts. The two-time French Open runner-up reached the Bastad final last week (lost to Andrey Rublev) and is now taking his talents to the Hamburg European Open. Ruud is still seeking his first title above the 250 level, but he has lifted 10 of those trophies–including nine on clay.
Up first for the fourth-ranked Norwegian on Wednesday is Baez, who lost their only previous encounter 6-3, 6-0 this spring on the red clay of Estoril. Baez was hot on the slow stuff earlier this year, but he is just 7-11 in his last 18 matches dating back to that Estoril match. Given the 64th-ranked Argentine’s struggles, there is no reason to think he will avenge his loss against an in-form Ruud.
Pick: Ruud in 2
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Bernabe Zapata Miralles vs. (2) Andrey Rublev
Unlike Ruud, Rublev is the king of ATP 500s (he has won five of them) and he also captured the biggest title of his career this spring at the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000. The seventh-ranked Russian remained on a roll in Bastad, where he defeated Pavel Kotov, Alexander Zverev, Francisco Cerundolo, and Ruud while dropping just one set to Cerundolo along the way.
Rublev will get started in Hamburg with a first-ever showdown against Zapata Miralles, who has earned exactly half of his lifetime ATP match wins in 2023 (16 of 32). The 26-year-old Spaniard has climbed to No. 54 in the world thanks in part to a fourth-round performance at the Madrid Masters, but he has cooled off in a hurry with just three victories in his last 11 main-tour matches. A red-hot Rublev has to be considered the title favorite in Hamburg, so it’s hard to see him having any issues in the opening round.
Pick: Rublev in 2
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