If you like quantity over quality, February is for you. That’s not to say the tennis this month is poor; it’s simply that there aren’t any Grand Slams or Masters 100s on the menu. What there is, of course, is a whole lot of tournaments. Four weeks. Three tournaments per week. Twelve in total – all at the 250 or 500-point level.
It all begins this week in Montpellier, Dallas, and Cordoba.
Open Sud de France
Where: Montpellier, France
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: 562,815 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Holger Rune
Defending champion: Alexander Bublik
The European indoor swing begins in Montpellier, where the end of an era in France (Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, etc.) means the host nation will likely go another year without a hometown champion. The current stretch of two straight years without a French winner is already the first time that has happened since the tournament began in 2010. There were eight French champions in the first 10 seasons of the event’s existence. Now the trophy will likely come down to young guns like Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner, although Roberto Bautista Agut, Borna Coric, and defending champion Alexander Bublik could also be in the mix. Three of Sinner’s six ATP titles have come on indoor hard courts and Rune triumphed this past fall at the Paris Masters. It would be no surprise if Montpellier’s top two seeds are the last two men left standing on Super Bowl Sunday.
Hot: Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Quentin Halys, Marc-Andrea Huesler
Cold: Alexander Bublik, Ugo Humbert, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Aslan Karatsev
Semifinal predictions: Holger Rune over Maxime Cressy and Jannik Sinner over Roberto Bautista Agut
Final: Sinner over Rune
Dallas Open
Where: Dallas, Texas
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: $737,170
Points: 250
Top seed: Taylor Fritz
2022 champion: Reilly Opelka (not playing)
The inaugural Dallas Open will be remembered for the 24-22 tiebreaker played by Reilly Opelka and John Isner in the semifinals, won by Opelka on his eventual way to the title. An extended injury absence means Opelka can’t defend his title and 2022 finalist Jenson Brooksby is also sidelined, but the American flavor of the field is still obvious. Isner, a Dallas resident, is joined by the likes of Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, J.J. Wolf, and Mackenzie McDonald. Tiafoe reached the third round of the Australian Open, Wolf came within a set of the quarterfinals, and McDonald upset Rafael Nadal en route to the last 32. All of those guys are realistic title contenders in Dallas, where the field is deep and there is no obvious favorite—not even Fritz, who underwhelmed in Melbourne. Although Isner may be past his prime, he certainly can’t be discounted—not with that serve on an indoor hard court in front of the home crowd.
Hot: Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, J.J. Wolf, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald, Brandon Holt
Cold: John Isner, Fernando Verdasco, Jack Sock, Jordan Thompson, Radu Albot
Semifinal predictions: Denis Shapovalov over Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe over John Isner
Final: Tiafoe over Shapovalov
Cordoba Open
Where: Cordoba, Argentina
Surface: Clay
Prize money: $642,735
Points: 250
Top seed: Diego Schwartzman
Defending champion: Albert Ramos-Vinolas
The Golden Swing is here. It defines the dog days of February, with tournament after tournament left and right but not many big names of which to speak of. Diego Schwartzman has been in a massive slump dating back to last season and he still ranks high enough (28th) to be the No. 1 seed in front of the home crowd. Schwartzman may not be in strong enough form to get the job done this week, but the Argentine fans have plenty of other options at their disposal—Francisco Cerundo, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Sebastian Baez, Guido Pella, and Federico Coria to name just a handful. Schwartzman and Juan Manuel Cerundolo have to go head-to-head in round two, while Francisco Cerundolo will kick off his campaign against either Alejandro Tabilo or fellow Argentine Federico Delbonis. Albert Ramos-Violas, who defeated Tabilo in last year’s final, could meet Cristian Garin in the quarters.
Hot: Francisco Cerundolo, Pedro Cachin
Cold: Diego Schwartzman, Sebastian Baez, Guido Pella, Joao Sousa, Dusan Lajovic
Semifinal predictions: Juan Manuel Cerundolo over Bernabe Zapata Miralles and Francisco Cerundolo over Cristian Garin
Final: F. Cerundolo over J. Cerundolo
who ya got?
Hey, I might get lucky for Dallas if your choice of winner and finalist is correct. I picked the same winner/finalist combo: Tiafoe and Shapovalov.
Montpelier Winner Sinner and Finalist Rune.
In the Cordoba draw I will be lucky if my bracket is in the double digits because I know very little about any of them. By the time the clay season gets to the FO I will at least have an idea about who to pick.
Interesting Cordoba Final 😀
Well, I have one of the Corundolos there . Coria winning the whole thing.
Interesting to see what happens next week in Buenos Aires some of the home players may be saving themselves..
Buenos Aires will be great with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Dominic Thiem, Cam Norrie, Fabio Fognini the Cerundolo brothers, and most all of the Cordoba draw. 😀
https://live-tennis.eu/en/atp-schedule
I didn’t see Casper Ruud. Maybe I overlooked him.
I’ll take Rune in Montpellier; Isner in Dallas; and Baez in Cordoba
Finally, I get to watch Brandon Holt, Tracy Austin’s son play tennis! Thankfully he is a bit taller than expected and has a solid game with calm and no cockiness. He could use more intensity and confidence to beat his opponent, who has an abundance of swagger. Not a fan of J.J. Wolfe.
I’ve got DC d FC, for some reason I now completely and conveniently forget! Rune d Sinner and Fritz d JJW. I really like Rune, huge intensity and, where others see arrgance I see extreme confidence. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say.
Both cerundolos and Schwartzman out.Victims of fatigue/ don’t like the altitude maybe.Get the feeling Shortmans career is just about over…hope not.
Oh no, this Isner match is going to 3 sets.
Your Bencic choice was spot on! Congrats.
Have heard Isner described as “the enemy of tennis!” Am inclined to agree!
Thanks, Margot. Bencic worked hard for that win. I Would have liked to see her breeze through a bit more.
Well, Isner, yes, I am inclined to agree with that description, but I am even more against JJ Wolf. I was cheering for John to beat Wolffe. Then Yibing Wu settled the mess for me 😀
I thought I picked Ostapenko to win her first-round match this week, but I must have switched things around at the last minute . I do like Madison Keys a lot.
Ostapenko was a force to behold today. Nothing Keys could do about it.
Kenin beat Samsonova! I’d be so happy if Kenin could get her groove back.
I always pick players I like and pick against those I don’t!
Seldom works!