Montpellier, Pune, and Cordoba previews and predictions

Tennis never stops. The Australian Open came to an epic conclusion on Sunday and now the February swing is already underway. We have a trio of tournaments this week on three different surfaces: outdoor hard, indoor hard, and clay.

Open Sud de France

Where: Montpellier, France
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: 427,645 Euros
Points
: 250

Top seed: Alexander Zverev
Defending champion: David Goffin

Montpellier boasts an impressive field led by Alexander Zverev, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Gael Monfils. Zverev and Monfils are on a collision course for the semifinals in the top half of the draw, but the German could have a tough opener on his hands possibly in the form of Ilya Ivashka. Also in the field are veteran Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon, and Richard Gasquet. Neither one, however, can be expected to do much damage at this point in time. The host nation should invest its hopes this week in Monfils, Ugo Humbert, and Adrian Mannarino.

Hot: Alexander Zverev, Gael Monfils, Soonwoo Kwon, Alex Molcan

Cold: Alexander Bublik, Ugo Humbert, David Goffin, Lucas Pouille, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Semifinal predictions: Alexander Zverev over Soonwoo Kwon and Roberto Bautista Agut over Filip Krajinovic

Final: Zverev over Bautista Agut

28
Who will win Montpellier?

Tata Open Maharashtra

Where: Pune, India
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $430,530
Points
: 250

Top seed: Aslan Karatsev
Defending champion: Jiri Vesely

Much unlike Montpellier, Pune will likely go down as one of the weakest tour-level events of the year. All you needed to know is that Gianluca Mager and Jiri Vesely have first-round byes; Daniel Altmaier and Stefano Travaglia are seeded. At least Aslan Karatsev is in the field, and he has to be considered an overwhelming title favorite. Second seed Lorenzo Musetti has not been playing well since the 2021 French Open and he has never excelled on hard courts in the early stages of his career. Emil Ruusuvuori or Kamil Majchrzak could capitalize in the bottom half of the bracket.

Musetti

Hot: Aleksandar Vukic, Kamil Majchrzak

Cold: Lorenzo Musetti, Joao Sousa, Yuki Bhambri,

Semifinal predictions: Aslan Karatsev over Radu Albot and Emil Ruusuvuori over Kamil Majchrzak

Final: Ruusuvuori over Karatsev

21
Who will win Pune?

Cordoba Open

Where: Cordoba, Argentina
Surface: Clay
Prize money: $430,530
Points
: 250

Top seed: Diego Schwartzman
Defending champion: Juan Manuel Cerundolo

The Golden Swing is here. It defines the dog days of February, with tournament after tournament left and right but not many big names to speak of. It is true that the quality could come closer to matching the quantity this time around, but that still remains to be seen. Dominic Thiem was supposed to begin his comeback from a wrist injury this week in Cordoba, but he is now out. Juan Martin Del Potro is scheduled to return next week in Buenos Aires, but there is no guarantee there. With Thiem having withdrawn, Diego Schwartzman and Cristian Garin are the cream of the crop in Cordoba. Watch out for youngsters Holger Rune and Sebastian Baez, as well.

Hot: Holger Rune, Sebastian Baez

Cold: Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Juan Ignacio Londero, Fernando Verdasco

Semifinal predictions: Cristian Garin over Diego Schwartzman and Holger Rune over Pedro Martinez

Final: Garin over Rune

19
Who will win Cordoba?

4 Comments on Montpellier, Pune, and Cordoba previews and predictions

  1. I think Zverev will take a while to get over the AO (watch him win now)

    I love the February swing esp the golden one. Hard to predict but a chance to see the lesser ranked players

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