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
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.
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
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
who ya got?
Monfils,Karatsev and Schwartzman
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
Namaste! Tennis on 3 continents!!!!