The February swing heats up in a big way this week with one of the best 500-point tournaments of the tennis season. Jannik Sinner is taking the court for the first time since winning the Australian Open and he is joined in a stacked Rotterdam field by Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, and Hubert Hurkacz. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz is playing in Buenos Aires and Dallas champion Tommy Paul is getting right back in action in Delray Beach.
Here is a breakdown of this week’s tournaments.
ABN AMRO Open
Where: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 500
Prize money: 2,134,985 Euros
Top seed: Jannik Sinner
2023 champion: Daniil Medvedev (not playing)
Draw analysis: Sinner was unseeded in Rotterdam last year. Fast forward 12 months and he is seeded No. 1. The fourth-ranked Italian ended last season on fire and is now the reigning Australian Open champion. At least for the time being, Sinner is the best player in the world. If his run ends any time soon, it will probably be due only to mental (and perhaps some physical) fatigue. As for this Rotterdam event, the competition level could also be a factor. Sinner could face either Gael Monfils or Denis Shapovalov in the second round before possibly meeting Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals and either Hurkacz or Marseille winner Ugo Humbert in the semis.
At the bottom of the bracket, Rublev’s section includes Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Sebastian Korda. The most wide-open quarter is home to Rune and Grigor Dimitrov. Rune has been dealing with some injury issues and Dimitrov is coming off a long week in Marseille, where the Bulgarian finished runner-up to Humbert. De Minaur vs. Korda, Humbert vs. Ruusuvuori, and Hurkacz vs. Jiri Lehecka are among the first-round matchups to watch in Rotterdam.
Hot: Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov, Ugo Humbert, Roman Safiullin
Cold: Holger Rune, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils
Quarterfinal predictions: Jannik Sinner over Alexander Bublik, Hubert Hurkacz over Emil Ruusuvuori, Grigor Dimitrov over Roman Safiullin, and Andrey Rublev over Alex de Minaur
Semifinals: Hurkacz over Sinner and Rublev over Dimitrov
Final: Hurkacz over Rublev
Delray Beach Open
Where: Delray Beach, Florida
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize money: $661,585
Top seed: Taylor Fritz
Defending champion: Taylor Fritz
Draw analysis: Paul secured his second ATP title on Sunday in Dallas; now his spring swing at home in the United States continues in Delray Beach. The world No. 14 has the benefit of a first-round bye so he may not have to play again until Thursday, but Paul’s draw isn’t an easy one because his opening match could come against fast-rising American Alex Michelsen. Whoever wins that showdown would likely be on a course for a semifinal encounter with Frances Tiafoe.
At the top of the bracket, Taylor Fritz is both the No. 1 seed and reigning champion in Delray Beach. The 26-year-old owns a relatively favorable draw, so he should be able to coast into the semfinals. At that point Fritz can expect to meet either Adrian Mannarino, Miomir Kecmanovic, or Dallas runner-up Marcos Giron.
Hot: Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Adrian Mannarino, Matteo Arnaldi, Alex Michelsen, Nuno Borges
Cold: Frances Tiafoe, Aleksandar Vukic
Quarterfinal predictions: Taylor Fritz over Matteo Arnaldi, Marcos Giron over Miomir Kecmanovic, Tommy Paul over Jordan Thompson, and Jerry Shang over Taro Daniel
Semifinals: Fritz over Giron and Paul over Shang
Final: Fritz over Paul
Argentina Open
Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Surface: Clay
Points: 250
Prize money: $642,615
Top seed: Carlos Alcaraz
Defending champion: Carlos Alcaraz
Draw analysis: Alcaraz also took his talents to the Golden Swing last year and it began with a title in Buenos Aires. The Spaniard’s clay-court stretch came after he missed the Australian Open due to a leg injury. This time around he is hoping to bounce back from a quarterfinal loss in Melbourne at the hands of Alexander Zverev. On paper, Alcaraz has every reason to do just that. The world No. 2 is by far the best player in Buenos Aires, as nobody else is ranked better than 20th (Cameron Norrie).
Following a probable cakewalk into the semifinals, Alcaraz could be tested at least a little bit by Nicolas Jarry, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Stan Wawrinka. If the final is Alcaraz vs. Norrie, it would be a rematch of last season’s final—which Alcaraz won 6-3, 7-5 before losing to the Brit 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in the Rio de Janeiro championship match). Norrie finds himself in a relatively difficult quarter of the Buenos Aires draw that also includes Sebastian Baez and surprise Cordoba champ Luciano Darderi.
Hot: Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Alejandro Tabilo, Luciano Darderi
Cold: Francisco Cerundolo, Diego Schwartzman
Quarterfinal predictions: Carlos Alcaraz over Thiago Seyboth Wild, Tomas Martin Etcheverry over Stan Wawrinka, and Arthur Fils over Daniel Altmaier, and Sebastian Baez over Cameron Norrie
Semifinals: Alcaraz over Etcheverry and Baez over Fils
Final: Alcaraz over Baez
WWW?
I can’t see Alcaraz winning Buenos Aires. Already bet him not to win at great odds
Ive exact same ‘lottery’ picks in Argentina .
Almost the same in Delray apart from having Kecmanovic in semis. He seems to like playing here.
Not too far away in Rotterdam either, but have Sinner winning and Hurkacz going out early to Griekspoor .
Carlos in BA….TP in Delray; and Sinner in Rdam.