Stockholm, Antwerp, and Moscow previews and predictions

Only three weeks remain on most players’ calendars, as the European indoor swing that annually wraps up each season is underway in Stockholm, Antwerp, and Moscow. The top eight, of course, will continue their campaigns through the Nitto ATP Finals in mid-November, and a couple of last-gasp efforts to clinch London spots are in full effect. Hopefuls include John Isner and Fabio Fognini, who are the top seeds in Stockholm.

Intrum Stockholm Open

Where: Stockholm, Sweden
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: 612,755 Euros
Points: 250

Top seed: John Isner
2017 champion: Juan Martin Del Potro (not playing)

Draw analysis: The NextGen ATP Finals do not take place until next month in Milan, but a whole host of up-and-coming talent is on display in the bottom half of the Stockholm bracket. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who owns an opening-round bye as the No. 3 seed, could run into Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Hyeon Chung and Taylor Fritz will go head-to-head right away on Tuesday. Chung, Fritz, and Denis Kudla are potential quarterfinal foes for Fognini.

In the top half, big opportunities await Sweden’s own Ymer brothers. Elias won his first-round match on Monday now faces an ice-cold Jack Sock, while Mikael is kicking off his week against a volatile and vulnerable Ernests Gulbis. Isner and Denis Shapovalov are the favorites to make semifinal appearances, but Lucas Pouille and Marius Copil could provide some early tests for the 6’10’’ American.

First-round upset alert: Matthew Ebden over (8) Fernando Verdasco. Ebden turned in a pair of quarterfinal performances during the Asian swing (Chengdu and Shanghai), to the extent that one more this season could put him in the discussion for a seed at the 2019 Australian Open. A relatively slick indoor court favors the Aussie in this matchup.

Hot: Fabio Fognini, Matthew Ebden, Bradley Klahn, Alex de Minaur, John Millman

Cold: Jack Sock, Lucas Pouille, Hyeon Chung

Semifinals: Denis Shapovalov over Marius Copil and Stefanos Tsitsipas over Taylor Fritz

Final: Tsitsipas over Shapovalov

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European Open

Where: Antwerp, Belgium
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 250
Prize money: 612,755 Euros

Top seed: Kyle Edmund
Defending champion: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Draw analysis: With David Goffin sidelined by injury, it will be the Frenchmen who basically assume home-court advantage in Antwerp whenever lone Belgian Ruben Bemelman exits the tournament. Five players from France find themselves in the main draw, with four capable of making some real noise. Gael Monfils is going up against Bemelmans in round one, while fellow injury-plagued entertainer Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has a tough opener on his hands in the form of Guido Pella. Elsewhere in the bottom half of the draw, Gilles Simon is on a quarterfinal collision course with No. 2 seed Diego Schwartzman.

Really happy to be back in Antwerp this year!!! @EuroTennisOpen pic.twitter.com/oFSgB82vni

— diego schwartzman (@dieschwartzman) October 13, 2018

Veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet is already through to the last 16 as the fourth seed. He could not have asked for a friendlier path through the event, unlikely to endure any kind of trouble before potentially running into Kyle Edmund in the semifinals. The top-seeded Brit also has a favorable draw, so it is hard to see anything other than an Edmund-Gasquet semifinal showdown on Saturday.

First-round upset alert: (WC) Ruben Bemelmans over (6) Gael Monfils. Monfils is struggling through another injury-plagued campaign and he is 0-3 in his last three matches since winning a Challenger title in September. Bemelmans has the added benefit of playing at home in Belgium.
Hot: Kyle Edmund, Jan-Lennard Struff

Cold: Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Feliciano Lopez, Jiri Vesely

Semifinals: Richard Gasquet over Kyle Edmund and Milos Raonic over Diego Schwartzman

Final: Gasquet over Raonic

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VTB Kremlin Cup

Where: Moscow, Russia
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: $856,445
Points: 250

Top seed: Marco Cecchinato
Defending champion: Damir Dzumhur

Draw analysis: You will not find a much more imbalanced 250-point draw than this one in Moscow—not in the past and not in the future. The bottom half features Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov, Nick Kyrgios, and Andrey Rublev. Either Kyrgios or Rublev will be gone right away, because they have to go head-to-head in the first round. Both Medvedev and Khachanov are in red-hot form and will likely square off in an all-Russian semifinal.

The other side is incredibly wide open, mainly because seeds Marco Cecchinato and Filip Krajinovic might as well be afterthoughts. Cecchinato is starting to play more on hard courts and has therefore naturally improved, but he is still close to hopeless on this surface. Krajinovic has been injured for much of the season and continues to slump. Among those who may be able to capitalize are defending champion Damir Dzumhur, Martin Klizan, Shenzhen runner-up Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and Benoit Paire.

First-round upset alert: Andrey Rublev over (5) Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios has been unable to find a sufficient motivation level even for 500s and 1000s, so there is no reason to think he will inspired this week in Moscow. Rublev should be able to treat the home crowd to one of his best wins in a while.

Hot: Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov, Martin Klizan, Pierre-Hugues Herbert

Cold: Filip Krajinovic, Nick Kyrgios, Adrian Mannarino, Mischa Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Lukas Rosol

Semifinals: Damir Dzumhur over Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Karen Khachanov over Daniil Medvedev

Final: Khachanov over Dzumhur

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