It is a big week in tennis, with a pair of 500-point tournaments on the schedule and five places in the Nitto ATP Finals still available. Only one spot is really up for grabs barring any withdrawals from Turin or some very surprising results over the next couple of weeks in Vienna, Basel, and Paris. That one spot, however, is suddenly quite intriguing on the heels of Felix Auger-Aliassime’s title in Brussels. The Canadian is now within 340 points of Lorenzo Musetti, with both guys taking the court this week in search of up to 500 points.
Auger-Aliassime is part of a Basel field that also features Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Casper Ruud, Jiri Lehecka, and defending champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Musetti is joined in Vienna by Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Alexander Bublik, and Almaty champ Daniil Medvedev.
Erste Bank Open
Where: Vienna, Austria
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 500
Prize money: 2,736,875 Euros
Top seed: Jannik Sinner
2024 champion: Jack Draper (not playing)
Draw analysis: Sinner is coming off a second straight triumph at the Six Kings Slam, where he did not have to use much energy to pocket $6 million. The world No. 2 got an opening bye and then made quick work of both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner will be well rested for Vienna, which is as close to a home tournament for him outside of Italy. There are no easy draws, however–not even for the top seed. He could face Tomas Machac in round two, Bublik in the quarterfinals, and De Minaur or Andrey Rublev in the semis.
On the other side of the bracket, Zverev and Medvedev are on a collision course for the last four. With Medvedev fresh off a long-awaited title and having owned the recent head-to-head series against Zverev, the Russian would love his chances in that match. Of course, a whole host of other players such as Musetti, Karen Khachanov, Tallon Griekspoor, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Corentin Moutet will have designs of making a deep run in Vienna.
Hot: Jannik Sinner, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti, Daniil Medvedev, Luciano Darderi, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, Corentin Moutet, Alejandro Tabilo
Cold: Andrey Rublev, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Alexei Popyrin
Quarterfinal predictions: Jannik Sinner over Francisco Cerundolo, Alex de Minaur over Matteo Berrettini, Daniil Medvedev over Lorenzo Musetti, and Alexander Zverev over Brandon Nakashima
Semifinals: Sinner over De Minaur and Medvedev over Zverev
Final: Sinner over Medvedev
Swiss Indoors Basel
Where: Basel, Switzerland
Surface: Indoor hard
Prize money: 2,523,045 Euros
Points: 500
Top seed: Taylor Fritz
Defending champion: Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Draw analysis: Following their unreal performances at the Shanghai Masters and a cousin-vs.-cousin head-to-head showdown in the final, Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech are back in action in Basel. On different sides of the bracket, another final meeting is possible. But don’t count on it, of course. Vacherot drew Fritz in the opening round, while Rinderknech gets underway against an in-form Raphael Collignon before potentially running into 2024 champ Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in round two.
This title feels completely up for grabs. No. 2 seed Ben Shelton is on the mend following a shoulder injury, while Auger-Aliassime, Ruud, and Lehecka all could be somewhat fatigued after playing in finals on Sunday. Moreover, the unseeded contingent is incredibly deep–it includes Vacherot, Rinderknech, Mpetshi Perricard, Joao Fonseca, Gabriel Diallo, Sebastian Korda, and Stockholm runner-up Ugo Humbert. Auger-Aliassime vs. Diallo, Mpetshi Perricard vs. Fonseca, and Humbert vs. Korda are especially intriguing first-round matchups.
Hot: Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jiri Lehecka, Kamil Majchrzak, Raphael Collignon, Arthur Rinderknech, Valentin Vacherot
Cold: Jakub Mensik, David Goffin, Lorenzo Sonego, Stan Wawrinka, Botic van de Zandschulp
Quarterfinal predictions: Jiri Lehecka over Ugo Humbert, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Casper Ruud, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard over Raphael Collignon, and Felix Auger-Aliassime over Jaume Munar
Semifinals: Davidovich Fokina over Lehecka and Mpetshi Perricard over Auger-Aliassime
Final: Davidovich Fokina over Mpetshi Perricard
who ya got?
Basel:
Humbert over Lehecka, Ruud over Foki, Mpetshi Perricard over Collignon, FAA over Shelton
Humbert over Ruud, FAA over Mpetshi Perricard
FAA over Humbert
Vienna:
Sinner over Bublik, De Minaur over Rublev, Medvedev over Musetti, Zverev over Nakashima
Sinner over De Minaur, Medvedev over Zverev
Sinner over Medvedev