It’s a busy week on the tennis schedule, as Washington, D.C. and Los Cabos are once again being played at the same time this year. In addition to the hard-court bonanza, the post-Wimbledon clay-court swing continues in Kitzbuhel. Among the top players taking the court are Stefanos Tsitsipas, Cameron Norrie, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Andy Murray
Here are my previews and picks for the three tournaments.
Citi Open
Where: Washington, D.C.
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,013,940
Points: 500
Top seed: Taylor Fritz
2022 champion: Nick Kyrgios (not playing)
Draw analysis: As usual, the Washington, D.C. draw is a fun one as some of the best players in the world start gearing up for the U.S. Open. Fritz is getting right back in action after lifting the Atlanta trophy, but he has more competition this week in the form of Tiafoe, Murray, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov, and Chris Eubanks—who also played in Atlanta (lost to Aleksandar Vukic in the quarterfinals). A showdown between Fritz and Murray could come as early as round three and Eubanks also finds himself in the top section of the bracket. The bottom half of the draw features Tiafoe, Auger-Aliassime, Dimitrov, Sebastian Korda, and Ugo Humbert.
Quarterfinal predictions: Andy Murray over Chris Eubanks, J.J. Wolf over Alexander Bublik, Grigor Dimitrov over Ugo Humbert, and Frances Tiafoe over Alexander Shevchenko
Semifinals: Murray over Wolf and Dimitrov over Tiafoe
Final: Dimitrov over Murray
Mifel Tennis Open
Where: Los Cabos, Mexico
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $852,480
Points: 250
Top seed: Stefanos Tsitsipas
2022 champion: Daniil Medvedev (not playing)
Draw analysis: It feels kind of random for Los Cabos to be lumped into a spot on the calendar with another—and better—hard-court event. Nonetheless, don’t sleep on the festivities south of the border. This field is an impressive one, led by Tsitsipas, Norrie, De Minaur, Tommy Paul, and Borna Coric. Tsitsipas will kick off his campaign against John Isner, which may not be easy in quick conditions that are favorable for big servers. Norrie, seeded second, has a better draw at the bottom but could run into either De Minaur or Paul in the semis.
Quarterfinal predictions: Stefanos Tsitsipas over Nicolas Jarry, Borna Coric over Cristian Garin, Alex de Minaur over Tommy Paul, and Cameron Norrie over Dominik Koepfer
Semifinals: Tsitsipas over Coric and De Minaur over Norrie
Final: De Minaur over Tsitsipas
Generali Open
Where: Kitzbuhel, Austria
Surface: Clay
Prize money: $562,815 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Tomas Martin Etcheverry
2022 champion: Roberto Bautista Agut (not playing)
Draw analysis: This is without question one of the weakest main-tour tournaments on the 2023 schedule. World No. 34 Tomas Martin Etcheverry is the No. 1 seed and Sebastian Ofner has a first-round bye. There really isn’t anything else you need to know. However, the unseeded contingent is actually somewhat strong. Dominic Thiem is lurking along with Sebastian Baez, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, and Zhizhen Zhang. The title is entirely wide open, so is this the week when Thiem finally capitalizes?
Quarterfinal predictions: Tomas Martin Etcheverry over Daniel Altmaier, Sebastian Baez over Sebastian Ofner, Pedro Cachin over Laslo Djere, and Dominic Thiem over Yannick Hanfmann
Semifinals: Etcheverry over Baez and Cachin over Thiem
Final: Cachin over Etcheverry
who ya got?