Stefanos Tsitsipas will lead the field in Hamburg, with Casper Ruud competing in Bastad and Alexander Bublik in Newport.
The ATP Tour returns to clay this week with Stefanos Tsitsipas leading the field at the Hamburg European Open, an ATP 500 event. The Greek reached the final in Germany last year, and will be joined by ATP stars Pablo Carreno Busta and Jan-Lennard Struff.
There are also two ATP 250 tournaments taking place, with one on clay at the Nordea Open in Bastad, and the other on grass at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport. Casper Ruud and Lorenzo Musetti will be in action in Bastad, while Alexander Bublik will be joined by a plethora of Americans in Newport at the last grass-court tour-level event of the season.
Hamburg 🇩🇪
Tsitsipas Leads The Way
The top seed in Hamburg is World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is pursuing his third clay-court ATP Tour title of the season in Germany. The Roland Garros finalist reached the championship match (l. to Rublev) in Hamburg last year and will look to bounce back after his first-round defeat to Frances Tiafoe at Wimbledon.
Super Carreno Busta
Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta is enjoying one of his best-ever clay-court seasons, having won the Andalucia Open title (d. Munar) in Marbella and reaching the semi-finals at the Barcelona Open (l. to Nadal). The 29-year-old holds a 13-4 record on the surface this year and will be the second seed in Hamburg. Carreno Busta has had success at the ATP 500 event before, reaching the semi-finals in 2019.
Home-Favourite Struff
Jan-Lennard Struff will lead the German charge on home soil. The World No. 45 equalled his best Grand Slam performance last month as he reached the fourth round at Roland Garros. He will begin against Laslo Djere and is joined in the draw by three other countrymen, including Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Basilashvili Goes For Third Title
Nikoloz Basilashvili has loved his time in Hamburg in recent years, having lifted the title in 2018 and 2019. The Georgian, who lost a four-set thriller to Andy Murray at Wimbledon in June, will begin his quest for a third title against either Corentin Moutet or Aljaz Bedene.
Bastad🇸🇪
Casper Ruud (1)
Norway’s Casper Ruud will lead the field at the Nordea Open as the top seed. The 22-year-old is currently at a career-high No. 14, having won the Gonet Geneva Open (d. Shapovalov) in May.
Cristian Garin In Action (2)
The Chilean will look to build on this in Bastad at the ATP 250 tournament on a surface he is far more acquainted with. Garin has won all five of his ATP Tour titles on clay.
Former Champions:
With Fabio Fognini and Pablo Cuevas both competing in Sweden this week, there are two former champions in the draw. Italy’s Fognini defeated Richard Gasquet in 2018 with Cuevas overcoming Joao Sousa in 2014. The former begins against either Facundo Bagnis or Roberto Carballes Baena with the latter facing Norbert Gombos.
Rising Musetti
star Lorenzo Musetti has gone from strength to strength in the last year. He has risen from outside the Top 250 to No. 63. Having reached the semi-finals at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon (l. to Tsitsipas), the 19-year-old is in fourth position in the ATP Race To Milan. He will look to claim a maiden tour-level title in Scandinavia.
Newport🇺🇸
Return Of Bublik
The former finalist, Alexander Bublik, returns to Newport seeking to go one step further and win his first ATP Tour title. The Kazakhstani lost to four-time champion John Isner in 2019. Bublik is the top seed at the last grass-court tour-level tournament of the season.
American Hopes
Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson are part of a contingent of seven Americans that will be competing on home soil at the Hall of Fame Open. Johnson, currently No. 72 in the ATP Rankings, has had success in Newport before, winning the title against Ramkumar Ramanathan in 2018.
Jack Sock will compete at a tour-level event for the first time this year after also being handed a wild card. The World No. 229 last played a tour-level match at Roland Garros in September, when he came through qualifying to reach the second round. Sock has twice reached the semi-finals (2014, 2015) in Newport.
Nishioka’s Debut
It will be the first appearance for Japanese star Yoshihito Nishioka in Newport. The 25-year-old is the second seed and will be aiming to bounce back after his second-round defeat to Aljaz Bedene at Wimbledon. It is difficult to see him win with all the big servers in the competition.