There will be three ATP 250 events this week, with much at stake as various singles and doubles players battle it out for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Hubert Hurkacz and Felix Auger-Aliassime lead the way at the Antwerp European Open, Matteo Berrettini heads the field at home at the Tennis Napoli Cup, and Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed at the Stockholm Open.
ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch out for at each tournament.
Pictures: Antwerp | Naples | Stockholm
FIVE THINGS TO SEE IN ANTWERP
1) Felix’s push towards Turin: It’s another critical week at the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, with Felix Auger-Aliassime currently in last place in qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. The Canadian, seeded second in Antwerp, will have the chance to increase his lead over Taylor Fritz, seeded eighth in Belgium. Auger-Aliassime will play Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech or a qualifier in the second round. He arrived with momentum after lifting his second ATP Tour trophy on Sunday in Florence.
2) Hurkacz, top seed: Hubert Hurkacz, ninth in the Live Race, is the top seed at the European Open, where he will start his tournament against #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper or American Jenson Brooksby. The Polish star, who competed at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, needs a big boost if he wants to return to Turin. He won his fifth ATP Tour title earlier this year in Halle and is 37-18 at the tour level on the season.
3) Grand Slam champions in action: two players who have lifted Grand Slam trophies, Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem, will try to find their best tennis this week in Antwerp. Both former World No. 3s in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings will be seeking their first title of the season. Wawrinka has had success at the ATP 250 before, advancing to the final in 2019, when he lost to Andy Murray in an emotional final. He will play former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet in the first round. Thiem will make his debut in Antwerp against Belgium’s Michael Geerts.
4) Goffin, esperanza local: Will this be the year David Goffin triumphs at home? The 31-year-old will make his fifth appearance in Antwerp, where he advanced to the semi-finals in 2016. Goffin has twice tasted ATP glory on indoor hard courts (Metz 2014 and Montpellier 2021) and will try to do so again this week at home. Geerts and Goffin’s first opponent, Gilles Arnaud Bailly, are the other Belgians in the singles draw.
5) Cabal/Farah lead: Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah will try to claim their first title of the season and their 20th as a team this week. Colombians are the top seeds in Antwerp, where recent Tel Aviv champions Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop are seeded second. Xavier Malisse, the 42-year-old retired Belgian who reached the doubles semi-finals last year in Antwerp with Lloyd Harris, will join Diego Schwartzman this time.
FIVE THINGS TO SEE IN NAPLES
1) Berrettini tries to recover: Matteo Berrettini suffered a tough debut loss to Roberto Carballés Baena in Florence, but is keen to bounce back this week in Naples, where he accepted a Wild Card. The Italian has won seven ATP Tour crowns and is seeking his first on home soil. The 26-year-old is 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and needs a big push over the next three weeks if he is to come close to qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.
2) A Musetti magician: #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti showed some of his best tennis in Florence, where he reached his third semi-final of the year on tour. The reigning champion from Hamburg will attempt to claim his first hard court trophy this week in Naples. Musetti has already qualified for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, where he will compete for the second consecutive year.
3) Carreño Busta, the favorite: The top seed in the singles draw is Pablo Carreno Busta, who is trying to claim multiple titles in one season for the third time. The Spaniard lifted the biggest trophy of his career in August when he achieved ATP Masters 1000 glory in Montreal. The 31-year-old will play either local favorite Fabio Fognini or Frenchman Hugo Grenier in the second round.
4) Bautista Agut pushes for another title: Roberto Bautista Agut has won two titles in one season five times in his career, including this year. This week, the Spaniard can claim his third crown of the season for the first time. Eleven-time tour champion Bautista Agut has lifted eight of his last nine trophies on hard courts, the surface used in Naples.
5) Italians in search of doubles glory: there are four all-Italian doubles teams on the Napoli course, led by second seeds Simone Bolelli and Fognini. Bolelli and Fognini have won five tour-level crowns together, including two this year. The top seeds in Naples are Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.
FIVE THINGS TO SEE IN STOCKHOLM
1) Tsitsipas on the site of his first title: when Stefanos Tsitsipas made his first appearance in Stockholm in 2018, he had yet to lift an ATP Tour trophy. That week, the Greek broke through, dropping just one set en route to the trophy. The 24-year-old is returning to the event for the first time since, and he arrives with momentum. This year’s Monte-Carlo and Mallorca champion has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals and has just reached his sixth final of the season in Astana. Tsitsipas will play either Maxime Cressy or Ilya Ivashka in the second round.
2) Norrie’s career hopes: Cameron Norrie, the second seed in Stockholm, is ranked 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. The southpaw needs a big week in Sweden to close the gap to the rest of his competitors who are also seeking a place at the Nitto ATP Finals, where Norrie competed as a substitute last year. The 27-year-old will make his Stockholm debut against Aslan Karatsev or a qualifier.
3) Fit Americans: there are three Americans competing in Stockholm and all have enjoyed the best season of their careers in 2022. Frances Tiafoe has shown top form in recent weeks, reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open, earning Team World victory in the Laver Cup and reaching the final in Tokyo. Tommy Paul climbed to a career-high World No. 28 last month and returns to the event where he lifted his first ATP Tour trophy last year. Cressy claimed her first tour-level crown in Newport and will try to win another this week in Sweden.
4) Local hopes: brothers Mikael Ymer and Elias Ymer lead the local hopes at the ATP 250. Both Swedes have advanced to the round of 16 at their local event. Mikael has just reached the semifinals in Florence as a qualifier. Leo Borg, 19, the son of former World No. 1 Bjorn Borg, is also in the field. Borg will attempt to earn his first tour-level victory when he takes on eighth-seeded Paul in the first round.
5) Arévalo/Rojer lead the doubles draw: Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, but the Salvadoran-Dutch duo will try to build momentum this week in Sweden. The second seeds are Turin hopefuls Tim Puetz and Michael Venus, who sit eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.
