The clay-court action takes centre stage on the ATP Tour this week, with Carlos Alcaraz leading the field at the Hamburg European Open and Casper Ruud the top seed at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad.
Former champions Andrey Rublev and Pablo Carreno Busta are also in action at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg, Germany. In Gstaad, Matteo Berrettini is competing on clay for just the second time this year at the ATP 250 tournament in Switzerland.
ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each event.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN HAMBURG
1) Alcaraz Leads Field: #NextGenATP Spaniard Alcaraz will make his debut in Hamburg, leading the field as the top seed at the ATP 500 event. The 19-year-old has enjoyed a standout 2022 season, capturing a joint Tour-leading four titles, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Miami and Madrid. The World No. 6, who holds a 19-2 record on clay in 2022, will face home wild card Nicola Kuhn in his opening match in Germany.
2) Can Rublev Continue Strong Year? Rublev has clinched three tour-level crowns in 2022 and arrives in Hamburg holding fond memories from the city. The 24-year-old triumphed there on his last appearance in 2020, edging Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. The World No. 8, who also reached the championship match at the tournament in 2019, will play Alexander Bublik first up as he looks to add to his trophy collection this week.
3) Reigning Champion Carreno Busta: Carreno Busta soared to his maiden ATP 500 trophy in Hamburg 12 months ago, not dropping a set en route to the title. The Spaniard will look to reign supreme in Germany once again and enters off the back of a run to the semi-finals in Bastad. The 31-year-old will take on #NextGenATP Italian Luca Nardi in the first round.
4) Baez & Rune Looking For Further Clay Success: Argentine Sebastian Baez and #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune lifted their maiden tour-level trophies on clay this season, with Baez triumphing in Estoril in the same week that Rune won in Munich in April. The 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals competitors both sit inside the Top 35 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and will be aiming to climb further with deep runs in Hamburg. The 21-year-old Baez opens against Filip Krajinovic, while Rune plays Tallon Griekspoor.
5) Puetz/Venus Defending Champs: New Zealander Michael Venus is chasing a third consecutive crown in Hamburg, and a second in a row playing alongside home favourite Tim Puetz. The pair is seeded third in a strong field in Germany, where top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are chasing their fifth title together on clay.
Seeded second in Hamburg are Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, the current leaders in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN GSTAAD
1) Can Ruud Bounce Back? Ruud is back in action in Gstaad this week following a disappointing second-round exit against eventual champion Francisco Cerundolo in Bastad. Thankfully for the top seed, he has positive memories in Gstaad, having lifted the trophy at the clay-court event on tournament debut in 2021. The Norwegian will begin his title defence against Jiri Lehecka or Tomas Martin Etcheverry as he aims to win his third tour-level title of the season.
2) Berrettini Returns: After undergoing right hand surgery in March, Berrettini quickly clicked into gear on his return to the Tour in June, lifting back-to-back grass-court titles in Stuttgart and at The Queen’s Club. However, the Italian was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon due to Covid-19, meaning the 26-year-old will be taking to court for the first time in a month when he makes his Gstaad debut this week. Berrettini begins against Richard Gasquet or Roberto Carballes Baena.
3) Thiem Gathering Momentum: Dominic Thiem found some form last week in Bastad, where he earned his first tour-level wins since May 2021 against Emil Ruusuvuori and Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the quarter-finals. The Austrian, who was 0-6 on the season before last week, is a former champion in Gstaad, having triumphed on his last appearance in 2015. The 28-year-old will face seventh seed Hugo Gaston in the first round as he looks to build on the momentum gained in Sweden.
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4) #NextGenATP Stars In Action: Jiri Lehecka and Dominic Stricker will both look to boost their Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals with strong runs in Gstaad. The 20-year-old Czech Lehecka currently sits sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan, with his best result this season a run to the semi-finals in Rotterdam.
The 19-year-old Swiss Dominic Stricker, who is 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan, will make his second appearance on home soil at the ATP 250 event after accepting a wild card. Lehecka opens against Etcheverry, while Stricker plays countryman Marc-Andrea Huesler.
5) Matos/Vega Hernandez To Continue Success?: Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez made it three ATP Tour titles in just four months playing together with victory in Bastad on Sunday. They are the top seeds this week in Gstaad, where Ariel Behar and Andrey Golubev and Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen are seeded second and third, respectively.
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