Previews and predictions for Atlanta, Umag and Kitzbühel

The American hard-court summer kicks off this week with the final edition of the Atlanta Open, while the post-Wimbledon clay-court season continues in Umag and Kitzbühel, with the Paris Olympics in sight. Although all three tournaments coincide with the Roland Garros festivities, they still boast an impressive list of players. Among those set to be in action are Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov, Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti and Dominic Thiem.

Here are my previews and picks for this week’s ATP events.

Atlanta Open

Or: Atlanta, Georgia
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $756,020
Points: 250

First in the series: Ben Shelton
Champion 2023:Taylor Fritz (not playing)

Analysis of the draw:The top half of the Atlanta draw is particularly strong, with Shelton, Shapovalov, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Jordan Thompson, Borna Coric and Jerry Shang. The most interesting first-round matchups include Davidovich Fokina vs. Arthur Cazaux, Shapovalov vs. David Goffin and Coric vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis. Shelton vs. Shapovalov is a potential quarterfinal pairing and would be a rematch of the American’s recent Wimbledon third-round victory in five sets. However, Shelton’s first match will likely be against Shang, who beat him in Atlanta and Washington DC last summer.

On the other side of the bracket is Tiafoe, who gained some much-needed momentum by pushing eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz to five sets at the All-England Club. Tiafoe could open with Aslan Karatsev in the second round before facing Brandon Nakashima in the quarterfinals. As for No. 2 seed Adrian Mannarino, he will likely open his week against Atlanta 2023 finalist Aleksandar Vukic.

Hot:Jordan Thompson, Brandon Nakashima

Cold: Adrian Mannarino, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Aslan Karatsev, Mackenzie McDonald

Quarter-final predictions:Ben Shelton on Denis Shapovalov, Jordan Thompson on Arthur Cazaux, Brandon Nakashima on Frances Tiafoe and Lloyd Harris on Aleksandar Vukic

Semi finals:Shelton vs. Thompson and Nakashima vs. Harris

Final:Shelton over Nakashima

Croatian Open in Plava Laguna

Or: Umag, Croatia
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 579,320 euros
Points: 250

First in the series:Andrei Rublev
Defending champion: Alexei Popyrin

Analysis of the drawRublev has already won the Umag title, and he did so as a lucky loser. Seven years later, the Russian is certainly not a lucky loser anymore; in fact, he is the number 1 seed. However, Rublev enters this week in an important pass and cannot be considered the tournament favorite. He might not even make it out of the quarterfinals, where his potential opponents are Tomas Machac, Thiago Monteiro, Fabian Marozsan and Alexander Shevchenko. The top half of the draw also includes the number 4 seed Francisco Cerundolo.

The other side of the draw is particularly interesting with the presence of Musetti and Mariano Navone. Musetti is coming off a semi-final finish at Wimbledon; Navone lost in the quarter-finals at Bastad last week after a three-hour, 59-minute battle with Rafael Nadal. Musetti and Navone are on a collision course for the quarter-finals, with the winner likely to face either Holger Rune or Luciano Darderi.

Hot: Lorenzo Musetti, Mariano Navone, Tomas Machac, Duje Ajdukovic

Cold: Andrei Rublev, Holger Rune

Quarter-final predictions: Tomas Machac against Andrey Rublev, Matteo Arnaldi against Francisco Cerundolo, Luciano Darderi against Fabio Fognini and Lorenzo Musetti against Flavio Cobolli

Semi finals: Arnaldi against Machac and Musetti against Cobolli

Final:Musetti vs Arnaldi

General opening

Or: Kitzbühel, Austria
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 579,320 euros
Points: 250

First in the series: Sébastien Baez
Defending champion: Sébastien Baez

Analysis of the draw: Thiem will make his final home appearance in Kitzbühel before retiring at the end of 2024. The 30-year-old, who won the title in 2019, was unable to fully return after wrist surgery in the summer of 2021. Given his own struggles and the draw, he will have a tough time making his final round. Bastad quarter-finalist Thiago Agustin Tirante is first in line, followed by No. 1 seed Sebastian Baez. The top half of the draw also includes Bastad champion Nuno Borges and No. 7 seed Roberto Carballes Baena.

But the draw is particularly tough at the bottom of the draw. No. 2 seed Alejandro Tabilo has been in fine form this summer, but his first match is likely to come against Matteo Berrettini, who lifted the Gstaad trophy on Sunday. Strong clay-courters Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Sebastian Ofner and Yannick Hanfmann could also be factors at that end of the draw.

Hot: Sebastian Baez, Alejandro Tabilo, Sebastian Ofner, Nuno Borges, Matteo Berrettini, Thiago Agustin Tirante

Cold: Dominic Thiem, Laslo Djere, Marton Fucsovics

Quarter-final predictions: Sebastian Baez vs. Roberto Carballes Baena, Facundo Diaz Acosta vs. Lukas Klein, Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Laslo Djere and Alejandro Tabilo vs. Sebastian Ofner

Semi finals:Baez on Diaz Acosta and Etcheverry on Tabilo

Final: Etcheverry vs Baez