Delray Beach, Buenos Aires and Marseille: our take on this week's tennis tournaments
ATP 250 Marseille: our opinion on the French tournament
In France, the Marseille Open 13 opens its doors at the Palais des Sports for its 33rd edition. For the 10th time in its history, this indoor hard court tournament saw a Frenchman win the title last season: Ugo Humbert defeated Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov.
This year, the French players in Marseille will include Harold Mayot, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Quentin Halys. We will also be able to count on the presence of the soon-to-be retired Richard Gasquet, who will conclude his farewell tour in front of the French public before June and who will face Alexander Bublik in the first round. The locals can also look forward to an all-French duel in the first round between Benjamin Bonzi and Lucas Pouille. So there's a great line-up for your tennis predictions.
Defending champion Ugo Humbert, who will be seeded number 2, is back this year to defend his title. Winner of his first 3 rounds at the Australian Open Grand Slam last month, including stopping compatriot Arthur Fils, the Frenchman upset current world number 2 Alexander Zverev in the round of 16. He should be the player to watch in this tournament, as he won't really be facing a formidable opponent.
The number 1 seed, Daniil Medvedev, has yet to string together 2 consecutive wins in the early part of the season and was stopped in the second round of the Australian Open and then in Rotterdam. Karen Khachanov, seeded number 3, has not been in great form in recent weeks either, and was stopped in the first round in Hong Kong and then in the round of 16 at the Australian Open by Alex Michelsen.
Our winning prediction: Ugo Humbert wins!
ATP 250 Delray Beach: our opinion on the American tournament
The American tournament, which is played on a hard surface, also opens its 33rd edition this week in front of the American public. In 2023 and 2024, American and local Taylor Fritz enjoyed success in front of his home crowd, winning the title two years running.
Back this year, Taylor Fritz is the number 1 seed here for the 3rd year running and is here to defend his title. But Fritz seems to be looking for success at the start of the season, since after his victory with the United States in the United Cup, the American has not won more than 2 consecutive matches as an individual. He was stopped in the round of 16 at the Australian Open by France's Gaël Monfils, and then failed to progress beyond the last eight in Dallas last week.
It's another American player who should be there, using the support of his home crowd to succeed his compatriot. Alex Michelsen is seeded number 3 in this tournament. The 20-year-old reached the quarter-finals of the Auckland tournament at the start of the year and went on to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov at the Australian Open to reach the Grand Slam round of 16. The semi-finalist at last year's ATP Next Gen Finals should be determined to do better than his first-round defeat in Dallas a few days ago, and this time he should use the support of his home crowd to make his mark on the tournament in Delray Beach.
Our winning prediction: Alex Michelsen wins!
Bet on the ATP 250 Delray Beach
ATP 250 Buenos Aires: our verdict on the South American tournament
The first clay-court tournament of the 2025 season will open its doors in the Argentinian capital. The Buenos Aires tournament also produced a local player last season, with 24-year-old Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta taking the title from Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
The title holder is also back in this edition. He came here with the aim of winning a second consecutive title, but his state of form should not allow him to really compete with his other rivals. Stopped in the qualifiers in Auckland and then drafted in as a Lucky Loser, the Argentinian lost in the quarter-finals to Gaël Monfils and has not won back-to-back matches since.
German player Alexander Zverev, seeded No. 1, is expected to do well in this clay-court tournament. The semi-finalist at the ATP Finals at the end of the year had an exceptional run at the Australian Open Grand Slam last month. Winner of 6 consecutive matches, including victories over Ugo Humbert, Tommy Paul and Novak Djokovic, he was runner-up to Jannik Sinner. An unfortunate loser in that final, the world No. 2 will be hoping to use this first clay-court tournament of the season to bounce back and regain his form. Last year's winner on clay at the Rome Masters 1000, he lost just 6 matches on this surface in his entire season, winning 23 times in all. The German player should put on a great show.
Our winning prediction: Alexander Zverev wins!
