Belgrade and Moselle Open, find out this week's tournaments and our favourites!
by Cydias Aujard | by Véronique MASUAKU
ATP 250 Moselle Open
The 21st Moselle Open starts this week in Metz. Last year, France's Ugo Humbert won the tournament against Alexander Shevchenko, making him the 7th Frenchman to win this tournament! As well as this analysis of the tournament, throughout the week you'll find plenty of analyses of each match in our tennis predictions!
Last chance for Rublev
Andrey Rublev, world number 7, is wild card in this tournament and the number 1 seed. The Russian was eliminated early on in the round of 16 by Francisco Cerundolo at the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, but was unable to confirm his place at next week's ATP Finals in Turin. His participation in the Metz tournament therefore feels like a last chance for the Russian to confirm his place in the top 8 players of the season.
Currently in 8th place in the Race with 3,720 points, the Russian is being chased by Australian Alex De Minaur, who has entered the Belgrade tournament. He therefore has no choice but to achieve a result here if he hopes to add the points he needs to get to Italy. A quarter-finalist in Beijing, Stockholm and Basel, the Russian was also a finalist in Montreal and should use his recent performances to go far in this tournament in Metz.
Some big names
Grigor Dimitrov, seeded number 3, has just been stopped in the quarter-finals by Karen Khachanov in Paris. Injured with a hamstring injury in early October, the Bulgarian has been eliminated in the last eight in Shanghai and Vienna since his return to the courts, and his biggest recent success was the final of the Stockholm tournament, which he lost to the American Tommy Paul.
Not in the best form of his season for his first appearance here, he is unlikely to be the one to win the title this year and should not be a threat to Andrey Rublev, who has been given a mission that should make him a formidable opponent: that of staying in the top 8 of the season's best players.
Casper Ruud is seeded number 2. Although he is 7th in the Race with 3,855 points and therefore 135 points ahead of 8th-placed Andrey Rublev, the Norwegian is currently going through a complicated period. Stopped in the round of 16 by Jordan Thompson in Paris last week, he has lost 80% of his last 10 matches and has only had one first-round win in Stockholm out of his last 6 tournaments played. This should not be enough to upset his opponents and hope to finish the year on a high.
Denmark's Holger Rune, seeded number 4, is once again taking part in the Metz tournament. Stopped in the quarter-finals here in 2022 by Alexander Bublik, Holger Rune has just enjoyed a fine run at the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, where he was a semi-finalist against Alexander Zverev.
Also a semi-finalist at the Swiss tournament in Basel, he is currently 14th in the Race with 2,635 points. But he lacks just one title this year, which would enable him to make it six in a row with at least one title in his season. He should be determined to achieve a result in this tournament, which he knows fairly well and which could enable him to end his season on a high.
Our ATP Metz prediction: Andrey Rublev to win!
ATP 250 Belgrade
The second edition of the Belgrade tournament is taking place this time after a 3-year absence. In the first edition, it was Serbian Novak Djokovic who won the title for the first time against Slovakian Alex Molcan. This year, the tournament will be played on hard court, and the stakes will be very different, as it brings the men's tennis season to a close before the ATP Finals in Turin.
Alex De Minaur, seeded number 1, is the favourite to win this year's title. Currently 9th in the Race to Turin with 3,555 points, he is just 165 points behind 8th-placed Andrey Rublev, who will be competing in Metz. The Australian has just been knocked out of the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters by Holger Rune and has therefore failed to break into the top 8 in the capital.
He will therefore have to give it his all in this tournament if he is to seize his last chance to win the decisive points at the end of the season and hope to take part in the ATP Finals in Turin. Winner of the Acapulco and S-Hertogenbosh tournaments this season, the Australian should be able to demonstrate his superiority in this tournament and should do all he can to end his season with a surprise place for Italy.
Alex De Minaur still has a chance to break into the top 8 and take part in the ATP Finals in Turin.
Tommy Paul is the number 2 seed. 11th in the Race with 3145 points, the difference should be a little too great to hope for a place in the top 8. However, the American should be keen to end his season with a good showing in this tournament, promising an even better season in 2025. Winner of 3 titles this season in Dallas, Queen's and recently in Stockholm against top 10 player Grigor Dimitrov, the American should be able to reach the final of this tournament and meet Alex De Minaur in a summit duel for the last title of the season.
Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, winner of the Umag tournament this season, is seeded number 3 here. Having just notched up 2 wins in Paris by eliminating world number 7 Andrey Rublev in the round of 16, he also managed to upset and win a set against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 8. Buoyed by these recent performances, he could be the one to spring a surprise and go on to enjoy a fine run in this tournament.
This first edition on the hard court could well see a final between Alex De Minaur and Tommy Paul, and it is the man who has to give his all here if he hopes to join the top 8 players of the season, Alex De Minaur, who we believe could win the title. The answer in a few days' time...
Our ATP Belgrade prediction: Alex de Minaur to win!
