ATP Montpellier 250: Our Winner Prediction
by Tyler Doty
The Farewell of Richard Gasquet
To no one's surprise, this year's Open Occitanie will feature several French tennis stars. However, there will be some notable absences from this year's tournament: Gaël Monfils, who had an incredible Australian Open, reaching the last eight, will not participate in this tournament, nor will Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Fans will get their final glimpse of Richard Gasquet in Montpellier, as the 38-year-old has announced his retirement following this year's French Open. His retirement marks 24 seasons of professional tennis. A three-time winner of the Open Occitanie in 2013, 2015, and 2016, the Frenchman is eager to take his final bow in front of the Montpellier crowd. The draw promises an exciting spectacle for the French audience, as the first round will pit Richard Gasquet against compatriot Adrian Mannarino, 36, for the 4th time in their careers.
An enticing duel between Gasquet and Mannarino awaits us in the first round.
Two more Frenchmen will go head to head in the first round as Harold Mayot faces Arthur Rinderknech. Harold Mayot had the best result among the French players at the Montpellier tournament last year, reaching the quarterfinals against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Grégoire Barrère, a Wild Card, will also be participating and will face Germany's Dominik Koepfer in the first round. After winning his first-round match last year, he was stopped in the 8th round by 6th seed Alexander Shevchenko.
Also present in the tournament are, Lucas Pouille, Wild Card Quentin Halys, and the young Arthur Cazaux. French players seemingly got the luck of the draw as none of them will match up against top seed Andrey Rublev until at least the quarterfinals. You can find these matchups and many others in our tennis predictions!
The Andrey Rublev Surprise
Russian Andrey Rublev is the number 1 seed in this tournament. After being eliminated in the 3rd round at the Hong Kong tournament by Fabian Marozsan earlier in the season, and then in the first round at the Australian Open by the young Brazilian and recent winner of the ATP Next Gen Finals, Joao Fonseca, Rublev is looking to get back on track in this tournament. He will be eager to add points to his season to maintain his spot in the top 10 of the current best players.
After withdrawing in the quarterfinals at the Metz tournament last season against Corentin Moutet, Rublev failed to secure a single win at the ATP Finals, losing to Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, and Casper Ruud. The Russian needs to prove to the tennis world—and to himself—that he is still a major contender and that he hasn’t lost any of his talent. Performing in front of the Montpellier crowd for the first time, Rublev will have his sights set on victory.
Defending Champ Bublik
Alexander Bublik is back in this tournament, where he nearly plays at home. A two-time winner and the defending champion, he will be determined to achieve another strong result this year. As the 4th seed, the Kazakh concluded his 2024 season with a 2nd-round loss in the Paris Masters to top-15 player Holger Rune.
Bublik is currently on a two-match losing streak. He was unable to win his first match of the season in the 2nd round of the Adelaide tournament in early January, losing to Miomir Kecmanovic, and he also failed to beat Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo in the first round of the Australian Open last week. While we're still in the beginning, the fact is Bublik hasn’t won a single set so far in the 2025 season, and his recent performances are unlikely to pose a significant challenge to his future opponents in this familiar tournament.
The Player to Watch: Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime is back this year after his semifinal finish last year, where he narrowly missed out on a spot in the final against the winner, Alexander Bublik. The Canadian seems to be in great form at the start of this season. With four consecutive wins at the Adelaide tournament, he demonstrated his determination to begin the 2025 season in the best possible way and showed that he wants this year to be better than the last.
He defeated Arthur Cazaux and Marcos Giron in the first two rounds, then won his semifinal against top seed Tommy Paul before claiming the title against second seed Sebastian Korda. Winning his first title of the year in the very first tournament allowed him to climb six places in the ATP rankings.
He also won his first-round match at the Australian Open against Jan-Lennard Struff but was defeated in the second round by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a hard-fought five-set match that lasted nearly five hours. This was a testament to the Canadian's motivation to have an unforgettable season. Having had time to recharge since January 15, he should be well-motivated for this tournament. As the second seed, he will fully embrace his position and is expected to fight for a second title this season.
Our ATP Montpellier winner prediction: Felix Auger-Aliassime to win, BetMGM odds of +400!
