Tennis - ATP Calendar: Belgrade and Moselle Open, discover this week's tournaments and our favorites!
by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty
ATP 250 Moselle Open
The 21st Moselle Open opens in Metz this week. Last year, Frenchman Ugo Humbert defeated Alexander Shevchenko to become the 7th Frenchman to win the tournament! In addition to tournament analysis, throughout the week you'll find numerous analyses of each match with our tennis predictions!
Last chance for Rublev
Andrey Rublev, world number 7, is wild card in this tournament and the number 1 seed. Eliminated early by Francisco Cerundolo in the round of 16 at the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, the Russian was unable to confirm his place at next week's ATP Finals in Turin. His participation in the Metz tournament therefore looks like a last chance for the Russian to validate 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 to hope 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.
A full line-up
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 8 in Shanghai and Vienna since his return to the courts, and his biggest recent success was the final of the Stockholm tournament, where he lost to American Tommy Paul.
Not being 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 is unlikely to be a threat to Andrey Rublev, who has been entrusted with 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 3855 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 success 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 note.
Denmark's Holger Rune, seeded No. 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 2635 points. But he lacks a single title this year that would enable him to string together a 6th consecutive year with at least one title in his season. He should be determined to achieve a result in this tournament, which he knows rather well and which could enable him to end his season on a high.
Our ATP Moselle Open prediction: Andrey Rublev's victory, rated at +310 on average by sportsbooks!
ATP 250 Belgrade
The second edition of the Belgrade tournament takes place after a 3-year absence. In the first edition, Serbian Novak Djokovic 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 concludes the men's tennis season before the ATP Finals in Turin.
Alex De Minaur, seeded number 1, is the favorite to win this year's title. Currently 9th in the Race to Turin with 3555 points, he is just 165 points behind 8th-placed Andrey Rublev, who will be competing in Metz. The Australian has just been stopped in 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 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 surprising 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 seeded number 2. 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 want to finish his season with a fine showing in this tournament, promising an even better 2025 season. 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.
Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, winner of the Umag tournament this season, is seeded number 3 here. Fresh from 2 victories in Paris, eliminating world number 7 Andrey Rublev in the last 16, he also managed to upset and win a set against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last 8. Buoyed by these recent performances, he could be the one to spring a surprise and achieve 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's the man who has to give his all here if he is to join the top 8 players of the season, Alex De Minaur, who we think could win the title. The answer in a few days...
Our ATP Belgrade prediction: victory for Alex de Minaur, quoted at +220 on average by the sportsbooks!
