Tennis - ATP & WTA Calendar: Atlanta, Umag, Kitzbühel, Iasi, Prague... Discover this week's tournaments and our favorites!
by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty
Last week of preparation before the 2024 Olympic Tennis Games to be held at Porte d'Auteuil in Paris. The main favorites of the Olympic tournament will be rested, which will leave great opportunities for other players to show themselves and win precious points. It's sure to be a great week of competition!
ATP Atlanta: Shelton smiles again at home?
For this ATP 250 tournament, American Ben Shelton will be the favorite and number 1 seed on home soil. The world number 14 hasn't performed well on grass this season, despite his excellent serve. He did reach the last 8 at Wimbledon, losing to Jannik Sinner in 4 sets. He should perform much better on hard court, where he put in an incredible performance last season at the US Open. In front of his home crowd, he could well put on a show and rely on his fans to take him as far as possible.
His main direct rivals, notably Adrian Mannarino and Frances Tiafoe, are not at their best. The Frenchman has lost 5 matches in a row and has only won one match on grass. On hard court, he'll find it hard to get back on track. For his part, the American, who missed out on the Olympic Games, is hoping to continue his progress after a difficult few months on court. Despite a fine showing at Wimbledon, he still has a negative record for the season (15 wins to 16 losses). In these conditions, it's hard to imagine him winning at the end of the week...
Our ATP Atlanta prediction: Ben Shelton wins the tournament
ATP Umag: Rublev needs reassurance in Umag!
On Croatian soil, Andrey Rublev will need to regain his confidence. The Russian is going through a difficult period, having lost 4 times in a row. He lost in the first round of Wimbledon and followed this up with a very surprising defeat in Bastad to Thiago Agustin Tirante, ranked 121st in the world (7/6 3/6 6/4)... It's clearly looking bad! The Russian won't be taking part in the Olympics, so he'll be hoping to go on vacation with his mind at rest and get back to winning ways.
As for Lorenzo Musetti, he is one of the favorites for this tournament. After his magnificent fortnight at Wimbledon, which included a logical defeat by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, the Italian will be keen to keep up the momentum and build up as much confidence as possible! His ability to play well on clay is well known, and he could well win his second title on this surface.
Our ATP Umag prediction: Lorenzo Musetti reaches the final
ATP Kitzbühel: Argentinians out in force on Austrian soil!
Sebastian Baez defied the odds last season to win this tournament in Kitzbühel. He dominated compatriot Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Dominic Thiem. He even dominated the final, dropping just 4 games to the French Open finalist. The two men could meet again in the 2nd round if the Austrian defeats Thiago Agustin Tirante.
The second favorite of the tournament is Italy's Matteo Berrettini. The former world number 7 has had a long break over the last 2 years, following a series of injuries. However, Matteo Berrettini is on the rise, as demonstrated by his victory last week in Gstaad. He put Stefanos Tsitsipas, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Quentin Halys on his hit list. Not bad at all! This week could see him return to the top 40.
Our ATP Kitzbühel prediction: Matteo Berrettini wins quarter-table 4
WTA Iasi: Andreeva alone in the world this week?
This is the first edition of this tournament in Iasi, Romania. Russia's Mirra Andreeva is seeded number 1 and will be the overwhelming favorite to lift the trophy at the end of the week. She didn't miss a beat in her opening match, defeating Noma Noha Akugue (WTA 192nd) 6/1 6/2, unlike the seeds 2 and 4.
In fact, these two outsiders are out of the running, leaving Mirra Andreeva with a clear path to the title. The number 3 seed is Romanian Jaqueline Cristian, ranked 66th on the WTA. This is quite a gap from the Russian, who has been in the top 50 for several months and has played very well on clay this season. Her impressive streak includes a semi-final appearance at the French Open This is a royal road to her first career title at just 17 years of age.
Our WTA Iasi prediction: Mirra Andreeva wins the tournament
WTA Prague: Noskova and Siniakova sovereign on home soil?
In the city of 100 spires, the two Czech players, Katerina Siniakova and Linda Noskova, will be keen to shine on home soil. These two players are the tournament's headliners, and will therefore have a great opportunity to pick up valuable points. This will obviously be important in the run-up to the US Open, with the possibility of being seeded and therefore having a more favorable draw.
Linda Noskova is a 19-year-old player who made her name at the Australian Open this year, reaching the quarter-finals. Since then, her results have been more mixed, notably at the French Open and Wimbledon, where the Czech lost in the 2nd round. At last year's tournament in Prague, Linda Noskova lost in the final and will therefore have plenty of points to defend.
For her part, Katerina Siniakova has been in fine form in recent weeks, with 7 wins and 2 losses during the grass-court season. The Czech will be back on clay, where she has already won 1 challenger title this year. She will also benefit from a fairly straightforward draw, which could give her a good start to the tournament.
Our WTA Prague prediction: Katerina Siniakova wins the tournament
