With the Sunshine Double in the rearview mirror, it’s time to wrap up six weeks at the French Open. It will heat up in the not too distant future with three Masters 1000 events, but for now the schedule consists of three ATP 250s. This upcoming rotation of the clay court starts in Houston, Bucharest, and Marrakech, with Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Student Tien, Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Berrettini, and Luciano Darderi among those working.
US Men’s Clay Court Championship
WhereLocation: Houston, Texas
The face: Clay
Prize MoneyPrice: $700,045
Points: 250
Top seeds: Ben Shelton
The defending champion: Jenson Brooksby
Draw an analysis: As always, the field in Houston is loaded with 250 points – and is compared to Bucharest and Marrakech. Shelton, Paul, Tien, and Tiafoe have byes, while Alex Michelsen and defending champion Jenson Brooksby are among the other players to lose. The potential lineup for the quarterfinals is particularly interesting: Shelton vs. Brooksby, Tien vs. Brandon Nakashima, Paul vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Tiafoe vs. Michelsen. Of course, none of these guys will be caught facing forward with a bunch of dangerous players off the field. Thiago Agustin Tirante could present a tricky clay court test for Brooksby in the second round.
Forecasts for the last quarter: Ben Shelton over Thiago Agustin Tirante, Brandon Nakashima over Student Tien, Tommy Paul over Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Frances Tiafoe over Coleman Wong
Semi-finalist: Nakashima over Shelton and Paul over Tiafoe
Finally: Paul over Nakashima
Tiriac Open
WhereLocation: Bucharest, Romania
The face: Clay
Prize moneyPrice: 612,620 Euro
Points: 250
Top seeds: Sebastian Baez
The defending champion: Marton Fucsovics
Draw an analysis: When the top two seeds are Gabriel Diallo and Adrian Mannarino, you know the quality of the tournament is more in line with the Challenger with 175 points than the ATP 250. Neither Diallo nor Mannarino is good on clay, making this event very open. The Frenchman is desperate especially in the slow stuff, so he is likely to get out of the draw as soon as Sebastian Baez reaches at least the semi-finals. The top half of the bracket looks pretty tough on paper, as Diallo is joined by Nuno Borges, Mariano Navone, and Botic van de Zandschulp. Given the position, Diallo is generally expected to lose immediately to Matteo Arnaldi – but Arnald is very cold these days.
Forecasts for the last quarter: Mariano Navone over Gabriel Diallo, Nuno Borges over Botic van de Zandschulp, Fabian Marozsan over Pedro Martinez, and Sebastian Baez over Otto Virtanen
Semi-finalist: Navone over Borges and Baez over Marozsan
Finally: Baez over Navone
Grand Prix Hassan II
WhereLocation: Marrakech, Morocco
The face: Clay
Prize moneyPrice: 612,620 Euro
Points: 250
Top seeds: Luciano Darderi
The defending champion: Luciano Darderi
Draw an analysis: Darderi is currently a top 20 player for one reason and one reason only: to dominate the clay court 250s. The Argentine has won five titles in his career, all 250 points on clay. Last season he got a job at the Marrakech tournament and ended up lifting two more trophies in Bastad and Umag. Darderi has continued his good form this year with a victory in Santiago, so he should be considered the favorite in Marrakech. The top seed draw is pretty good, though potential quarterfinalist Yannick Hanfmann is a solid clay court. In the lower half of the bracket, undrafted players like Berrettini, Rafael Jodar, and Hamad Medjedovic can do damage.
Forecasts for the last quarter: Luciano Darderi over Yannick Hanfmann, Corentin Moutet over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Rafael Jodar over Hamad Medjedovic, and Matteo Berrettini over Hugo Gaston
Semi-finalist: Darderi over Moutet and Berrettini over Jodar
Finally: Darderi over Berrettini
