An action-packed February on the ATP Tour next week sees Rio de Janeiro, Doha and Marseille host some of the world’s top players.

The season’s first ATP 500 action on clay takes place at the Rio Open presented by Claro, where defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Cameron Norrie and Lorenzo Musetti lead the field.

Meanwhile a pair of ATP 250 events — one outdoors and one indoors — also feature a host of top names. Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev are the top seeds under the Doha sun at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, while Hubert Hurkacz and Jannik Sinner headline under the roof at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each event.

View Draws: Rio de Janeiro | Doha | Marseille

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN RIO DE JANEIRO
1) Alcaraz Defending Champ: The then-World No. 29 Alcaraz’s run to his maiden ATP 500 crown at the Rio Open presented by Claro a year ago was the first of five titles in 2022 for the Spaniard, who became the youngest No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history just seven months after his triumph in Brazil.

He returns to the Jockey Club Brasileiro this year as the World No. 2 and top seed. Recent injuries forced Alcaraz to stop competing for more than three months prior to the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. But the 19-year-old will look to continue his return to top form in the first round against 22-year-old Brazilian wild card Mateus Alves.

2) Can Norrie, Musetti Back Up Clay Success?: Both second seed Norrie and third seed Musetti lifted their maiden ATP Tour trophies on clay in 2022, in Lyon and Hamburg, respectively. Norrie, who will compete in another final on the surface in Buenos Aires on Sunday, takes on a qualifier first up in Rio, as will Musetti.

3) Former Winners Eye Rio Repeat: Prior to Alcaraz, the four champions in Rio were Cristian Garin (2020), Laslo Djere (2019), Diego Schwartzman (2018) and Dominic Thiem (2017). All four are back in Brazil seeking another success this year. Thiem opens against home favourite Thiago Monteiro and could play Norrie in the second round.

4) Bellucci Says Goodbye: A legend of Brazilian tennis, Thomaz Bellucci will bring his professional career to a close this week in Rio. The 35-year-old, who made his ATP Tour debut in 2008, lifted four tour-level titles and reached a career-high No. 21 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2010, making him the second-highest ranked Brazilian of all time after former World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten. Bellucci will play sixth seed Sebastian Baez in the first round and partner Monteiro in doubles. 

5) Home Hopes Seek Doubles Glory: Each of the top two seeded pairings in Rio contain a home favourite. Rafael Matos and his Spanish partner David Vega Hernandez, who lifted four ATP Tour titles together in 2022, are the top seeds, while Marcelo Melo and Colombian Juan Sebastian Cabal are seeded second. Defending champions Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini are seeded third.

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN DOHA
1) Rublev Top Seed: The 25-year-old Rublev holds fond memories of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he reached his maiden tour-level hard-court final in 2018 and lifted the trophy in 2020. The Top 10 star will seek to bounce back quickly from his early defeat to Alex de Minaur in Rotterdam when he takes on Tallon Griekspoor or Quentin Halys in his opening match at the Khalifa International Stadium.

2) Felix, Daniil Debuts: Medvedev delivered an imperious performance on Friday to end Auger-Aliassime’s Rotterdam title defence at the quarter-final stage, and the pair would meet again should they reach the semi-finals in Doha. Both players are making their debut at the ATP 250 event in Qatar, where Auger-Aliassime is seeded second and Medvedev third.

3) Can Zverev Build Big Run?: Alexander Zverev’s bid to recapture his best form after a long-term ankle injury takes the German to Doha, where he is the fourth seed on event debut.

The 25-year-old will face a tough opening test against two-time champion Andy Murray or Lorenzo Sonego. Despite a 3-5 tour-level record for 2023, the 19-time ATP Tour titlist Zverev will carry with him confidence from wins against Stan Wawrinka and Adelaide-2 champion Soonwoo Kwon in recent weeks.

4) RBA Chases Doha Hat-trick: Roberto Bautista Agut hit some red-hot form to capture his second Doha crown a year ago. The Spaniard, who also lifted the trophy in Qatar in 2019, dropped just one set in last year’s title run and is seeded fifth this time around as he seeks his ninth ATP Tour title on hard courts, and his 12th overall.

5) Mektic/Pavic Lead Doubles Field: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic began their year by clinching their 15th tour-level title as a team in Auckland. Despite a first-round exit in Rotterdam last week, the Croatians will be confident as the top seeds at an event where Pavic triumphed in 2018 alongside Oliver Marach.

Among their rivals in Doha are Australian Open finalists Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski, who are seeded second, and third seeded Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden. Bopanna is also a former champion, having won in 2020 alongside Wesley Koolhof.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MARSEILLE
1) Red-Hot Sinner: The 21-year-old Sinner has enjoyed a standout February so far on European hard courts. He lifted his seventh tour-level title in Montpellier a week ago and is set to take on Tallon Griekspoor in the Rotterdam semi-finals on Saturday night. Can the Italian, who is seeded second for the Open 13 Provence, continue that form under the roof in Marseille?

2) Hubi Top Seed: Hurkacz arrives in the south of France with a 6-4 record for the year and the Pole will be keen for a deeper run at an event where he reached the second round in 2019 and 2020. The 26-year-old Hurkacz, the top seed, is chasing his first ATP Tour title since Halle last June. He opens against home favourite Arthur Rinderknech or Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi.

3) Gasquet Leads Home Charge: The seventh-seeded Richard Gasquet, who lifted his 16th ATP Tour title in Auckland in January, is the highest-ranked of seven Frenchmen (not including qualifiers) seeking to become the first home champion in Marseille since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2017. Among the home hopes joining Gasquet in the draw are Benjamin Bonzi, Rinderknech, and #NextGenATP talents Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche.

4) Grigor, Stan Look To Make Marseille Mark: Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov is chasing his first match win on his third appearance in Marseille, but the Rotterdam semi-finalist will hope his consistent 2023 form can help break that duck this week. Another former World No. 3, Stan Wawrinka, was a quarter-finalist in 2015 and 2016 but will hope to improve his 3-4 overall event record with a deeper run this time around.

5) Frenchmen Lead Doubles Field: Edouard Roger-Vasselin is a two-time champion in Marseille, and the home favourite and Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez are the top seeds in the doubles draw. The man Roger-Vasselin won alongside in 2012, Nicolas Mahut, is seeded second with Fabrice Martin, while Belgian duo Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen are the third seeds.

Frances Tiafoe dipped his toes in the basketball world Friday when he competed in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. On Saturday, a six-time NBA All Star visited the tennis world in Buenos Aires.

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler watched Carlos Alcaraz’s semi-final win against Bernabe Zapata Miralles at the Argentina Open. Alcaraz knew who Butler was, but this was their first meeting.

“I have seen him play several times. I have a lot of respect for him, after all he is a legend of his sport, a star and to have him come to see me is a privilege.” Alcaraz said. “I thanked him and invited him to the final.”

¿Querían saber cómo tira Carlos?👀🏀

📞 @MiamiHEAT @NBALatam pic.twitter.com/iP1YQldVE3

— Argentina Open (@ArgentinaOpen) February 18, 2023

The World No. 2 enjoys basketball and tries to keep up depending where he is in the world.

“Sometimes with the time in Spain it is complicated but yes. Miami, the Lakers, some others, there are several teams that I like a lot,” Alcaraz said. “I also like to play it and I’m not bad at it.”

^{Photo Credit: Argentina Open/Sergio Llamera}
The 19-year-old did not know Butler was coming until the last moment, when the management agency they share let him know. The pair shot hoops after the Spaniard’s victory.

“For me it’s something new to meet personalities like that,” Alcaraz said. “I don’t see myself at that level and for me it [was], ‘Look, there’s Jimmy Butler!’”

Carlos Alcaraz missed four months due to injury, but he has picked up where he left off.

The Spaniard advanced to the Argentina Open final on Saturday when he cruised past countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 6-2 in 77 minutes. The top seed will try to secure his first title of 2023 in his first tournament since last year’s Rolex Paris Masters.

“It’s a really special moment for me,” Alcaraz said. “I was a little bit down after the injury, so I had to recover in those four months the confidence and the rhythm. Coming back for my first tournament of 2023 and making the final is so special for me.”

The 19-year-old knows he will face a tough challenger in the championship clash against second seed Cameron Norrie. The Spaniard leads their ATP Head2Head series 3-1, but Norrie claimed their most recent meeting last year in Cincinnati.

“I played a couple of times against him. [He is] a really, really tough player,” Alcaraz said. “I know that I have to give everything I have in the final. I’m going to say it’s going to be a really tough final, but at the same time a beautiful one.”

Despite losing a set in his first match of the tournament against Laslo Djere, Alcaraz has gained momentum on the Argentina clay. A winner in Rio de Janeiro last year, Alcaraz will try to add another South American crown to his trophy case. 

After one point early in the second set, Alcaraz hit an open-stance backhand winner up the line on the full stretch. Zapata Miralles threw his hands up in disbelief, knowing his opponent was finding an answer for all the questions he was asking with his own game.

Alcaraz was relentless with his pressure from the baseline, punishing every ball that did not drive him back. He won 55 per cent of his return points and broke serve five times.

^{Photo Credit: Argentina Open/Sergio Llamera}
Norrie is also finding his clay-court footing in Buenos Aires. The second seed advanced to the final with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas.

“It’s going to be a tough one for sure regardless of who I play,” Norrie said before knowing Alcaraz will be his opponent. “I lost a tough final in Auckland, so hopefully I can get some good feelings back tomorrow in the final.”

Norrie needed three sets to battle through his first two matches of the week at the ATP 250. However, the lefty raised his level in the semi-finals against a gritty foe in Varillas, who reached a career-high No. 94 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in January.

The Peruvian rallied the crowd to his side and clawed back deficits throughout the match, saving two set points when serving at 4-5 in the opening set and another at 5-6. But Norrie, who has team members from Argentina, never let slip his focus. He saved two break points in the final game to triumph after one hour and 54 minutes. 

Miomir Kecmanovic was made to work at the Delray Beach Open on Saturday to reach his third ATP Tour final. But work the Serbian did, rallying past 2019 champion Radu Albot 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-2.

“I was a little bit nervous throughout the match,” Kecmanovic said. “But luckily I was able to stay calm when it mattered, play good and I’m happy I was able to come through.”

Kecmanovic and Albot were both seeking their 100th tour-level victory in the semi-final. Despite trailing by a break in the third set, it was Kecmanovic who was steadier in the crucial moments to triumph after two hours and 28 minutes.

“It feels awesome,” the 23-year-old Kecmanovic said of reaching 100 wins. “It’s crazy that I’ve been able to do that relatively quickly, so I’m pretty happy about that, proud. Hopefully I’ll have a few more.”

The fourth seed will be fully focussed on securing win No. 101 on Sunday against top seed Taylor Fritz or Mackenzie McDonald. Kecmanovic secured his first ATP Tour title three years ago in Kitzbühel and reached another final in 2019 in Antalya.

Jannik Sinner delivered a flawless serving performance on Saturday to defeat home wild card Tallon Griekspoor and reach the championship match at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam.

The Italian did not face a break point in his 7-5, 7-6(5) semi-final victory against the World No. 61 at the indoor ATP 500 event. Although Griekspoor competed fiercely in a richly entertaining encounter packed with clean baseline hitting and some deft volleying, Sinner’s ability to take his chances ultimately proved decisive.

“I felt a lot of pressure today,” acknowledged Sinner, when asked about how it felt taking on home favourite Griekspoor. “I’m very happy with how I handled it, it was not easy from my side. I tried to play aggressive tennis. Sometimes I managed to do it, sometimes not, but this is part of the game.

“I’m very happy with how I played the tie-break also… [I’m] very happy to be again in a final, and tomorrow is obviously going to be a tough, tough challenge.”

The World No. 14, who has only been broken three times across his four matches this week at the Rotterdam Ahoy, converted the only break point of the match in the 12th game to claim the opening set and then held his nerve to claim a high-quality second-set tie-break. It was a seventh tour-level victory in a row for Sinner, who last week in Montpellier claimed his seventh ATP Tour title.

For the 21-year-old to extend his winning streak to eight matches, he will have to beat Daniil Medvedev for the first time in Sunday’s championship match in the Netherlands. The sixth-seeded Medvedev, who leads Sinner 4-0 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series, earlier eased past Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2 to reach his 28th tour-level final.

“He is very solid, he serves well,” said Sinner, when asked about the challenge of taking on Medvedev. “To break him is very tough, and I need to serve very carefully and very bravely. I will have a chat with my team, and hopefully I can improve on the past meetings.”

Griekspoor had beaten eighth seed Alexander Zverev en route to his maiden ATP 500 semi-final in Rotterdam, a run that had home fans wondering if the 25-year wait for a Dutch champion might be about to end.

Although the 26-year-old was unable to find a way past Sinner on Saturday, he is nonetheless up 21 spots to No. 40 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his exploits in his homeland.

A decade ago, Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini lifted the Argentina Open trophy for the first time. On Sunday, the Italians will have a chance to do so again.

The third seeds advanced to the Buenos Aires final on Saturday when they eliminated Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner and Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 7-5. They will face Nicolas Barrientos and Ariel Behar for the trophy.

Bolelli and Fognini have not lost a set en route to the championship clash. In the semi-finals they won 88 per cent of their first-serve points and broke serve four times.

If the Italians triumph in the final, it will not be the first time they lift the trophy at a tournament at least 10 years apart. They also won in Umag 11 years apart, in 2011 and 2022.

Bopanna/Ebden Into Rotterdam Final
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden lost their first two matches together this season, but the Indian-Australian duo has found form this week in Rotterdam. On Saturday they defeated Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4, 6-4 to reach the ABN AMRO Open final.

Bopanna and Ebden were pushed to a Match Tie-break by Australian Open finalists Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski in the first round. Since, they have earned straight-sets victories against fourth seeds Lloyd Glasspool/Harri Heliovaara and now Krawietz/Puetz.

Arevalo/Rojer Battle Into Delray Beach Championship Clash
Reigning Roland Garros champions Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer advanced to the Delray Beach Open final on Saturday with a 6-3, 5-7, 10-6 win against Robert Galloway and John-Patrick Smith.

Two years ago, Arevalo and Rojer made their team debut in Delray Beach. In 2022, they claimed their first Grand Slam title together and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals.

Dialled-in defence and and a cool head at key moments have been the basis of Daniil Medvedev’s run at the ABN AMRO Open this week. Saturday’s semi-final clash against Grigor Dimitrov proved to be no exception.

The sixth seed delivered a comprehensive 6-1, 6-2 victory in 82 minutes against the Bulgarian to reach the final at the indoor hard-court tournament in Rotterdam for the first time. Medvedev was typically relentless from the baseline and converted six of 13 break points to reach his first tour-level championship match since he claimed the title in Vienna last October.

A match featuring several marathon exchanges threatened to become more complicated for Medvedev when Dimitrov recovered from 0-2 in the second set to earn three break points at 2-2, 0/40. The World No. 11 shut any potential comeback down in style, however, dropping just four more points in the match en route to increasing his ATP Head2Head series lead against Dimitrov to 5-2.

Court, covered 🫡

These two are getting the steps in today…
⁰@abnamroopen | #abnamroopen pic.twitter.com/6mI6WtOtx5

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 18, 2023

“It was an amazing match,” said Medvedev afterwards. “The score [looks] easy, but the match was not. I felt physically like I was playing five sets. [There were] some amazing rallies. It was 2-2, 0/40 for him in the second [set], so [I am happy] to manage to win it 6-2, just raise my level a little bit on serve and manage to keep consistent… He made a few more errors than he needed to make, and I’m happy with my level.”

The win lifted Medvedev one spot to No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He could rise one place further to No. 9 with victory in his 28th tour-level championship match on Sunday against Jannik Sinner or home wild card Tallon Griekspoor.

“It would be amazing [to win here],” said the former World No. 1 and 15-time tour-level titlist. “Every time I come here, and I think it is my fifth time here, everywhere there are photos of the winners and their names.

“I don’t remember who won it first time, but then Arthur Ashe won it [twice]. Then [others including] McEnroe, Borg, Edberg, and I’m like ‘Well, that tournament has a history for sure’. To add my name there would be amazing, but for this I need to play well in the final.”

Have you ever wondered how ATP players think the season will unfold and which of their peers they believe is due for a standout year or to crack the Top 10?

Last week we learned that Rafael Nadal, Jack Draper, and Thanasi Kokkinakis believe that Jannik Sinner will claim his first ATP Masters 1000 title this season. What will other say in part two of the fun 2023 predictions series? ATP sat down with Cameron Norrie, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Diego Schwartzman, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Alexander Zverev to get their thoughts.

Norrie cracked a smile when he said, “I want to make some decent predictions and not just wing it!” when asked who will make their Top 10 debut this year.

According to the Briton and Diego Schwartzman, Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who is No. 20 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is due to climb even higher. Frances Tiafoe, World No. 15, was also a popular choice among players.

Norrie and the Argentine Schwartzman must think alike as they again agreed that Rublev will win his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown this season. With a big smile across his face, Rublev shared, “I’ve never won a Masters 1000 yet, but hopefully I can win at least one some day, some year, some life!”

When players were asked who will triumph at this year’s Grand Slam events, last year’s US Open semi-finalist Tiafoe said, “I feel like I’ve got some unfinished business!” as he predicted himself to lift the trophy at Flushing Meadows.

Watch the full video to hear all the players’ predictions for the year, and share your predictions with us on the ATP Tour’s social media channels.