The action will take place on two continents and on two different surfaces this week on the ATP Tour, with established stars competing on clay at the Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden, and on grass at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island, United States.

Casper Ruud headlines the field in Bastad as he aims to retain his title, while Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andy Murray are among those competing in Newport.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each ATP 250 event.

View Draws: Bastad | Newport

FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION

📺 TV Schedule
🎾 Watch Live On Tennis TV
📱 Follow Live Scores On ATP WTA Live
📧 Sign Up For Newsletters

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BASTAD
1) Reigning Champion Ruud: Casper Ruud will lead the field in Bastad as he aims to retain his title at the ATP 250 event. The Norwegian, who did not drop a set en route to the trophy in 2021, completed a clay-court hat-trick last July with his trophy success in Bastad followed by triumphs in Gstaad and Kitzbühel. The 23-year-old will face Francisco Cerundolo or a qualifier in his opening match.

2) Rublev Debut: Andrey Rublev arrives in Sweden aiming to capture his fourth crown of the season and second on clay, having soared to the title in Belgrade in May. The second seed holds a 29-9 record on the season, while he is 11-4 on clay. Rublev will face 2021 finalist Federico Coria or a qualifier first up on his debut in Bastad.

3) Can Thiem Build Momentum? The Austrian captured his first victory at any level for 14 months last week when he defeated countryman Filip Misolic at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Salzburg. The 28-year-old, who has struggled with injuries over the past year, will look to build on that victory and try and clinch his first tour-level win since May 2021 when he takes on Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round. This is the former World No. 3’s Bastad debut.

4) Schwartzman & Spaniards Targeting Deep Runs: Diego Schwartzman, Pablo Carreno Busta and Roberto Bautista Agut will look to use their experience when they compete on the clay in Bastad. The trio, who have won 21 tour-level titles between them, have all played at the ATP 250 event before, with Schwartzman reaching the quarter-finals in 2017 and Carreno Busta in 2014 and 2018.

The Argentine Schwartzman begins against Daniel Altmaier or Elias Ymer and Carreno Busta faces former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, who enjoyed a run to the third round in Rome in May. Bautista Agut plays Ruusuvuori or Thiem.

5) Rune & Musetti Aiming For More Clay Success: #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune has enjoyed a standout season, climbing to a career-high No. 29 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, while he clinched his maiden tour-level title on clay in Munich in April. The 19-year-old, who is third in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan, is making his second appearance in Bastad after reaching the second round last year. The Dane will open against a qualifier.

#NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti holds a 15-5 record on clay across all levels in 2022, reaching the third round at ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Madrid, before he lifted an ATP Challenger Tour title in Forli. The 20-year-old will play Laslo Djere in the first round.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN NEWPORT
1) Felix Top Seed: Canadian Auger-Aliassime will make his debut at the ATP 250 grass-court event in Newport after accepting a wild card. The 21-year-old will be aiming to bounce back from a disappointing first-round exit at Wimbledon as he looks to win his second tour-level title of the season. The top seed will face Jason Kubler or Jordan Thompson in his first match. 

World No. 9 Auger-Aliassime is the first Top 10 player to compete in Newport in the tournament’s 46-year history.

2) Murray Receives Wild Card: After 16 years, Murray will compete in Rhode Island again after receiving a wild card from the tournament. The 35-year-old, who advanced to the semi-finals in Newport in 2006 — his last appearance at the tournament — enjoyed a run to the final on grass in Stuttgart last month, before he fell in the second round at Wimbledon.

The Scot will look to make a winning start in the United States when he plays American Sam Querrey in the first round.

3) Four-Time Champion Isner: Big-serving American John Isner holds fond memories in Newport, having lifted the trophy four times. The 37-year-old, whose last victory came in 2019, made more history at Wimbledon earlier this month, breaking Ivo Karlovic’s aces record during his match against Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon. The second seed will play Peter Gojowczyk or Ugo Humbert in his opening match.

4) Bublik Strong Newport Record: Third seed Alexander Bublik will make his third appearance in Newport, having advanced to the final in 2019 and the last four in 2021. The 25-year-old, who is 6-2 at the event, holds a 6-4 record on grass this season, with his best result a run to the quarter-finals in Eastbourne. Bublik will begin against Radu Albot or Jack Sock.

5) Klaasen/Melo Top Seeds: Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo are the top seeds in the doubles draw as they aim to win their third title together, and their first since 2015. The South African-Brazilian tandem will face competition from second seeds Hans Hach Verdugo and Hunter Reese and third seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow. The fourth seeds are Will Blumberg, who lifted the trophy with Jack Sock last year, and Steve Johnson.

Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell went the distance for the fifth time this fortnight to claim their maiden Grand Slam title in Saturday’s Wimbledon final. The Aussies, who saved eight match points across two matches in reaching the championship match, recovered an early break in the fifth set against Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in a thrilling 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(10-2) victory.

Pavic, who was playing exclusively with his dominant left hand due to a fractured right wrist, put forth a valiant effort alongside his fellow Croatian, but the second seeds fell just short in their bid to retain the Wimbledon title.

After receiving the runner-up trophy, Mektic gave full credit to the Australians.

“It is tough, really, 7-6 in the fifth,” he said. “I have to congratulate the guys for this title. They had an amazing tournament, they came back so many times. They defended some match points and here once again they came back from 2-1 [down] with their good level.”

The moment 🇦🇺 @MaxPurcell98 & @mattebden 🇦🇺 claimed the title! 👀🏆

🎥: @Wimbledon | #Wimbledon

pic.twitter.com/R4UMXXtdM7

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 9, 2022

The victory for Ebden/Purcell will be even sweeter after they were turned back in the Australian Open final in January at their home Grand Slam. On their title run, they won five five-set matches and two fifth-set tie-breaks, saving three match points in the opening round and another five in the semi-finals. Across six matches this fortnight, they twice battled back from two sets down; they fought back from at least one set down in four matches.

In Saturday’s title-deciding tie-break, a Purcell return winner clipped the line to open up a double mini-break lead at 5-2, and another made it 9-2 as the Aussies sprinted through the finish line. An Ebden ace — the team’s fifth of the match — sealed the deal after four hours, 11 minutes, leading the Australians to celebrate with a synchronized fall to the Centre Court turf.

While the Australians did not need to save a match point on Centre Court, they did save two break points on the Purcell serve at 4-4 in the fifth set. After some untimely unforced errors piled on the pressure, Purcell saved the first chance with a wicked backhand dipper and the second with a 130-mph serve, the fastest of the match. That escape prevented Pavic, who was not broken in the contest, from serving for the title.

Bidding to become the first repeat Wimbledon men’s doubles champions since 2008-09 (Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic), the Croatians were two games away with Mektic serving at 4-3 in the fifth. But Ebden/Purcell, who had started to lock in on return, broke Mektic for the second time in as many sets to restore parity.

After the opening two sets passed without a break of serve, one was enough to claim the third and fourth, with the Aussies roping three clean winners in a row en route to breaking for the set at 4-5 in the fourth. They finished with two breaks on seven opportunities, while the Croatians were two-of-nine on their break chances.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic carried a 13-match winning streak into the Wimbledon final. Photo Credit: Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images

Pavic revelaled after the match that he fractured his wrist on a fall in the first set of the semi-final, when he and Mektic saved a match point against 2019 Wimbledon champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

“It was tough to handle those two matches,” he said. “It was tough to play. Obviously we were close. It’s a bit frustrating [when] you’re not 100%,” he said before crediting Ebden/Purcell for their fighting spirit. 

“We gave our best and we gave it a fight, so I think we can be very proud of ourselves for those two matches.”

Added Mektic: “These last two matches were probably the most emotional, the best of my life, so I’m grateful.”

The Croatians saw a 13-match win-steak ended after they entered the final on the heels of triumphs at The Queen’s Club and Eastbourne. They were also on an 11-match run at The Championships as the defending champs.

Ebden/Purcell claimed their second tour-level title of the season after an April victory in Houston.

Novak Djokovic enters the Wimbledon final as a three-time defending champion, second on the all-time wins list at The Championships with 85 match victories. But a triumph against Nick Kyrgios is not among them.

Though the pair have never met at Wimbledon, the Serbian is 0-2 in his ATP Head2Head against his final opponent. Djokovic did not claim a set — or a break of serve — in two 2017 encounters as Kyrgios was victorious in Acapulco and Indian Wells. The Aussie saved the only break point he faced across those two hard-court matches, nullifying the threat of one of the game’s all-time best returners with a combined 39 aces in four sets and a first-serve win rate above 80 per cent in each match.

Djokovic failed to live up to his career win rate of 34 per cent against first serves, posting success rates of 19 and 14 per cent in those two matches against the power of the Kyrgios delivery. The Aussie will hope to ride a similar serving performance to victory on Sunday.

“His motion for the serve is so fluid and just very quick,” Djokovic said of his next opponent after a four-set semi-final victory against Cameron Norrie. “He can hit any angle really. He tosses it forward so he can come in, serve and volley. He puts himself in a great position to be aggressive or to stay back. But he’s always one metre in front of the baseline.

“On grass I would assume it’s even tougher to read his serve and to return because he has so many free points. You could see that throughout this tournament, as well. He just puts additional pressure on your serve. He moves well. He’s got great hands. So [he’s a] very complete player.”

Djokovic has been back to his best on return this fortnight, though he has yet to face an opponent of Kyrgios’ serving caliber. His 32 and 59 per cent win rates against first serve and second serves, respectively, comfortably outpace Kyrgios’ marks of 28 and 49 per cent.

That may come as no surprise for the Serbian. But a look at the serving statistics for both men provide more good news for Djokovic.

Despite hitting 50 aces to the Australian’s 120, the top seed has backed up his serve more effectively than his unseeded opponent. His win rates of 82 and 56 per cent on first and second serve compare favourably to Kyrgios’ 78 and 53 per cent.

Behind his booming serve, Kyrgios will seek to keep the points short in Sunday’s final. The Australian has won just fewer than half of points in rallies longer than four balls, while Djokovic has been consistently strong in rallies of all lengths, winning at least 56 per cent of short, medium and long exchanges.

The Serbian will aim to drag his opponent into long rallies and long service games. Kyrgios has posted an impressive 82 per cent save rate on break points, but Djokovic will be confident of a better conversion rate on the chances he creates in the final. 

While Kyrgios saved eight of nine break points in his quarter-final win against Cristian Garin with clutch serving, such moments will carry more weight in a Grand Slam final — particularly with Djokovic across the net.

“I’ve never been here before,” Kyrgios said of reaching the title match. “That’s where Djokovic has the advantage from the get-go. He can draw from experience, he’s done it so many more times, he knows the emotions he’s going to be feeling. I don’t know that. I don’t know anything like that,” he said in his pre-final presser.

He also shared that he had “a shocking sleep” after learning that Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal put him into the final.

“I feel like I’m just a reckless ball of energy right now. I just want to go out on the practice court now and hit some tennis balls and just talk. I don’t know. I want it to come already. Yeah, I want the final to come already… I know that I have to kind of just calm down.”

As the unseeded underdog’s nerves settle, he will benefit from clarity of thought and confidence with regard to his game plan thanks to his fruitful history against Djokovic. But he’ll also know that his third meeting with the Serbian will be his toughest yet.