Ruud Headlines Hamburg, Fritz In Atlanta, Wawrinka Competes In Umag

Another three-tournament week on the ATP Tour features action in Hamburg, Atlanta and Umag, where Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz and Stan Wawrinka compete in the respective fields.

Ruud is the top seed at the Hamburg European Open, an ATP 500 clay-court event, with Andrey Rublev and Lorenzo Musetti also in action. Fritz, Alex de Minaur and Ben Shelton headline the field at the Atlanta Open, an ATP 250 hard-court tournament, while Wawrinka and Jiri Lehecka compete on clay at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, an ATP 250.

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

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN HAMBURG
1) Top Seed Ruud: World No. 4 Ruud leads the field in Hamburg as the top seed. The Norwegian, who holds a 20-6 record on clay this season, is making his fourth appearance at the ATP 500 event in Germany, where he advanced to the semi-finals in 2020. The 24-year-old, who is into the final in Bastad, is chasing his second tour-level title of the season, having triumphed in Estoril in April.

2) Defending Champion Musetti: The Italian returns to Hamburg as the defending champion, after beating Carlos Alcaraz in a three-set final thriller 12 months ago. Musetti, whose best result this season was a semi-final appearance at the ATP 500 in Barcelona, arrives in Hamburg off the back of a run to the last four in Bastad, an ATP 250.

3) Rublev Second Seed: Former champion Rublev arrives in Hamburg chasing his second crown of the season, having clinched the biggest title of his career in Monte-Carlo in April. The 25-year-old, who begins against Bernabe Zapata Miralles, lifted the trophy at the ATP 500 event in 2020, while he reached the final in 2019.

4) #NextGenATP Stars In Action: Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche will both make their debuts in Hamburg. The 19-year-old Fils, currently fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race, clinched his first tour-level crown on clay in Lyon earlier this year. Van Assche, 19, advanced to the second round in Bastad last week and lifted an ATP Challenger Tour title on clay in April.

5) Home Favourites: Germans Alexander Zverev, Yannick Hanfmann and Daniel Altmaier will lead home hopes in Hamburg. Zverev advanced to the semi-finals at the ATP 500 in 2014 and in 2019, while Hanfmann enters having enjoyed a career-best season. The 31-year-old reached the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event on clay in Rome and the semi-finals in Santiago. Altmaier will be aiming to advance beyond the first round in Hamburg for the first time in his fifth appearance. 

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ATLANTA
1) Fritz Leads Field: Fritz will aim to re-find his best form when he competes in Atlanta. The American, who reached the title match at the ATP 250 hard-court event in 2019, has advanced to the quarter-finals at just one of his five previous events. The 25-year-old has tasted success on hard courts this year, though, lifting his fifth tour-level trophy in Delray Beach.

2) Two-Time Titlist De Minaur: Australian de Minaur has fond memories in Atlanta, where he won the title in 2019 and 2022. The 24-year-old is seeking his second trophy of this season after clinching the biggest trophy of his career on hard courts in Acapulco in March. De Minaur also advanced to the final at The Queen’s Club last month.

3) Red-Hot Eubanks: Home favourite Christopher Eubanks, who grew up in Atlanta, entered the spotlight at Wimbledon, where he upset Top 15 stars Cameron Norrie and Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. The 27-year-old American, who also clinched his first tour-level title in Mallorca earlier this month, will hope to continue his red-hot form when he makes his third appearance in Atlanta.

4) Shelton Returns: The 20-year-old Shelton was ranked outside the Top 300 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings when he competed in Atlanta last year. The American returns this year at No. 39, having enjoyed a breakthrough run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.

5) Mahut/Roger-Vasselin In Doubles Action: Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut/Edouard Roger-Vasselin lead the doubles field in Atlanta, where they will face competition from Jamie Murray/Michael Venus and Marcelo Melo/John Peers. Thanasi Kokkinakis, who won the doubles title with Nick Kyrgios last year, teams with Lloyd Harris.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN UMAG
1) Former Champion Wawrinka: Swiss star Wawrinka lifted his maiden tour-level trophy in Umag in 2006 and is back competing at the event for the first time since 2007. The 38-year-old’s best result on clay this season was a second-round appearance at Roland Garros.

2) Thiem Chasing Form: After a disappointing second-round defeat against Hamad Medjedovic in Gstaad last week, Thiem enters Umag aiming to turn a corner. The Austrian, currently 8-16 on the season, has had success at the clay-court event in the past, winning the trophy in his only previous appearance in 2015.

3) Lehecka Makes Debut: The 21-year-old competes in Umag for the first time. The Czech star, who was runner-up at the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2022, advanced to the third round on clay at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte-Carlo earlier this year. He arrives in Umag off the back of a fourth-round apperance at Wimbledon.

4) Cilic Returns: Former World No. 3 Marin Cilic competes for the first time since Pune in January. The Croatian, who has been out since the start of the year following knee surgery, is making his seventh appearance in Umag and first since 2014 when he reached the semi-finals. The 34-year-old lifted the trophy at the ATP 250 in 2012.

5) Defending Doubles Titlist Bolelli Returns: Simone Bolelli returns to Umag as the defending champion. The Italian teamed with Fabio Fognini last year but joins forces with Andrea Vavassori this week. Czech Lehecka teams with countryman Roman Jebavy.