With the Sunshine Double in the rearview mirror, it’s time for the six-week buildup to 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 clay-court swing begins in Houston, Bucharest, and Marrakech, with Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Learner Tien, Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Berrettini, and Luciano Darderi among those in action.
U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship
Where: Houston, Texas
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: $700,045
Points: 250
Top seed: Ben Shelton
Defending champion: Jenson Brooksby
Draw analysis: As usual, the Houston field is loaded by 250-point standards — and compared to Bucharest and Marrakech. Shelton, Paul, Tien, and Tiafoe have byes, while Alex Michelsen and defending champ Jenson Brooksby are among the other seeded players. The potential quarterfinal lineup is especially intriguing: Shelton vs. Brooksby, Tien vs. Brandon Nakashima, Paul vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Tiafoe vs. Michelsen. Of course, none of those guys will get caught looking ahead with plenty of dangerous unseeded players in the field. Thiago Agustin Tirante could present an especially sneaky clay-court test for Brooksby in round two.
Quarterfinal predictions: Ben Shelton over Thiago Agustin Tirante, Brandon Nakashima over Learner Tien, Tommy Paul over Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and Frances Tiafoe over Coleman Wong
Semifinals: Nakashima over Shelton and Paul over Tiafoe
Final: Paul over Nakashima
Tiriac Open
Where: Bucharest, Romania
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 612,620 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Sebastian Baez
Defending champion: Marton Fucsovics
Draw analysis: When the top two seeds are Gabriel Diallo and Adrian Mannarino, you know the quality of a tournament is more along the lines of a 175-point Challenger rather than an ATP 250. Neither Diallo nor Mannarino is skilled on clay, making this event even more wide open. The Frenchman is especially hopeless on the slow stuff, so he will likely exit the draw right away as Sebastian Baez waltzes into at least the semifinals. The top half of the bracket looks a bit more difficult on paper, as Diallo is joined by Nuno Borges, Mariano Navone, and Botic van de Zandschulp. Given the surface, Diallo would normally be expected to lose right away at the hands Matteo Arnaldi — but Arnald is ice cold these days.
Quarterfinal predictions: Mariano Navone over Gabriel Diallo, Nuno Borges over Botic van de Zandschulp, Fabian Marozsan over Pedro Martinez, and Sebastian Baez over Otto Virtanen
Semifinals: Navone over Borges and Baez over Marozsan
Final: Baez over Navone
Grand Prix Hassan II
Where: Marrakech, Morocco
Surface: Clay
Prize money: 612,620 Euros
Points: 250
Top seed: Luciano Darderi
Defending champion: Luciano Darderi
Draw analysis: Darderi is currently a top-20 player for one reason and one reason only: dominance in clay-court 250s. The Argentine has won five titles in his career, all of the 250-point variety on clay. Last season he got the job done at this same Marrakech tournament and eventually lifted two more trophies in Bastad and Umag. Darderi has remained in fine form this year with a triumph in Santiago, so he has to be considered the favorite in Marrakech. The top seed’s draw is extremely favorable, although potential quarterfinal opponent Yannick Hanfmann is a solid clay-courter. In the bottom half of the bracket, unseeded entrants such as Berrettini, Rafael Jodar, and Hamad Medjedovic could do some damage.
Quarterfinal predictions: Luciano Darderi over Yannick Hanfmann, Corentin Moutet over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Rafael Jodar over Hamad Medjedovic, and Matteo Berrettini over Hugo Gaston
Semifinals: Darderi over Moutet and Berrettini over Jodar
Final: Darderi over Berrettini