The last matches prior to the French Open will be played on Saturday, with finals taking place in Hamburg and Geneva. It’s Tommy Paul vs. Ignacio Buse at the former and Learner Tien vs. Mariano Navone at the latter.
Hamburg Open: (Q) Ignacio Buse vs. (6) Tommy Paul
Paul could have been out of this tournament in several different ways, but he will somehow find himself battling for a 500-point title on Saturday afternoon. The 26th-ranked American saved seven match points against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in round two and came back from 6-2, 3-0 down against Alex de Minaur in the semifinals. Paul, who triumphed on the red clay of Houston last month, also defeated Ethan Quinn and Daniel Altmaier during this Hamburg run.
Standing in Paul’s way of the trophy is Buse, a qualifier from Peru. The world No. 57 beat Niels McDonald and Hugo Gaston to earn his place in the main draw before ousting Flavio Cobolli, Jakub Mensik, Ugo Humbert, and Aleksandar Kovacevic. Buse is particularly dangerous on dirt, but this is his first appearance in a final at any ATP level. Asking the 22-year-old to suddenly triumph at an ATP 500 may be too tall of a task — especially against such a tough customer like Paul.
Pick: Paul in 2
Geneva Open: Mariano Navone vs. (4) Learner Tien
Navone’s presence in the Geneva final is arguably just as improbable as Paul’s in Hamburg. In the very first round, Marco Trungelliti served for the match at 7-5, 5-1, 30-15 only to see Navone storm back for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 victory. The 42nd-ranked Argentine has since been off to the races, taking out Cameron Norrie, Jaume Munar, and Rome runner-up Casper Ruud all in straight sets.
Up next for Navone on Saturday is a third showdown against Tien. The head-to-head series is tied at 1-1, with Navone prevailing 7-5, 6-4 at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters before Tien got the job done 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 this past fall in Hangzhou. Tien may not be overly experienced on the slow stuff, but he has played well this spring with a fourth-round showing in Rome and Geneva victories over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex Michelsen, and Alexander Bublik (in a third-set tiebreaker). Navone is superior on clay and is coming off a much easier semifinal match, so look for the 25-year-old to cap off his impressive run in style.
Pick: Navone in 3