The February swing heats up in a big way this week with one of the best 500-point tournaments of the tennis season. Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have withdrawn from Rotterdam, but the field still includes Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, and Alexander Bublik. Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are playing in Dallas, while Joao Fonseca looks to defend his Buenos Aires title.
Here is a breakdown of this week’s tournaments.
ABN AMRO Open
Where: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 500
Prize money: 2,462,660 Euros
Top seed: Alex de Minaur
2025 champion: Carlos Alcaraz (not playing)
Draw analysis: De Minaur may be the No. 1 seed, but the draw did not do him any favors. He has to face Arthur Fils in the opening round before possibly meeting Stan Wawrinka in the last 16 and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. Medvedev and Ugo Humbert also find themselves in the top half of the bracket and will go head-to-head in round. In addition to De Minaur vs. Fils and Medvedev vs. Humbert, other first-round matches to watch are Tallon Griekspoor vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Bublik vs. Hubert Hurkacz. Auger-Aliassime, the No. 2 seed, just won the Montpellier event on Sunday. It was his ninth ATP title and his eighth on indoor hard courts.
Hot: Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Bublik
Cold: Alexei Popyrin, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Jan-Lennard Struff, Roberto Bautista Agut, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Arthur Fils
Quarterfinal predictions: Alex de Minaur over Botic van de Zandschulp, Ugo Humbert over Cameron Norrie, Alexander Bublik over Jaume Munar, and Felix Auger-Aliassime over Tallon Griekspoor
Semifinals: De Minaur over Humbert and Auger-Aliassime over Bublik
Final: Auger-Aliassime over De Minaur
Nexo Dallas Open
Where: Dallas, Texas
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 500
Prize money: $2,833,835
Top seed: Taylor Fritz
Defending champion: Denis Shapovalov
Draw analysis: Fritz dealt with all kinds of physical issues at the Australian Open, but the American continues to insist on playing week after week. As such, he is getting right back on the horse in Dallas — where he is on a collision course with Frances Tiafoe for the quarterfinals. Learner Tien is a possible semifinal opponent for either Fritz or Tiafoe, but the fast-rising lefty has a tough first-round test on his hands with Marin Cilic. At the bottom of the draw, Shelton will begin his week against Gabriel Diallo before potentially running into Montpellier runner-up Adrian Mannarino in round two and Tommy Paul in the last eight. Defending champion Denis Shapovalov is in a difficult section of the bracket along with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Grigor Dimitrov, and Alex Michelsen.
Hot: Ben Shelton, Learner Tien, Rafael Jodar, Ethan Quinn, Eliot Spizzirri, Michael Zheng
Cold: Frances Tiafoe, Flavio Cobolli, Grigor Dimitrov, Terence Atmane, Gabriel Diallo, Miomir Kecmanovic, Mattia Bellucci
Quarterfinal predictions: Frances Tiafoe over Brandon Nakashima, Learner Tien over Eliot Spizzirri, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina over Rafael Jodar, and Ben Shelton over Tommy Paul
Semifinals: Tien over Tiafoe and Shelton over Davidovich Fokina
Final: Tien over Shelton
Argentina Open
Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Surface: Clay
Points: 250
Prize money: $675,310
Top seed: Francisco Cerundolo
Defending champion: Joao Fonseca
Draw analysis: Luciano Darderi and Sebastian Baez are unquestionably the two hottest players in the Buenos Aires field, but they would go head-to-head in the semifinals instead of the final. They are both in the bottom half of the bracket and should have no trouble making it to the semis in what is a much weaker section than the top. No. 1 seed Francisco Cerundolo could have to beat Matteo Berrettini in the quarters and Fonseca in the semis just to make it back to the final. Fonseca defeated Cerundolo in last year’s championship match.
Hot: Luciano Darderi, Sebastian Baez
Cold: Daniel Altmaier, Matteo Berrettini, Facundo Diaz Acosta, Mariano Navone
Quarterfinal predictions: Francisco Cerundolo over Vit Kopriva, Tomas Martin Etcheverry over Joao Fonseca, Sebastian Baez over Francisco Comesana, and Luciano Darderi over Pedro Martinez
Semifinals: Cerundolo over Etcheverry and Darderi over Baez
Final: Darderi over Cerundolo