The final week of preparation for the Australian Open includes the ASB Classic, an ATP 250 tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. Ben Shelton leads the way as the No. 1 seed, followed by fellow first-round bye recipients Casper Ruud, Jakub Mensik, and Luciano Darderi.
It is an extremely deep field, especially by 250-point standards. The draw also includes No. 5 seed Cameron Norrie, No. 6 Alex Michelsen, defending champion Gael Monfils, 2024 champion Alejandro Tabilo, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Jenson Brooksby, and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Shelton could face either Brooksby or an in-form Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinals before potentially running into Darderi, Michelsen, or Tabilo.
On the other side of the bracket, Ruud’s opening match could come against Monfils; Menik’s opening opponent is likely to be current Brisbane semifinalist Aleksandar Kovacevic. An intriguing first-round matchup pits Mpetshi Perricard against Bautista Agut, with the winner possibly to meet Norrie.