The clay-court action takes centre stage on the ATP Tour this week, with Carlos Alcaraz leading the field at the Hamburg European Open and Casper Ruud the top seed at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad.
Former champions Andrey Rublev and Pablo Carreno Busta are also in action at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg, Germany. In Gstaad, Matteo Berrettini is competing on clay for just the second time this year at the ATP 250 tournament in Switzerland.
ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each event.
FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION
📺 TV Schedule
🎾 Watch Live On Tennis TV
📱 Follow Live Scores On ATP WTA Live
📧 Sign Up For Newsletters
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN HAMBURG
1) Alcaraz Leads Field: #NextGenATP Spaniard Alcaraz will make his debut in Hamburg, leading the field as the top seed at the ATP 500 event. The 19-year-old has enjoyed a standout 2022 season, capturing a joint Tour-leading four titles, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Miami and Madrid. The World No. 6, who holds a 19-2 record on clay in 2022, will face home wild card Nicola Kuhn in his opening match in Germany.
2) Can Rublev Continue Strong Year? Rublev has clinched three tour-level crowns in 2022 and arrives in Hamburg holding fond memories from the city. The 24-year-old triumphed there on his last appearance in 2020, edging Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. The World No. 8, who also reached the championship match at the tournament in 2019, will play Alexander Bublik first up as he looks to add to his trophy collection this week.
3) Reigning Champion Carreno Busta: Carreno Busta soared to his maiden ATP 500 trophy in Hamburg 12 months ago, not dropping a set en route to the title. The Spaniard will look to reign supreme in Germany once again and enters off the back of a run to the semi-finals in Bastad. The 31-year-old will take on #NextGenATP Italian Luca Nardi in the first round.
4) Baez & Rune Looking For Further Clay Success: Argentine Sebastian Baez and #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune lifted their maiden tour-level trophies on clay this season, with Baez triumphing in Estoril in the same week that Rune won in Munich in April. The 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals competitors both sit inside the Top 35 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and will be aiming to climb further with deep runs in Hamburg. The 21-year-old Baez opens against Filip Krajinovic, while Rune plays Tallon Griekspoor.
5) Puetz/Venus Defending Champs: New Zealander Michael Venus is…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Tennis – ATP World Tour…