The U.S. hard-court summer gets underway this week with the final installment of the Atlanta Open, while the post-Wimbledon clay swing is still going strong in Umag and Kitzbuhel with the Paris Olympics on the immediate horizon. Even though these three tournaments conflict with the festivities at Roland Garros, they still boast an impressive list of players. Among those in action are Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov, Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti, and Dominic Thiem. 

Here are my previews and picks for this week’s ATP events.  

Atlanta Open

Where: Atlanta, Georgia  
Surface: Hard  
Prize money: $756,020 
Points: 250  

Top seed: Ben Shelton 
2023 champion: Taylor Fritz (not playing) 

Draw analysis: The top half of the Atlanta bracket is especially strong, home to Shelton, Shapovalov, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Jordan Thompson, Borna Coric, and Jerry Shang. Intriguing first-round showdowns include Davidovich Fokina vs. Arthur Cazaux, Shapovalov vs. David Goffin, and Coric vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis. Shelton vs. Shapovalov is a potential quarterfinal pairing and would be a rematch of the recent Wimbledon third round, won by the American in five sets. However, Shelton’s opener will likely be against Shang–who beat him in both Atlanta and Washington, D.C. back-to-back last summer.

On the other side of the draw sits Tiafoe, who picked up some much-needed momentum by pushing eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz to five sets at the All-England Club. Tiafoe could open with Aslan Karatsev in round two before possibly running into Brandon Nakashima in the quarters. As for a struggling Adrian Mannarino, the No. 2 seed, he will likely kick off his week against 2023 Atlanta runner-up Aleksandar Vukic. 

Hot: Jordan Thompson, Brandon Nakashima 

Cold: Adrian Mannarino, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Aslan Karatsev, Mackenzie McDonald 

Quarterfinal predictions: Ben Shelton over Denis Shapovalov, Jordan Thompson over Arthur Cazaux, Brandon Nakashima over Frances Tiafoe, and Lloyd Harris over Aleksandar Vukic 

Semifinals: Shelton over Thompson and Nakashima over Harris 

Final: Shelton over Nakashima 

Plava Laguna Croatia Open

Where: Umag, Croatia  
Surface: Clay  
Prize money: 579,320 Euros  
Points: 250  

Top seed: Andrey Rublev 
Defending champion: Alexei Popyrin 

Draw analysis: Rublev has won the Umag title before, and he did so as a lucky loser. Fast forward seven years and the Russian certainly isn’t a lucky loser now; in fact, he is the top seed. However, Rublev heads into this week in a significant slump and can’t be considered the tournament favorite. He may not even make it out of the quarterfinals, where potential opponents are Tomas Machac, Thiago Monteiro, Fabian Marozsan, and Alexander Shevchenko. The top half of the bracket also includes No. 4 seed Francisco Cerundolo. 

The other side of the bracket is especially intriguing with the presence of Musetti and Mariano Navone. Musetti is coming off a semifinal run at Wimbledon; Navone lost in the Bastad quarterfinals this past week after a three-hour and 59-minute battle against Rafael Nadal. Musetti and Navone are on a collision course for the quarterfinals, with the winner possibly to face Holger Rune or Luciano Darderi. 

Hot: Lorenzo Musetti, Mariano Navone, Tomas Machac, Duje Ajdukovic 

Cold: Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune 

Quarterfinal predictions: Tomas Machac over Andrey Rublev, Francisco Cerundolo over Lorenzo Sonego, Luciano Darderi over Fabio Fognini, and Lorenzo Musetti over Flavio Cobolli 

Semifinals: Machac over Cerundolo and Musetti over Cobolli 

Final: Musetti over Machac

 
 
Generali Open

Where: Kitzbuhel, Austria 
Surface: Clay  
Prize money: 579,320 Euros  
Points: 250 

Top seed: Sebastian Baez 
Defending champion: Sebastian Baez 

Draw analysis: Thiem is making his final appearance in front of the home crowd in Kitzbuhel before retiring at the end of 2024. The 30-year-old, who captured the title in 2019, has been unable to come all the way back from wrist surgery in the summer of 2021. Given his own struggles and the draw, he will be hard pressed to make a run in his swansong. Bastad quarterfinalist Thiago Agustin Tirante is up first and No. 1 seed Sebastian Baez would be next. The top half of the draw also features Bastad champion Nuno Borges and No. 7 seed Roberto Carballes Baena. 

Nowhere is the bracket tougher, though, than at the very bottom. Second seed Alejandro Tabilo has been on fire this summer, but his opener will likely come against Matteo Berrettini–who lifted the Gstaad trophy on Sunday. Solid clay-courters Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Sebastian Ofner, and Yannick Hanfmann could also be factors on that side of the bracket. 

Hot: Sebastian Baez, Alejandro Tabilo, Sebastian Ofner, Nuno Borges, Matteo Berrettini, Thiago Agustin Tirante 

Cold: Dominic Thiem, Laslo Djere, Marton Fucsovics 

Quarterfinal predictions: Sebastian Baez over Roberto Carballes Baena, Facundo Diaz Acosta over Lukas Klein, Tomas Martin Etcheverry over Laslo Djere, and Alejandro Tabilo over Sebastian Ofner 

Semifinals: Baez over Diaz Acosta and Etcheverry over Tabilo 

Final: Etcheverry over Baez