Week one of the post-Wimbledon summer swing wraps up on Sunday, when Alexander Zverev battles Arthur Fils for the Hamburg title. Meanwhile, the grass-court season concludes with Marcos Giron vs. Alex Michelsen in Newport.
Hamburg Open: (1) Alexander Zverev vs. (5) Arthur Fils
Zverev has impressed this entire season–especially on clay–so it is no surprise that he is one win away from capturing back-to-back Hamburg titles. The fourth-ranked German boasts a 44-12 record for his 2024 campaign, which features a Rome Masters triumph and a runner-up performance at Roland Garros. So far this week Zverev has knocked off Jesper de Jong, Hugo Gaston, Zhizhen Zhang, and Pedro Martinez while dropping just one set to Gaston in the process.
Up next for the top seed on Sunday afternoon is a third meeting with Fils. Both of their previous encounters have gone Zverev’s way; 6-2, 6-4 in the semis of this same tournament last summer and 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 a few weeks ago on the grass of Halle. Fils has gone one step further in Hamburg this time around thanks to victories over Jaume Munar, Laso Djere, Holger Rune, and Sebastian Baez. The 20-year-old Frenchman is playing great, but the chips are stacked against him in this matchup. Zverev is on fire, has home-court advantage, and dominated last year’s head-to-head showdown in Hamburg.
Pick: Zverev in 2
Hall of Fame Open: (3) Alex Michelsen vs. (2) Marcos Giron
Michelsen is only 19 years old and is making his second appearance in Newport, but perhaps no one will be more disappointed to see this event leave the ATP calendar. With his performance this week, the American is through to his second-ever final on the main tour–and also his second in Newport. Yes, he finished runner-up last summer to Adrian Mannarino after upsetting John Isner in the semis. Michelseon is back in the championship match following defeats of Maxime Cressy, Aleksandar Kovacevic, and Reilly Opelka. The world No. 61 has not lost a single set, no set has been more competitive than 6-4, and he erased the big-serving Opelka 6-2, 6-0 on Saturday.
A beatable but formidable foe awaits in the form of Giron. Much more of a veteran on tour, the 30-year-old American is producing his best-ever season with 19 main-tour match wins. He is through to his second final of the year and third overall, most recently finishing runner-up to Tommy Paul on the indoor hard courts of Dallas. Giron is also one victory away from his first title, having beaten Benoit Paire, Alex Bolt, and Chris Eubanks–two in three sets. This match will be on Michelsen’s racket as the more offensive player, and he has also been by far the most dominant player all week long.
Pick: Michelsen in 3
