The 2023 grass season kicks off this week on the ATP Tour as ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Stuttgart each host an ATP 250 event from 12-18 June.
Daniil Medvedev headlines the draw at the Libema Open, where he reached the championship match last year, with Jannik Sinner among his rivals in the Netherlands. At the BOSS OPEN, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and the returning Nick Kyrgios are among those seeking to deny Matteo Berrettini emerging from the field to seal his third Stuttgart crown.
ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH
1) Medvedev Eyes Fast Start On Grass: After sealing a clay-court breakthrough with his maiden title on that surface in Rome, Medvedev seeks to transfer his renowned hard-court prowess to the grass at the Libema Open. In 2022, the 27-year-old reached the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch before he was undone by surprise home winner Tim van Rijthoven. Can the World No. 2 go one step further this year?
2) Second Seed Sinner: Sinner remains relatively inexperienced on grass, having played only nine tour-level matches on the surface, but his run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year showed the Italian has plenty of grass-court potential. He returns to ‘s-Hertogenbosch for the first time since 2019, when he suffered a first-round defeat as a qualifier.
3) Home Favourite To Rule Again?: With reigning champion Van Rijthoven and the No. 1-Dutch player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Botic van de Zandschulp, both absent due to injury, Tallon Griekspoor spearheads the home charge in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The World No. 39 is seeded sixth for his third appearance at the event, where Richard Krajicek and Sjeng Schalken are the other Dutchmen to have triumphed.
4) Raonic Returns: The former World No. 3 Milos Raonic competes for the first time since July 2021 after a series of injury issues. The 32-year-old Canadian, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2016, takes on Serbian fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic in his comeback match.
5) Koolhof/Skupski Defend Title: Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski lead the doubles field in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where the Dutch-British pairing seeks to defend its 2022 crown. The top seeds’ rivals as they chase a first title of the year include second seeds Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer and Australian Open champions Rinky Hijikata/Jason Kubler.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN STUTTGART
1) Tsitsipas Top Seed: The World No. 5 Tsitsipas returns for a second appearance at the BOSS OPEN, where the Greek is chasing his first title of 2023. A quarter-finalist last year on event debut, the Greek will hope to build on a solid European clay-court swing during which he reached at least the last eight at all five events he played.
2) Berrettini Targets Stuttgart Hat-trick: The seventh-seeded Berrettini seeks to maintain his unbeaten record in Stuttgart. The 27-year-old, who missed Roland Garros due to injury, lifted the title on both his previous appearances in south-west Germany (2019 and 2022). Last year, he battled to three of his four victories in three sets, including the championship match against Andy Murray.
3) Kyrgios Comeback: The World No. 26 Kyrgios competes in singles for the first time since Tokyo last October. The 28-year-old, a two-time semi-finalist in Stuttgart, went 12-3 on grass in 2022, including a run to his maiden major final at Wimbledon. The Australian faces Chinese star Wu Yibing, playing his first professional match on grass, in the first round.
4) Grass Court Threats: Like Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz enjoyed success on the grass in 2022. The World No. 8 Fritz, a two-time ATP Tour champion on the surface (Eastbourne 2019, 2022) is the second seed for his first appearance in Stuttgart since 2018. Hurkacz, who is chasing his first match win in three appearances at the event, won his maiden ATP 500 title on grass in Halle last year.
5) Ebden/Bopanna Top Seeds: Matthew Ebden competes on grass for the first time since he lifted the 2022 Wimbledon title alongside Max Purcell. The Australian and his partner Rohan Bopanna are the top seeds in Stuttgart. where Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are the second seeds: The latter is defending his title in Germany after he triumphed alongside Hurkacz a year ago.
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