After the hard-court action of the ‘Sunshine Double’, the ATP Tour returns to clay this week as Estoril, Houston and Marrakech host a trio of ATP 250 events from 3-9 April.
Casper Ruud is the top seed at the Millennium Estoril Open, where the Norwegian is looking to kick-start his season with a deep run in Portugal. Home favourites Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul lead the field at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, while Lorenzo Musetti headlines the draw at the only ATP Tour event on the African continent, the Grand Prix Hassan II.
ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.
View Draws: Estoril | Houston | Marrakech
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ESTORIL
1) Ruud To Find Form?: Ruud’s hunt for consecutive tour-level wins in 2023 goes on after he won just a match apiece in Indian Wells and Miami. The World No. 4 will hope that the switch to clay, the surface on which he has won eight of his nine ATP Tour titles, can be the catalyst for improved results.
Ruud is the top seed on event debut at the Millennium Estoril Open, where he opens against Giulio Zeppieri or 2018 champion and home favourite Joao Sousa, as he looks to improve his 5-6 record for the season.
2) Hubi Targets Clay Success: In stark contrast to Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz has won none of his six tour-level titles on clay. The Pole will nonetheless be confident of making his mark as the second seed on his first Estoril appearance. He reached the quarter-finals on the surface at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid last year and is chasing his second ATP Tour trophy of the year after his Marseille triumph in February.
3) Baez Defends Crown: Sebastian Baez launched himself into the ATP Tour winners’ circle for the first time a year ago in Estoril, where he defeated Marin Cilic, Richard Gasquet and Tiafoe en route to the title. The Argentine is seeded fourth for his title defence and is the only player in the draw to have already lifted a tour-level clay-court trophy in 2023, after his triumph at home in Cordoba in February.
4) Shelton Makes Red Clay Debut: Ben Shelton is a rare anomaly on the ATP Tour. The #NextGenATP American has broken the Top 40 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but is still yet to compete professionally on red clay.
That will all change this week in Estoril, where the eighth-seeded American takes on Constant Lestienne in the first round. The 20-year-old will hope he can adjust quickly to make a winning start on the surface and set a potential second-round clash against former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem.
5) Borges/Cabral Seek Title Repeat: Home pairing Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral surged to the doubles title in Estoril as wild cards last year, and the Portuguese are back to defend their crown at the clay-court ATP 250. Andreas Mies and Hugo Nys are the top-seeded team, with Marcelo Melo and John Peers seeded second.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN HOUSTON
1) Tiafoe, Paul Lead Field: Six of the eight seeds at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship are Americans, and they are led by Top 20 stars Tiafoe and Paul. Both are chasing their maiden tour-level title on clay in Houston, where Tiafoe reached the quarter-finals in 2022.
2) Isner Brings Big-Serving Threat: The man that ended Tiafoe’s 2022 run in Texas was John Isner. The 6’10” American went on to reach the championship match, where he was edged by the 6’11” Reilly Opelka in the tallest ATP Tour final in the Open Era.
Despite that defeat, the fourth-seeded Isner knows what it takes to triumph in Houston. He lifted the trophy there in 2013 and holds an 18-11 overall record at the only ATP Tour event in the United States contested on clay.
3) Former Champs From U.S. Eye Repeat Glory: Wild cards Jack Sock and Steve Johnson inject some serious Houston pedigree into the draw. The former World No. 8 Sock reached back-to-back finals in 2015 (when he defeated Sam Querrey to claim the title) and 2016, while Johnson lifted the trophy in 2017 and 2018.
Third seed Brandon Nakashima, fifth seed J.J. Wolf and seventh seed Marcos Giron are among the other Americans hoping to ride home support to victory in Houston.
4) In-Form Garin To Shine?: The fourth and final former champion in the draw is Cristian Garin. The Chilean, who lifted the Houston trophy in 2019, arrives at this year’s event off the back of a strong ‘Sunshine Double’. As a qualifier, the former World No. 17 reached the fourth round in Indian Wells and the third round in Miami, and he will hope to maintain that form in pursuit of his first ATP Tour title since 2021.
5) Hijikata/Kubler Top Seeds: Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler charged to the Australian Open title in thrilling fashion in January, but the duo arrives in Houston having since suffered two consecutive defeats. The Australians are the top seeds in a field that also includes home favourites Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, while 2022 doubles winner Max Purcell partners Jordan Thompson.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MARRAKECH
1) Musetti Seeks First Title Of Year: The 21-year-old Musetti is the top seed at the Grand Prix Hassan II, where the Italian is looking to reverse a downturn in his form that has seen him earn just one win in his past six tournaments. Musetti reached the quarter-finals on debut in Marrakech a year ago and will start his 2023 campaign against Hugo Gaston or Jan-Lennard Struff.
2) Evans Eyes Deep Run: The second-seeded Daniel Evans has also struggled for wins in recent weeks, but the Briton is one of the toughest competitors on Tour and will be confident of turning things around on his second Marrakech appearance. While clay is not his preferred surface, the 32-year-old’s previous achievements include a semi-final run at the 2021 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
3) Dutch Duo Among Seeded Stars: Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor are the third and fourth seeds, respectively, in Marrakech. Both have already broken new ground in 2023: Griekspoor lifted his maiden ATP Tour title in January in Pune, while Van de Zandschulp last week defeated Ruud in Miami for the first Top 5 win of his career.
4) Gasquet, Jarry Compete: Like Griekspoor, Richard Gasquet and Nicolas Jarry are chasing their second tour-level title of the season in Morocco. Auckland champion Gasquet has reached at least the quarter-finals on all three of his previous Marrakech appearances, while Santiago winner Jarry is making his tournament debut.
5) Granollers/Middelkoop Lead Doubles Field: The vastly experienced Marcel Granollers and Matwe Middelkoop, who own 38 ATP Tour titles between them, are the top seeds in Marrakech. Alexander Erler/Lucas Miedler and Jeremy Chardy/Fabrice Martin are among their rivals on the North African clay.
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