Antwerp: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2) vs Diego Schwartzman (4)
While 2017 will not be remembered as a vintage season for Tsonga, this will be the fourth ATP final of the year for the Frenchman after reaching this stage in Lyon, Rotterdam, and Marseille. He came out as victor in those tournaments and will be looking for more of the same as he takes on one of this season’s surprise packages, Diego Schwartzman. The Argentine reached the final of the European Open for the second consecutive year, hoping to go one better than last time when he was defeated by Richard Gasquet. Both have had comfortable runs through the tournament, neither dropping set in any of their matches.
Tsonga has been the beneficiary of a very kind draw, not facing a seeded player at any stage. His biggest test was his quarter-final match against Julien Benneteau, surviving being down a mini-break at 5-4 in the first set tiebreak before pulling away in the second. He easily dispatched home favourite Ruben Bemelmans in the semi-final, not giving the Belgian a chance in a routine 6-3, 6-3 win.
Schwartzman came through two tricky matches on his way to the final. His performance against David Ferrer in the quarter-final was an exciting display of counterpunching tennis that a prime Ferrer would have been proud of. He also came from a break down in the second set of his semi-final against the young Greek, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas had a fantastic win against Goffin in the quarter-finals but Schwartzman used his supreme defence and movement to nullify the groundstroke threats of the future star.
Sunday’s final will be the first meeting between Tsonga and Schwartzman, the Frenchman slightly favoured with bookmakers. However, against big-hitting players in a similar mould to Tsonga, Schwartzman has excelled. Even the power of Marin Cilic was not enough to break down the defences of the Argentine during their meeting in the US Open this year. Furthermore, Tsonga has been inconsistent in recent months so it would not be a massive surprise if Schwartzman was to cause an upset.
Stockholm: Grigor Dimitrov (1) vs Juan Martin Del Potro (4)
Juan Martin Del Potro reaches the final of the Stockholm Open for the second year in a row. The 2016 edition saw him defeat Jack Sock for the title. This year the Argentine will be up against Grigor Dimitrov who has enjoyed a career best year to date, winning 3 ATP titles including his first Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. He will be looking to take some good form into the last few weeks of the season as he attempts to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time.
Del Potro is on an excellent run right now, reaching the semi-finals of the US Open and Shanghai Masters. He has continued that form in Stockholm, with straight set wins over Sugita and Struff as well as a hard-fought 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 win over Fernando Verdasco in the semis.
Dimitrov has also looked impressive in his prior rounds, not dropping a set in wins against Jerzy Janowicz, Mischa Zverev and Fabio Fognini. He did well to recover from a break down in the second set in the semi-final against Fognini. The mercurial Italian threw everything he had at Dimitrov but the Bulgarian had all the answers as came through to reach his first Stockholm final.
Del Potro leads the head-to-head, winning 5 times in comparison to Dimitrov’s 2, including in the semi-final of this event last year. However, they’ve met twice in the last few months in Cincinnati and Beijing, Dimitrov coming out on top in both of those in straight sets. Based on those two recent matches, the Bulgarian is probably a narrow favourite. Regardless of result, it’s sure to be a great match.
Moscow: Ricardas Berankis vs Damir Dzumhur (6)
The Kremlin Cup in Moscow will see a fascinating, albeit unexpected, line up for the final. Damir Dzumhur has flourished in recent weeks, winning the title in St. Petersburg and reaching the semis of Shenzhen. As a result, it doesn’t come as a major surprise that he’s been able to keep up this form in the Russian capital. Ricardas Berankis upset all the odds this week as he stormed into the final on a special exemption entry, defeating 4 higher ranked players along the way.
Berankis’ season was forced to start in May as he recovered from hip surgery. He had been playing mostly Challenger events prior to this week when he was granted a special exemption into the main draw. 4 impressive wins later, he reaches only his second ATP Tour final and the first since 2012. The Lithuanian has played with a new lease of life in Moscow, battling hard for every point. Come-from-behind victories over Adrian Mannarino and Filip Krajinovic were indicative of the fighting spirit that Berankis possesses.
Dzumhur is no slouch when it comes to effort on court either. The 5’9 Bosnian has made his name as a tenacious competitor since his breakthrough onto the main tour. He has had no shortage of difficult tests in this tournament; his semi-final against compatriot Mirza Basic the only match not going to a third set.
Berankis actually leads the head to head between these two, winning on three occasions out of four meetings. That said, Dzumhur won their most recent clash, winning in straight sets in the 2016 Delray Beach first round. Dzumhur’s superior form and quality on the tour in 2017 makes him a heavy favourite to win his second ATP title on Russian soil but, as we’ve seen in all of Berankis’ matches this week, he is more than capable of going into a match as an underdog and come out on top.
