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The 2022 Hamburg European Open is one of three tournaments happening this week. The combined ATP and WTA event will be held from July 18-24, with the qualifying rounds concluding over the preceding weekend. The ATP 500 tournament on the men's side has attracted quite a few high-profile names for this edition.
Teen star Carlos Alcaraz leads the field as the top seed. The young Spaniard is having a sensational season and will look to continue his exploits here as well. Fellow top-10 player Andrey Rublev, who won the tournament in 2020, is seeded second. Diego Schwartzman is the third seed, and Pablo Carreno Busta, the defending champion, rounds out the top four seeds.
Top-30 players Botic van de Zandschulp, Karen Khachanov, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Holger Rune are also in the mix. Jannik Sinner and Gael Monfils were among the notable names to compete as well, but withdrew from the event due to their respective injuries.
With quite a stacked cast, an exciting week of tennis is set to unfold at the Hamburg European Open. On that note, here's an in-depth look at the men's draw:
Top half: Carlos Alcaraz aiming for his fifth title of the season
Seeded players: (1) Carlos Alcaraz, (4) Pablo Carreno Busta, (7) Karen Khachanov and (8) Holger Rune.
Expected semifinal: Carlos Alcaraz vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Dark horse: Sebastian Baez
Analysis: Alcaraz has been one of the most in-form players of the year so far. Having won four titles already, including three on clay, he'll be the favorite to go all the way here as well. He's up against wildcard Nicola Kuhn in the first round and it's likely to be a fairly easy start for him.
Alcaraz could meet either Sebastian Baez or Filip Krajinovic in the second round, with the former being his most likely opponent. Baez is currently a finalist at the Swedish Open and won his maiden ATP title at the Estoril Open earlier this year. The Argentine is quite at home on clay and could put up a fight against the teenager.
Karen Khachanov will take on home favorite Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round. The Russian's form has been quite up and down this year, but he did make it to the fourth round of the French Open, his previous event on clay. He's likely to meet Fabio Fognini in the second round. The winner of this clash will in all probability set up a quarterfinal date with Alcaraz.
Pablo Carreno Busta anchors the other side of the top half of the draw. The defending champion has been blessed with a relatively easy draw. He'll kick off his title defense against a qualifier and is likely to be up against Alex Molcan in the second round, with the winner advancing to the last eight.
Holger Rune had a breakout clay season earlier in the year, claiming his first career title at the BMW Open and reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open. But since his run in Paris, he has failed to win a match, losing in the first round of his next four tournaments. He'll look to end his losing skid against Tallon Griekspoor in the first round.
Should Rune win his opener, he'll take on either Laslo Djere or Borna Coric. The latter has had some decent performances since his return from surgery, but hasn't won too many matches. Considering Djere's pedigree on clay, he's likely to reach the quarterfinals from this section, where he could face Carreno Busta.
Predicted semifinal: Carlos Alcaraz vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Bottom half: Andrey Rublev seeks a second title at the Hamburg European Open
Seeded players: (2) Andrey Rublev, (3) Diego Schwartzman, (5) Botic van de Zandschulp and (6) Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Expected semifinal: Andrey Rublev vs Diego Schwartzman
Dark horse: Francisco Cerundolo
Analysis: Andrey Rublev has performed quite well at the Hamburg European Open over the years. He was a finalist in 2019 and won the title in 2020. He was unable to defend his title last year as he had to train for the Tokyo Olympics around the same time.
Rublev faces a tough opener against Alexander Bublik. However, the Kazakh is competing at the Hall of Fame Open, a grass court event in the US. He's a semifinalist there with the potential to go further. Accounting for travel and the change in surface, this contest tilts in favor of the Russian.
Rublev is likely to meet Francisco Cerundolo in the second round. The Argentine is set to contest the Swedish Open final on Sunday and could give the Russian a run for his money here as well. But if the former Hamburg champion wins here, he will find himself in the last eight.
Nikoloz Basilashvili won consecutive titles here in 2018 and 2019. He's up against Aslan Karatsev in the first round. The Russian has been subpar this season, but a quarterfinal showing at the Swedish Open recently will have boosted his confidence. The winner is likely to take on Federico Coria in the second round for a quarterfinal place.
Diego Schwartzman leads the other section of the bottom half of the draw. He's had a decent clay season, reaching a couple of finals in Buenos Aires and Rio in February. He made it to the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open recently, where he suffered a crushing 6-1, 6-0 loss to Carreno Busta.
Schwartzman is up against Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round, a winnable prospect for him. He could meet either Lorenzo Musetti or Dusan Lajovic in the second round. Neither of them have been at their best this year, so the Argentine will be the favorite to reach the last eight from this section.
Botic van de Zandschulp is having a decent season so far with some good results here and there. He'll take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the opening round. The Spaniard reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters in April, but since then his results on clay have been rather average.
The winner of this match will have a great shot at reaching the quarterfinals, where Schwartzman will probably lie in wait. They'll face either a qualifier or Max Hans Rehberg, a young talent who's quite inexperienced on the ATP tour.
Predicted semifinal: Andrey Rublev vs Diego Schwartzman
Prediction of the final: Carlos Alcaraz def. Andrey Rublev
