Scouting Report: De Minaur leads Rotterdam, Shelton competes in Dallas, Fonseca returns to Buenos Aires
ATP Tour action will be across three continents this week, with play in Europe, North America and South America.
Alex de Minaur headlines the field at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, while Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz take the court at the Nexo Dallas Open. Both are ATP 500 hard-court events. On the clay in South America, Joao Fonseca and Francisco Cerundolo will compete at the IEB+ Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, an ATP 250.
ATPTour.com breaks down five things to watch at each event.
[ATP APP]FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ROTTERDAM
1) De Minaur leads the field: De Minaur will lead the field at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam. The 26-year-old, who reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open last month, advanced to the title match at the indoor hard-court event in 2024 and 2025. He will open his 2026 title bid against Arthur Fils.
2) Former champion Auger-Aliassime: Felix Auger-Aliassime has fond memories in Rotterdam, having won the title in 2022. The Canadian will arrive in the Netherlands fresh from lifting the eighth indoor title of his career in Montpellier.
3) Can Bublik maintain good form? Alexander Bublik has been a man on a mission in recent months. The 28-year-old won four titles in the second half of last season and started this year by triumphing in Hong Kong. By winning the trophy at the ATP 250 in January, Bublik climbed into the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time. He faces a tough opening test in Rotterdam, where he faces Hubert Hurkacz.
4) Medvedev, Tsitsipas in action: Daniil Medvedev, a winner in Rotterdam in 2023, will try to bounce back from his fourth-round exit at the Australian Open. The 29-year-old is seeking his second trophy of the season after winning Brisbane. Stefanos Tsitsipas is making his eighth appearance in Rotterdam, where he reached the championship match in 2022.
5) Fils continues his return: Fils made his long-awaited return in Montpellier last week, advancing to the quarter-finals. The Frenchman had been sidelined since the start of August due to a back injury. The 21-year-old continues his comeback starting against top seed De Minaur in Rotterdam.
[NO 1 CLUB]FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN DALLAS
1) Shelton raring to go: Shelton reached his fifth major quarter-final and third in Melbourne at the Australian Open and will hope to maintain that good form in Dallas. The 23-year-old American enjoyed a semi-final run at the event in 2024.
2) Fritz chasing first title of 2026: Fritz will make his fourth appearance at the ATP 500 event, arriving off the back of a fourth-round defeat in Melbourne. The 28-year-old is chasing his first title since winning in Eastbourne in June.
3) Can Foki get over the line?: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina lost four finals last year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The Spaniard will hope to break his title duck and win on the Tour for first time when he takes to court in Dallas. Grigor Dimitrov will also be in action. The Bulgarian earned a win in the first-round in Brisbane in January and will try to build up his fitness in Dallas, where he is making his debut.
4) Paul, Tien among Americans in the draw: The 2024 champion Tommy Paul and current Next Gen ATP Finals titlist Learner Tien will fly the American flag alongside Shelton and Paul. Other home hopes in the draw include Frances Tiafoe, Brandon Nakashima, Alex Michelsen, Sebastian Korda and two-time champion Reilly Opelka.
5) Harrison/Skupski riding high: Fresh off their Australian Open title Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski will seek more success in Dallas, where Harrison won the trophy in 2025 with Evan King. Marcelo Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are the top seeds.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN BUENOS AIRES
1) Defending champion Fonseca returns: Fonseca captured his first ATP Tour title last year in Buenos Aires, where he became the youngest South American champion in the ATP Tour era (since 1990). The 19-year-old returns this year as a Top 35 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.
2) Can Cerundolo go one step further? Cerundolo lost last year’s final to Fonseca but will hope to lift the trophy this week. The 27-year-old Argentine also advanced to the title match at the ATP 250 clay-court event in 2021.
3) Darderi chases more clay success: Luciano Darderi has won all four of his ATP Tour titles on clay. A champion in Cordoba, Marrakech, Bastad and Umag, can the 23-year-old Italian maintain his good clay record this week in Buenos Aires?
4) Baez, Berrettini compete: Another home favourite to watch is Sebastian Baez. The 25-year-old Argentine has won six of his seven tour-level titles on clay but is yet to triumph at the ATP 250. Matteo Berrettini will make his tournament debut. The Italian has won six trophies on clay but is chasing his first success since July 2024.
5) Singles stars in doubles action: Cerundolo and Darderi will also compete in the doubles draw this week. Cerundolo will team with fellow singles player Francisco Comesana, while Darderi will play with Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni are the top seeds.
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