European Open 2021: Men’s Singles Draw Preview and Prediction

European Open 2021: Men’s Singles Draw Preview and Prediction

Jannik Sinner, Diego Schwartzman, Cristian Garin

The European Open 2021 returns on the ATP Tour for the 6th year in a row since its inaugural edition in 2016. It is still the only ATP tournament that is played in Belgium and is categorised as an ATP-250 tournament. In the five editions so far, 3 titles have been won by Frenchmen, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Ugo Humbert, while the remaining 2 titles were won by Britain’s Kyle Edmund and Andy Murray. Defending champion Humbert is not participating this year.

Tournament Details:

  • Tournament: European Open 2021
  • Date: October 18- October 24, 2021
  • Number of Entrants: 28 (Singles), 16 (Doubles)
  • Venue: Antwerp, Belgium
  • Surface: Hard Court
  • Prize Money: €508,600
  • Defending champion: Ugo Humbert

Top Seeds at the European Open 2021

  • Jannik Sinner
  • Diego Schwartzman
  • Cristian Garin
  • Roberto Bautista Agut
  • Reilly Opelka
  • Alex de Minaur
  • Lloyd Harris
  • Dusan Lajovic

Top Half

Roberto Bautista Agut

Italian youngster Jannik Sinner headlines the event as the top-seed and gets a first-round bye and is likely to meet his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti who will start against fellow Italian Gianluca Mager. 8th seeded Dusan Lajovic will begin against former champion and wildcard entrant Richard Gasquet.

4th seeded Roberto Bautista Agut gets a first-round bye and will most likely meet Marton Fucsovics in round 2. 7th seeded Lloyd Harris will begin against wildcard entrant Zizou Bergs and the South African will be the favourite and is likely to meet the winner of Jan-Lennard Struff and Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

FS Video

Semi-Final 1: Jannik Sinner vs Lloyd Harris

Bottom Half

Andy Murray
Andy Murray

2nd seeded Diego Schwartzman gets a bye in the first round and will play the winner of Frances Tiafoe and former champion, wildcard entrant Andy Murray. 6th seeded Alex de Minaur and Frenchman Benoit Paire both await their round 1 opponents as they will come through the qualifying rounds.

3rd seeded Cristian Garin gets a first-round bye and is likely to meet Jordan Thompson who will be the favourite in his match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. 5th seeded Reilly Opelka will await a qualifier for his 1st round match and given his current form, should reach round 2 where he can set up a potential clash with the winner of Alexie Popyrin and Botic van de Zandschulp.

Semi-Final 2: Diego Schwartzman vs Reilly Opelka

Semifinals

Reilly Opelka
Reilly Opelka

Sinner and Harris are yet to meet on the ATP Tour so far and have nearly similar numbers on the hardcourts this season although Harris is trophyless so far while Sinner has won two trophies ever since the hardcourt season resumed again. Opelka and Schwartzman could meet for the 4th time with Opelka leading 2-1 in their head-to-head. It can be a good thriller as both players come in with a good form.

European Open Final: Jannik Sinner vs Reilly Opelka

Final

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner

Opelka came very close to his first Masters title at the 2021 Toronto Masters and has had some good runs since then which can take him to the finals. However, with Sinner’s recently found form and following it up with two titles in as many months, Sinner could well be headed to pick up his 4th title of the season.

European Open 2021 Champion: Jannik Sinner

YouTube video

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