Scouting Report: Hurkacz, Paul, Cerundolo feature in Marseille, Dallas & Cordoba

Corinne Dubreuil/Peter Staples/ATP Tour

A three-tournament week on the ATP Tour features action across three continents and two surfaces.

Francisco Cerundolo leads the field at the Cordoba Open, an ATP 250 clay-court event in Argentina, while Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul are the top two seeds at the Dallas Open, an ATP 250 indoor-hard tournament in the United States. In Europe, Hubert Hurkacz and Grigor Dimitrov compete at the Open 13 Provence, an ATP 250 indoor-hard event in Marseille.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN CORDOBA
1) Cerundolo leads field: Argentine Cerundolo is the top seed in Cordoba. The 25-year-old is making his fourth appearance at the clay-court event, with his best result a quarter-final run in 2023. He is chasing just his second tour-level win of the year, having fallen early in Hong Kong, Auckland and at the Australian Open.

2) Can defending champion Baez build on Australian Open run?: Sebastian Baez enjoyed a run to the third round in Melbourne before eventual champion Jannik Sinner stopped him. The 23-year-old is the defending champion in Cordoba, having beaten Federico Coria in three sets in last year’s final.

3) Former winners Garin, Ramos-Vinolas: Chilean Cristian Garin and Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas have also won the title in Cordoba and are in the draw. Garin lifted the trophy in 2020 and Ramos-Vinolas won the crown in 2022.

4) Home Favourites: Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Diego Schwartzman are two of 10 Argentines in the field. Etcheverry, who reached the third round at the Australian Open, is making his third Cordoba appearance. The 31-year-old Schwartzman is currently outside the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but will be hoping to rediscover his best level and add to his five tour-level trophies.

5) Gonzalez/Molteni in doubles action: Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni compete in Cordoba, having reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. Sadio Doumbia/Fabien Reboul and Marcelo Melo/Matwe Middelkoop are also in action.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN DALLAS
1) Paul eyes title: Paul is the second seed in Dallas, where he is making his debut at the ATP 250 event. The home favourite is seeking his first tour-level title since 2021, when he triumphed in Stockholm.

2) Tiafoe & Shelton in action: Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are the top and third seeds, respectively, in Dallas. Tiafoe will be aiming to record consecutive wins for the first time this season, while 21-year-old Shelton arrives off the back of a third-round run at the Australian Open.

3) #NextGenATP Michelsen competes: Alex Michelsen enjoyed a strong start to the season, reaching the third round at a major for the first time at the Aussie Open. The 19-year-old played at the Next Gen ATP Finals last season and will look to accumulate points quickly this year in a bid to return to Jeddah in December.

4) American field: There are 12 Americans in the draw overall, excluding qualifiers. Alongside Paul, Tiafoe, Shelton and Michelsen, Christopher Eubanks, Marcos Giron, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Michael Mmoh, Ethan Quinn, Adam Neff, Mitchell Krueger and Zachary Svajda compete in Texas.

5) Gonzalez/Skupski headline doubles field: Santiago Gonzalez and Neal Skupski are the top seeds in Dallas. They will face stiff competition from Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, who won four titles together last year.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MARSEILLE
1) Defending champion Hurkacz: Hurkacz has fond memories in Marseille, having lifted the trophy last season. The Pole, currently at No. 8 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is 8-3 on the season after advancing to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.

2) Dimitrov & Lehecka looking to back up Aussie success: Grigor Dimitrov won his first title in six years when he lifted the trophy in Brisbane at the start of January. In Adelaide, Jiri Lehecka captured his maiden tour-level title. Both will look to build on their strong starts to the season in Marseille. Dimitrov reached the quarters at the French ATP 250 in 2023, having made his first appearance in 2009.

3) Can Murray find form? Andy Murray will try to earn his first match win of the year when he plays at the indoor-hard event. The former World No. 1 clinched the crown in his only previous appearance in Marseille in 2008.

4) Khacanov, Musetti, Felix, Korda chase first title of season: Karen Khachanov, Lorenzo Musetti, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Sebastian Korda will seek their first title of the season in Marseille. Khachanov advanced to the fourth round at the AO, with Musetti reaching the last eight in Adelaide. Auger-Aliassime is a two-time finalist in Marseille (2020, 22’), while Korda makes his debut.

5) Frenchmen in action: Led by World No. 21 Ugo Humbert, there are eight Frenchmen in the draw, excluding qualifiers. Humbert captured a title in Metz last season and is a two-time semi-finalist in Marseille. #NextGenATP star Luca Van Assche is also in action, alongside former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet.