Scouting Report: Ruud, Shelton, Wawrinka feature in Estoril, Houston, Marrakech fields

After the hard-court focus of the ‘Sunshine Double’ in Indian Wells and Miami, the ATP Tour heads to Europe, North America and Africa this week for a tripleheader of clay-court ATP 250s.

Casper Ruud headlines the field at the Millennium Estoril Open, where his fellow Top 10 star Hubert Hurkacz is also in the draw in Portugal. Home favourite Ben Shelton is the top seed in Houston at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship, while top seed Laslo Djere can count Stan Wawrinka and Matteo Berrettini among his rivals in Marrakech at the Grand Prix Hassan II.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ESTORIL
1) Can Ruud Maintain Strong Form?: Casper Ruud has made a fine start to 2024. The Norwegian has racked up a 18-5 record and reached two tour-level finals, and the Norwegian will feel he is in a good place to defend his 2023 crown this week in Estoril. The 25-year-old is the top seed at the Millennium Estoril Open, where he is seeded to meet Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals.

2) Hurkacz, Musetti Chase First Title Of Year: Hubert Hurkacz will aim to win his first trophy of the season in Estoril. The Pole’s best result this year was a semi-final run in Marseille. Lorenzo Musetti produced some of his best tennis en route to the fourth round in Miami last week. The Italian is seeking his first title since Naples in 2022.

3) Borges, Sousa Lead Home Hopes: Portugal’s No. 1 Nuno Borges has enjoyed an impressive season, reaching the fourth round at a major for the first time at the Australian Open and winning the ATP Challenger Tour title in Phoenix. Can he continue that form on home soil in Estoril? The 35-year-old Joao Sousa has received a wild card. His best result in Estoril came in 2018 when he won the third of his four ATP Tour titles. #NextGenATP Portugese Henrique Rocha will also compete. The 19-year-old wild card won an ATP Challenger Tour trophy in Spain last week. 

4) #NextGenATP Fils, Fonseca In Action: Arthur Fils and Joao Fonseca are currently second and sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, respectively. Frenchman Fils, 19, won his first tour-level trophy on clay last season in Lyon. Brazilian Fonseca, 17, starred on clay in Rio de Janeiro in February, reaching the quarter-finals.

5) Defending champs Gille/Vliegen: Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen are the top seeds in the doubles draw. The Belgians won the title at the ATP 250 last season. Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul are the second seeds. 

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN HOUSTON
1) Top seed Shelton: Ben Shelton leads the field in Houston, where he will make his debut. The 21-year-old arrives on the clay off the back of a fourth-round run in Indian Wells and a third-round showing in Miami. Is this the week the American clinches his first title on clay?

2) Tiafoe returns to defend crown: Frances Tiafoe has fond memories of Houston, having lifted his third tour-level trophy at the ATP 250 event last season. The American, who did not drop a set en route to the title, has struggled in 2024. Tiafoe has only won consecutive matches at one event (Delray Beach) but will hope to change that in Houston.

3) Stacked American field: There are 10 Americans in the draw excluding qualifiers. #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen will make his Houston debut, with fifth seed Christopher Eubanks hoping to earn just his second tour-level win on clay. Marcos Giron, Brandon Nakashima, Aleksandar Kovacevic and wild cards Michael Mmoh and Denis Kudla are in action.

4) Cerundolo, Etcheverry chase first title of season: Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry will aim to lift their first trophy of the year in Houston. Cerundolo’s best result this season came in Rio de Janeiro, where he advanced to the semi-finals. Fourth seed Etcheverry reached the Houston final last season.

5) Krajicek/Ram top seeds: Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram headline the doubles field as the top seeds. The last time the pair teamed at an ATP Tour event was in Moscow in 2018, when they lifted the trophy. Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow are the second seeds and are chasing their first title of 2024.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MARRAKECH
1) Wawrinka, Djere, Evans in action: Stan Wawrinka, Laslo Djere and Daniel Evans are all in action at the ATP 250 in Marrakech. Wawrinka will make his debut at the clay-court event against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The 39-year-old’s only tour-level win this season came on clay in Buenos Aires.

Top seed Djere reached the semi-finals in Marrakech in 2022. Third seed Evans has earned wins in Adelaide, Los Cabos and Miami this year and will look to rediscover his best form at an event where he reached the semis in 2023.

2) Berrettini continues comeback: Matteo Berrettini continues his comeback from his foot injury in Marrakech, where he starts against Alexander Shevchenko. The Italian reached the title match at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Phoenix earlier this month before he fell to Andy Murray on his tour-level return in Miami.

3) Shelbayh & Home Hope Benchetrit receive wild cards: Jordanian star Abdullah Shelbayh and Moroccan Elliot Benchetrit have both received wild cards. Lefty Shelbayh, who played in the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF last year, is competing at his third tour-level tournament of the season (Doha, Dubai). Benchetrit is making his third appearance in Marrakech and will chase his first win at the tournament when he meets Pavel Kotov.

4) Defending champ Carballes Baena: Roberto Carballes Baena captured his first tour-level trophy 12 months ago in Marrakech, defeating Alexandre Muller in the final. The No. 64 player in the PIF ATP Rankings' best result this season was a quarter-final run in Auckland.

5) #NextGenATP Van Assche competes: Frenchman Luca Van Assche will hope to kickstart his season in Marrakech. The 19-year-old reached the third round at the Australian Open in January but has struggled in recent weeks, with his best result a semi-final showing at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Phoenix.