Tennis Acca Tips: Casper Ruud and Ben Shelton to build in Tokyo

The ATP Tour Finals race hots up this week with an intense battle on the go for the last four places.

A handful of players are in the hunt for those places, although Andrey Rublev's runner-up effort in Shanghai has left him all but qualified for the season-ending event.

Meanwhile, the WTA Tour also continues, albeit with a low-key week in less fashionable locales.

ATP Antwerp: Giovanni Perricard vs David Goffin | Pick: Goffin 

ATP Stockholm: Holger Rune vs Miomir Kecmanovic | Pick: Rune

ATP Tokyo: Marcos Giron vs Casper Ruud | Pick: Ruud 

ATP Tokyo: Ben Shelton vs Jordan Thompson | Pick: Shelton

WTA Cluj-Napoca: Miriam Bulgaru vs Rebeka Masarova | Pick: Masarova

WTA Cluj-Napoca: Patricia Maria Tig vs Ekaterina Makarova | Pick: Makarova

WTA Monastir: Katarina Zavatska vs Nuria Parrizas Diaz | Pick: Diaz

WTA Monastir: Sara Errani vs Lucia Bronzetti | Pick: Bronzetti

 

ATP Antwerp: Giovanni Perricard vs David Goffin

Belgian veteran David Goffin should have what it takes to keep the home flag flying when he takes on French prospect Giovanni Perricard.

Their European Open clash on Wednesday is the first meeting between these two players.

Perricard has already accounted for one veteran in his Antwerp run, ousting Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena.

Goffin should be more familiar with Antwerp's indoor hard courts and will likely come through in straight sets.

ATP Stockholm: Holger Rune vs Miomir Kecmanovic

Holger Rune takes on Miomir Kecmanovic to start his Nordic Open title defence and get his Turin bid back on track.

Stockholm is an ATP 250 and won't do much for Rune's race position even if he wins, but it might help him regain his best form.

Miomir Kecmanovic is a tough opponent but he struggles to cope with the quality of top 20 players.

Kecmanovic was clinical in putting away home player Karl Friberg in the opening round, but a first-ever meeting with Rune could be the end of his Stockholm run.

ATP Tokyo: Marcos Giron vs Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud is another player looking to improve his chances of reaching Turin, and at the ATP 500 Japan Open in Tokyo, he will have a chance at keeping himself in the race.

Giron has already spent over five hours on court in Tokyo to reach this stage after he had to come through qualifying.

The American's second clash with Ruud will be his first this week that hasn't come against a Japanese opponent.

Ruud hasn't won three matches in a row since his efforts in Bastad just after Wimbledon and also needs to arrest a slide in both form and ranking.

ATP Tokyo: Ben Shelton vs Jordan Thompson

Young American Ben Shelton will tackle big-serving Aussie Jordan Thompson as he seeks a further jump up the rankings.

Shelton recently reached a career-high world No 19 but he has far loftier goals in the game than being a one-time top 20 player.

For Thompson, the dreams of being a superstar in the sport have probably faded, but Shelton could well be a big name in the game.

On the day, Shelton will still need to play very well to earn a win over Thompson in their first-ever meeting.

WTA Cluj-Napoca: Miriam Bulgaru vs Rebeka Masarova

Rebeka Masarova has enjoyed more success than Miriam Bulgaru in a side-by-side of their careers to date despite playing much less tennis.

Bulgaria has had to do a whole lot more grinding, with Masarova making steady progress since her 2018 debut.

Despite playing their careers pretty much parallel, these two players have never met on the WTA Tour.

Masarova holds a huge rankings edge, and her ability on Tour is generally more impressive than her opponent.

WTA Cluj-Napoca: Patricia Maria Tig vs Ekaterina Makarova

Patricia Tig is flirting with dropping out of the top 500, and Ekaterina Makarova could be out to help her with the drop.

Makarova isn't quite up there with the elite of the game, but she should have the game to put away the home hope.

Tig is only playing courtesy of a wildcard given her ranking, and struggled to beat world No. 327 Martha Matoula in her opener.

Makarova beat top 100 player Kateryna Baindl to gain the Round of 16 and should win again to book a quarter-final.

WTA Monastir: Katarina Zavatska vs Nuria Parrizas Diaz

Katarina Zavatska and Nuria Parrizas Diaz battle for a place in the last eight in Tunisia.

Diaz beat Zavatska in their only previous meeting on clay in Valencia but should also hold the edge on the hard courts in Monastir.

Diaz rallied from a second set bagelling in the previous round to secure an upset win.

Should she win again in the last 16, it will be less of an upset, considering the records of the two players and that head-to-head clash.

WTA Monastir: Sara Errani vs Lucia Bronzetti

Sara Errani and Lucia Bronzetti will meet in an all-Italian clash in Tunisia, with the younger player looking to get one back over the veteran.

Bronzetti lost to Errani in Monterrey in 2022 but has since improved her game markedly.

Recent form suggests she has more than enough quality to avenge that defeat to Errani.

Bronzetti breezed through her opening round match while Errani was made to graft for over 150 minutes to get beyond Tamara Zidansek.

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