The European indoor hard-court swing begins on Monday in Stockholm, where seeds Alexei Popyrin and Tallon Griekspoor are in action. Popyrin faces Sebastian Korda, while Griekspoor kicks off his week against Jake Fearnley.
(7) Alexei Popyrin vs. Sebastian Korda
Popyrin and Korda will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in round one of the Nordic Open on Monday. Korda leads the head-to-head series 2-1, including 2-0 indoors. The 60th-ranked American prevailed 6-4, 6-4 at the 2020 Eckental Challenger and 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4 at the 2023 Astana event before Popyrin got the job done 7-6(0), 6-3 at the 2024 Montreal Masters.
After beating Korda, Popyrin went on to capture his first Masters 1000 title in shocking fashion–albeit a shock factor that was surpassed, of course, by Valentin Vacherot on Sunday in Shanghai. The 48th-ranked Aussie has been unspectacular ever since, as heads into Stockholm with a 17-19 record for the season. Popyrin has not played since the U.S. Open. Korda, on the other hand, made three stops on the Asian swing and compiled a 3-3 record for his workmanlike efforts. Given Popyrin’s rust and Korda’s success in this matchup indoors, a minor upset could be in the cards.
Pick: Korda in 3
(5) Tallon Griekspoor vs. Jake Fearnley
Griekspoor and Fearnley will be facing each other for the second time on Monday. Their only previous meeting came in round two of this same tournament 12 months ago, when Griekspoor scored a 7-6(0), 6-3 victory.
There is no reason to think anything will be different in the rematch. Fearnley has won just a single main-tour match since Eastbourne in June and is coming off a second-round Challenger loss to world No. 247 Dominic Stricker. Griekspoor played well in Shanghai, where he advanced in three sets over both Jenson Brooksby and Jannik Sinner (via retirement) before falling to Vacherot 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4. Suddenly, that most recent result does not look too bad at all. Expect the 31st-ranked Dutchman to give Fearnley another lesson in Stockholm.
Pick: Griekspoor in 2
