2025 Hamburg Open Preview: It’s Zverev’s to Lose
The Hamburg Open, a key ATP 500 stop on the clay-court swing, kicks off this week at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany.
Alexander Zverev leads a packed field featuring talents like Andrey Rublev, Francisco Cerundolo, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Hamburg’s clay, known for its gritty, slower pace than faster clay courts like Geneva, will favor endurance and tactical play as players battle for the title.
Let’s break down the 2025 Hamburg Open.
2025 Hamburg Open Bracket
Hamburg Open Top Half: Zverev Faces a Tricky Path
Alexander Zverev, the top seed and 2022 Hamburg champion, headlines the top half and opens against Ugo Humbert. Zverev, with his powerful serve and baseline consistency, thrives on clay, but Humbert’s crafty lefty game could make this a tough first round.
The winner faces either Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or Alexander Bublik. Both big servers can produce big upsets—Perricard’s booming serve and Bublik’s unpredictable flair could cause problems.
Further down, Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on Daniel Altmaier in a potential early popcorn match. Auger-Aliassime’s all-court game suits clay, but Altmaier will have home crowd support.
Andrey Rublev faces Dominik Koepfer, a matchup that could get gritty given Rublev’s intensity and Koepfer’s scrappy defense.
Rublev, a clay-court specialist who won the 2024 Madrid Open, could meet Zverev in the quarterfinals, setting up a blockbuster clash.
Zverev’s experience gives him the edge in this half, but Rublev’s firepower makes him a greater threat than FAA is.
Hamburg Open Bottom Half: Cerundolo and Martinez Lead the Charge
Monte Carlo semifinalist Davidovich Fokina is playing the best ball of the trio, but you never know with Monfils or Cobolli.
Francisco Cerundolo is in the other quarter, where he would need to rip through Pedro Martinez and Jiri Lehecka just for a potential quarterfinal with clay-court specialist Sebastian Baez.
Baez is the best clay court player in the section. Still, he’s dropped six of seven on his beloved dirt.
Cerundolo has run through the European Clay Court season with two semifinal appearances (Munich, Madrid) and the Round of 16 in the Eternal City.
Phil Naessens Hamburg Open Prediction
There are too many ATP Tour players in Hamburg looking for matches. The exact number they “need” is anyone’s guess, making this a difficult call.
Zverev should win this tournament blindfolded, but his results have been subpar since the Australian Open. It isn’t as easy as it once was to bet on him to at least reach the semis, let alone win a title.
The German No. 1 accepted a Wild Card. Maybe he’s resigned himself to the fact that winning Roland Garros the way he’s currently playing ain’t happening, and he’s here to snatch an ATP 500 title on home soil.
Rublev and Auger-Aliassime are the only two standing in Zverev’s way, and they are playing worse than Zverev is. Hard to guess which one of the trio gets through, but Cerundolo is my bet to win the Hamburg Open.
He’s playing as well as anyone and can carve his way through his half of the draw like a hot knife through butter on this surface. Cerundolo is a solid clay-court champion, and he should be highly motivated to pick up the points and the winner’s purse.
Phil Naessens Hamburg Open Prediction: Francisco Cerundolo
