Tennis

Marseille Open preview – seeds, draw, schedule, and predictions

Marseille Open preview – seeds, draw, schedule, and predictions

Excited about the 2024 Marseille Open? I certainly am, and I’m sure that many ATP tennis fans around the world are pumped about this 250 event too. Of course, this event is set to be held in France this week, and it is an indoor hard-court tournament.

Also known as the Open 13 Provence, this 250 tournament is set to host a range of big names, including the defending champion, Hubert Hurkacz. This just goes to show, the tournament might be in one of the lower ATP tiers, but it’s still big enough to attract the big guns. 

As for the tournament overview, matches are set to take place between February 5th and February 11th, which is normal for an event with a smaller draw than most. On that note, the 2024 Marseille Open consists of just 28 individuals who are bidding for a chance to become champion.

So, who will the champion be? How is the Marseille Open schedule looking? And how is the draw shaping up? I’ve addressed all of these questions below. 

2024 Marseille Open – provisional tournament schedule

As referenced above, the Open 13 Provence commenced on February 5th, 2024. However, while this was the first day of scheduled matches for the main draw, these first-round games will be spread over two days. Therefore, February 6th will also play host to first-round games, and from this point, the 2024 Marseille Open will then get into full swing.

As for a better breakdown of the 2024 Open 13 Provence on a day-by-day basis, let me provide the specifics for the coming week:

  • First round – Monday, February 5th and Tuesday, February 6th
  • Second round – Wednesday, February 7th and Thursday, February 8th
  • Quarter-finals – Friday, February 9th
  • Semi-finals – Saturday, February 10th
  • Finals – Sunday, February 11th

Note also that the doubles competition will be running alongside the men’s singles tournament. However, given that the men’s doubles draw is smaller than the men’s singles draw, just four rounds will be played instead of five. 

Should you wish to monitor the Marseille Open order of play as the tournament progresses, I highly recommend checking the official website for an accurate overview.

Open 13 Provence 2024 – a closer look at the draw

Now it’s time we moved on to one of the most important elements of this preview – the draw. Of course, this is always the most exciting thing to check out at the start of any event. And the 2024 Marseille Open draw is no different. 

That said, there are different areas of the draw that require attention if we are to provide a thorough overview. Therefore, let me break things down in the most appropriate manner so that we can assess each of these areas now.

Marseille Open top seeds

For the 2024 Marseille Open, there are 8 seeded players. I’ve already mentioned the top seed and defending champion, Hubert Hurkacz, earlier. However, so that you know exactly who is down to compete in this event, let me give you a list of all 8 seeds:

  • Seed 1 – Hubert Hurkacz
  • Seed 2 – Grigor Dimitrov
  • Seed 3 – Karen Khachanov
  • Seed 4 – Ugo Humbert
  • Seed 5 – Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
  • Seed 6 – Lorenzo Musetti
  • Seed 7 – Felix Auger-Aliassime
  • Seed 8 – Jiri Lehecka

Since this event consists of just a 28-man draw, the fact that there are 8 seeds means that these top players make up a decent chunk of the available spaces. Additionally, you should know that the top 4 seeds for this tournament have received a bye into round two. 

Open 13 Provence preview

This means that players like Hubert Hurkacz only need to win four matches to claim the title.

Open 13 Provence qualifiers

On top of the 8 seeded players whom I’ve just mentioned, there are 4 qualifiers who made it into the main draw. To qualify, each individual needed to win two matches, and the four players who were able to do this were as follows:

  • Hugo Gaston
  • Giulio Zeppieri
  • Maxime Cressy
  • David Goffin

Marseille Open wildcards

Just like other ATP tournaments, a selection of wildcards were issued for the 2024 Open 13 Provence event. Specifically, three wildcards were awarded, and the following three players were the lucky recipients:

  • Benjamin Bonzi
  • Denis Shapovalov
  • Quentin Halys

Key matches to lookout for

Based on how the draw has panned out for this tournament, there are some potential blockbusters on the horizon in the early stages of the event. Of course, only first-round matches are guaranteed, but we can still speculate as to who could face one another beyond the opening round. 

So with that said, let me give you some quick matches to stay tuned for at the 2024 Marseille Open:

  • Machac vs Murray – round one
  • Lehecka vs Goffin – round one
  • Ruusuvuori vs Van Assche – round one
  • Hurkacz vs Musetti – quarter-finals
  • Auger-Aliassime vs Khachanov – quarter-finals

For those who are interested, we shall also be providing tennis predictions today for each of the rounds during the tournament. 

Marseille Open outright predictions

Since the tournament has barely begun at the time of writing, I wanted to supply a selection of outright predictions before things heat up. So without wasting any time, let me cover three predictions that could occur at the Open 13 Provence 2024 tournament right now.

Tournament winner – my top pick

There are clearly many talented players in the men’s singles draw for the Marseille Open. That said, while many punters are backing last year’s champion, Hubert Hurkacz, to win the event again, I’m shooting for Grigor Dimitrov. 

As you might recall, he kicked off his 2024 season with a tournament win in Australia, and he can play great tennis on indoor hard courts too. This was proven by his run to the finals of the 2023 Paris Masters in October/November.

Potential tournament winner – my underdog selection

Since I’ve given one of the top seeds as my ‘likely winner’ above, I figured it would be exciting to throw a possible underdog winner out there too. Based on the competitors this year, I believe that Luca Van Assche is a key underdog to watch. 

This talented teenager is playing in front of a home crowd, he is in great form, and he is bound to step up and challenge for an ATP title sooner or later.


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