An ATP 250 doubleheader brings the 2025 PIF ATP Live Race To Turin to a close this week, when Athens and Metz play host to high-stakes indoor hard-court action.
ATP Tour tennis returns to Athens for the first time since 1994 with the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Hellenic Championship, starring Novak Djokovic, former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Djokovic’s fellow Top 10 star Lorenzo Musetti is looking for a deep run in Athens to try and claim the last open spot at the upcoming Nitto ATP Finals.
Meanwhile, Musetti’s only rival for that spot in Turin, Felix Auger-Aliassime, is the top seed at the Moselle Open in Metz. ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to look out for at each event.
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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ATHENS
1) Djokovic returns to action: 100-time tour-level champion Djokovic is competing for the first time since reaching the semi-finals in Shanghai last month. The 38-year-old is the best player in Athens, where he will look to quickly settle into his indoor groove ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals. Djokovic starts his title bid in Greece against Alejandro Tabilo or Adam Walton.
2) Musetti plays for Turin Spot: After his early exit from the Rolex Paris Masters, Musetti will be aiming for a big finish at his PIF ATP Live Race To Turin 2025 in Athens. The Italian, who sits ninth in the Live Race as he chases a Nitto ATP Finals debut on home soil, is 90 points behind eighth-placed Auger-Aliassime, although the Canadian could already build an unassailable lead on Sunday by winning the Paris final against Jannik Sinner.
3) Stars Eye major finish until 2025: A host of players will be aiming to end their 2025 season in style in Athens. Third seed Luciano Darderi will be chasing his fourth title of the year, and his first away from the clay, while fourth seed Brandon Nakashima will be looking for his first trophy of the season. Nakashima leads a strong team of Americans in the draw, which also includes Reilly Opelka and Sebastian Korda.
4) Wildcard Wawrinka: Still going strong at the age of 40, Stan Wawrinka ends his 24th season as a professional by competing as a wildcard in Athens. The Swiss former world number 3 will face Botic van de Zandschulp in his opening match, with the winner facing Musetti in the second round.
5) Doumbia/Reboul leading double field: Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul aim for their second ATP 250 title of the season in Athens. The French duo enter as the top seeds in the Greek capital, where rivals include second seeds Francisco Cabral/Lucas Miedler and home wildcards Pavlos Tsitsipas/Petros Tsitsipas, brothers of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN METZ
1) In-form Felix: Long known for his prowess on indoor hard courts, Auger-Aliassime arrives in Metz in excellent form. The Canadian won his third title of 2025 under roof in Brussels earlier this month, before reaching the quarter-finals in Basel and the final in Paris. If he beats Sinner in the title match in the French capital, he will secure a return to the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time since 2022.
2) Can Bublik Cap have the best year of his career?: Although Alexander Bublik’s hopes of reaching Turin ended with a semi-final defeat to Auger-Aliassime in Paris, the Kazakhstani has had an excellent year on the Tour. The 28-year-old will be hunting for his fifth title of the season in Metz, where he reached the final in 2022.
3) Rinderknech leads home accusation: Sixth seed Arthur Rinderknech leads a set of 10 Frenchmen (excluding qualifiers) in the Metz draw. Corentin Moutet sits in eighth place, with the likes of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Terence Atmane, Arthur Cazaux and Adrian Mannarino aiming to become a home champion for the third year in a row, following Ugo Humbert’s 2023 victory and Benjamin Bonzi’s 2024 title run.
4) Blockx in the Jeddah hunt: Alexander Blockx is seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, and the Belgian has the chance to take a big step towards qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals that PIF presents this week in Metz. Blockx is in the main draw in France via a Next Gen entry, part of the ATP’s Next Gen Accelerator pathway, which offers players aged 20 and under more opportunities in the Top 250 of the PIF ATP Rankings.
5) Arends/Johnson defend double crown: Sander Arends and Luke Johnson will try to complete a hat-trick of ATP Tour titles in 2025 by defending their title in Metz. Second-seeded champions Hong Kong and Barcelona are joined in the draw in France by top seeds Andre Goransson and Jan Zielinski, while Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert are among the home favorites in the field.
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