The final match with all seeded players will take place on Sunday at all three ATP 250 venues, including Almaty and Brussels. It’s Daniil Medvedev versus Corentin Moutet in the former, Felix Auger-Aliassime versus Jiri Lehecka in the latter.
Almaty Open: (8) Corentin Moutet vs. (2) Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev is one win away from what would – shockingly – be his first ATP title since May 2023 in Rome. The 29-year-old Russian has since reached seven finals but lost them all, including three later in 2023, three last season and one in 2025 (Halle). Medvedev will now play for the Almaty Trophy on Sunday after victories over Adam Walton, Fabian Marozsan and James Duckworth. Amazingly, the world number 14 is bidding for his 21st ATP title at a 21st different tournament.
Moutet stands in Medvedev’s way, with the score tied at 1-1. Medvedev won 6-4, 6-2 on Mallorca’s grass courts in 2022 before Moutet survived 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. an absolute circus of a match this summer in Washington, D.C. The 41st-ranked Frenchman has cooled off a bit since reaching the D.C. semifinals, but has warmed up again this week with losses to Bernard Tomic, Alexander Shechenko, Jan-Lennard Struff and Alex Michelsen. There is a different kind of pressure on Moutet, but it is pressure all the same. The 26-year-old left-hander has never won an ATP title; he is 0-2 for life in the finals. Count on this being Medvedev’s time to finally break his trophyless drought.
Choice: Medvedev in 3
European Open: (3) Jiri Lehecka vs. (2) Felix Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime and Lehecka will compete for the Brussels title for the third time in their careers on Sunday. They shared their two previous encounters; Lehecka scored a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-6(3) victory at the 2023 Australian Open, while Auger-Aliassime advanced via retirement to 3-3 in the opening set of the 2024 Madrid Masters.
With the departure of Lorenzo Musetti from Brussels in the quarter-finals and the injury of Holger Rune in Stockholm, Auger-Aliassime has a chance to make serious ground in the race to Turin – an opportunity that rarely comes with ATP 250s. The thirteenth-ranked Canadian builds on his US Open semi-final with Brussels defeats against Damir Dzumhur (in a third-set tiebreak), Eliot Spizzirri and Raphael Collignon. Lehecka defeated Gilles Arnaud Bailly 6-3, 6-2, getting a third-set retirement from Benjamin Bonzi and then clearing Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in two tiebreaks. The seventeenth-seeded Czech dropped only seven service points in the entire match against Mpetshi Perricard. No, Mpetshi Perricard will never be considered a bastion of return, but that’s still an impressive serving display. While Auger-Aliassime may be a slight favorite on paper, this feels like a complete 50-50 math. A rock-solid Lehecka has a good chance of causing a minor setback.
Choice: Lehecka in 3
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