NOW that our 2020 ATP Roland Garros fantasy tennis tournament is in the books, some of the top ATP Tour players turn their attention to Germany for the Stuttgart Open. Led by Roland Garros winner Alexander Zverev, the tournament features 10 top 30 players in a draw that is likely to be highly competitive.

FAVOURITE:

Alexander Zverev (GERMANY)

The clear and deserving favourite backing up from his French Open win, the world number four will start as the top seed here in his home nation. Keen to bring success back to Germany, Zverev has earned a nice bye in the first round, but will have a likely tough encounter against Marin Cilic in the second round. While Zverev has proven to be a dominant clay courter and strong hard courter, his grass game could still improve, so he will be keen to do that in this ATP250 tournament. A potential quarter finals clash with Juan Martin del Potro could also spell trouble for the number one seed.

CONTENDERS:

Daniil Medvedev (RUSSIA)

The second seed and world number five maintains his spot in the top five despite Zverev leaping ahead of him, and will be keen to snatch it back with a deep run here. His form this year has been less than ideal, but he has a good chance in Stuttgart, and a reasonable draw too. A bye in the opening round then a potential clash with either one of two Frenchmen, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Lucas Pouille and a quarter final against Fabio Fognini, Medvedev will start favourite in those games on this surface. The Russian has a good chance of going all the way and has to be considered.

Matteo Berrettini (ITALY)

Breaking the mold of being an Italian who is strong on grass, Berrettini won here in 2019, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. Remarkably, that line-up could be a second round encounter, but he also could face the more-than-competent Sam Querrey as well. If Berrettini can get past the Round of 16, then he could eye up going deep and would fancy himself matching up against Medvedev in the final. Having been there and done it before, you can never discount Berrettini when it comes to contenders.

Felix Auger-Aliassime (CANADA)

Much like Berrettini, Auger-Aliassime has gone to the last match of the tournament before, and battled hard against his fellow up and comer. The teenager has an incredibly difficult first-up match against Querrey and he will need to be at his best to avoid giving up a lot of ranking points with a loss. If he can set up a 2019 final rematch in the Round of 16, that would be huge, and give him confidence to go on a run here in Stuttgart again.

ROUGHIE:

Marin Cilic (CROATIA)

The Croatian world number 48 has slid down the rankings this year, but he would have pencilled in the grass court season. As one of the best clay court players in the world, it is hard to deny he has a massive chance in Stuttgart. Always challenging to beat on his best day, if Cilic can find the form that he has shown in the past, he could go all the way. A potential second round match with Zverev looms, but they are not on clay anymore, and if you throw rankings out the window, Cilic has every right to start favourite.

DARK HORSE:

Juan Martin del Potro (ARGENTINA)

The Argentinian has had some rough draws of late, coming up against some elite players early in tournaments and falling earlier than expected. He has shown some promising signs in his return year, but is still ranked 121st in the world and was easily offered a wildcard in this 250K event. He is the player no one wants to come up against because he is so dominant on grass, and realistically if he plays to his potential could be the best player here on the surface. He lines up against home nation competitor Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round, but expect him to cruise all the way to the quarter finals where he will face either Zverev or Cilic.