That is when the focus will turn to the US Open, which begins at the end of August, and those players will choose to head to North America to take in back to back big Masters events in preparation for the final Slam of the season.
Frustration will still abound amongst the players that the Canadian Masters and Cincinnati Masters are further 1000 events that have begun to treat their tournament as mini-Slams and we have another strange situation of the Canadian Masters having the Final scheduled for Thursday. That cannot be ideal for fans or players, but the Tour has yet to take in the advice, although Cincinnati will be concluded on a weekend.
Other big events will take place between now and the US Open, but the top names will tend to stick to those Masters events and then the last Slam of the season. It does offer up opportunities for others to build up some confidence and momentum, while those still in Europe will have a chance to play some last clay court tennis before the move onto the hard courts.
This week there are three European clay court ATP events taking place and there are some decent names heading out onto the court who will be looking to bounce back from relatively poor showings at Wimbledon.
It is an opportunity to pick up some vital Ranking Points and that should give all of the competitors some motivation to take into this week as the Tour moves on from the grass court part of the season.
Juan Manuel Cerundolo - 3.5 games v Zdenek Kolar: There is a vast experience edge here in favour of the younger player and Juan Manuel Cerundolo can come through this opening match in Gstaad without too much fuss.
He is going to be long known as the player that upset Jannik Sinner in Paris, but Cerundolo has a Challenger title on the surface this season and this kind of match up will feel like one that he would usually face at the lower level.
Juan Manuel Cerundolo reached the Final in Gstaad last year and so does have plenty of Ranking Points to protect, while he has been serving with slightly more authority this time around. That should help the World Number 45 as he looks to push his career best World Ranking mark to another level over the coming weeks and Cerundolo should have too much for Zdanek Kolar.
The 29 year old has a 15-14 record on the clay courts in 2026 with the majority of matches played way beyond the main ATP Tour.
Zdanek Kolar did lose in the Second Qualifying Round at Roland Garros, but almost exclusively plays on the Challenger circuit.
He will believe he can have some success on the return, but so will Juan Manuel Cerundolo and the latter's experience should be telling.
Pablo Carreno Busta - 3.5 games v Matej Dodig: Two players at opposite ends of their career path will be facing one another in Umag and Matej Dodig is likely going to be receiving plenty of support.
He has played here before, but the soon to be 21 year old has mainly be operating on the Challenger Tour and that is a big reason he is down at World Number 254.
Matej Dodig has produced pretty average numbers on the clay in 2026 and at a much lower level than the one he will be competing in this week.
Veteran Pablo Carreno Busta reached the Fourth Round at the French Open and won a Challenger event on the clay and reached the Final of another in the lead up to the second Grand Slam of the season. Those performances should make the Spaniard a strong favourite to progress into the Second Round of this tournament.
Pablo Carreno Busta has been serving well enough, but has impressed most with his return.
Those numbers have looked really good when Carreno Busta has faced opponents Ranked outside of the top 100 and he can quieten down the crowd with a solid win in this First Round match.
Alex Molcan - 2.5 games v Valentin Royer: This is a decent looking First Round match in Umag and the feeling is that Alex Molcan can continuing building his momentum on the Tour.
Injuries have seen him drop out of the top 100, but Alex Molcan can climb back into those positions with a couple of wins on the board here in Umag and that will give him plenty of motivation to back up the level being produced in 2026.
The last couple of seasons has shown Alex Molcan is happy enough on the surface when playing a certain level of opponent and Valentin Royer may be one of those opponents.
The Frenchman has not been as effective on the serve or return compared with Alex Molcan and Valentin Royer has spent a lot of his own time on the Challenger Tour. His 13-10 record on the clay leaves him vulnerable in this First Round match and the layers are anticipating the same with Alex Molcan down as the favourite.
There has been a real gap in the amount of breaks secured by the two players and that may be a factor that ends up giving Alex Molcan the edge to push on and secure the victory.
MY PICKS: Juan Manuel Cerundolo - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Pablo Carreno Busta - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Alex Molcan - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Season 2026: 172-144, + 10.16 Units (501 Units Staked, + 2.03% Yield)
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