Ricky’s picks for this week’s ATP 250 tournaments in Seoul, Sofia, and Tel Aviv

By Ricky Dimon

The Laver Cup has come and gone, and now the ATP fall swing continues in Seoul, Sofia, and Tel Aviv. They are a trio of 250 tournaments before the schedule eventually heats back up with some 500s, a Masters 1000 in Paris, and finally the Nitto ATP Finals and Davis Cup Finals.

Here are my picks for this week’s events:

Korea Open

Where: Seoul, South Korea
Surface: Hard
Points: 250
Prize Money: $1,117,930
Top seed: Casper Ruud
Defending champion: Inaugural event

This is a time of year when a lot of players don’t really care too much, but Taylor Fritz will be motivated because he is in contention for a first-ever appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. Denis Shapovalov showed signs of life at the U.S. Open, so he could be getting back on track.

Quarterfinal picks: Casper Ruud over Yoshihito Nishioka, Taylor Fritz over Chun Hsin Tseng, Denis Shapovalov over Radu Albot, and Cameron Norrie over Soonwoo Kwon

Semifinals: Fritz over Ruud and Shapovalov over Norrie

Final: Fritz over Shapovalov

Sofia Open

Where: Sofia, Bulgaria
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 250
Prize Money: 534,555 Euros
Top seed: Jannik Sinner
Defending champion: Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner is the two-time defending champion in Sofia and he has to be considered the favorite to triumph once again. However, he could be challenged in a solid field that also features Pablo Carreno Busta, Ilya Ivashka, Metz champion Lorenzo Sonego, and Bulgaria’s own Grigor Dimitrov.

Quarterfinal picks: Jannik Sinner over Fabio Fognini, Ilya Ivashka over Lorenzo Sonego, Ugo Humbert over Lorenzo Musetti, and Pablo Carreno Busta over Oscar Otte

Semifinals: Sinner over Ivashka and Carreno Busta over Humbert

Final: Carreno Busta over Sinner

Tel Aviv Open

Where: Tel Aviv, Israel
Surface: Indoor hard
Points: 250
Prize Money: $949,475
Top seed: Novak Djokovic
Defending champion: Inaugural event

Novak Djokovic is a bit of a question mark after he looked less than 100 percent because of an apparent wrist issue during Sunday’s Laver Cup loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime. Still, the Serb should be able to beat anyone in this field if he is anywhere close to 100 percent.

Quarterfinal picks: Novak Djokovic over Tallon Griekspoor, Arthur Rinderknech over Roman Safiullin, Sebastian Korda over Constant Lestienne, and Marin Cilic over Botic van de Zandschulp

Semifinals: Djokovic over Rinderknech and Cilic over Korda

Final: Djokovic over Cilic

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.