Scouting Report: Alex De Minaur leads Rotterdam, Ben Shelton plays in Dallas, Joao Fonseca returns to Buenos Aires | ATP Tour

Scouting report

Scouting report: De Minaur leads Rotterdam, Shelton plays in Dallas, Fonseca returns to Buenos Aires

An executive summary of what every fan should know about next week’s content

February 8, 2026

The ATP Tour is taking place across three continents this week, with tournaments taking place in Europe, North America and South America.

Alex de Minaur leads the pack at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, while Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz dominate the field at the Nexo Dallas Open. Both are ATP 500 hard court events. On the clay courts of South America, Joao Fonseca and Francisco Cerundolo will compete in the IEB+ Argentina Open, an ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires.

ATPTour.com breaks down five things to watch for at each event.

Five things to watch out for in Rotterdam
1) De Minaur takes the lead: De Minaur will lead the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam. The 26-year-old reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last month and has advanced to title contention at the indoor hard-court event in 2024 and 2025. He will face Arthur Fells in the 2026 title match.

2) Former champion Auger-Aliassime: Felix Auger-Aliassim has great memories in Rotterdam, where he won the title in 2022. The Canadian is arriving in the Netherlands after lifting his eighth career indoor title in Montpellier.

3) Can Bublik maintain his good form? Alexander Bublik has been on a mission in recent months. The 28-year-old won four titles in the second half of last season and added another in Hong Kong this year. By winning the ATP 250 trophy in January, Bublik broke into the top ten of the PIF ATP rankings for the first time. He faces a tough opening test in Rotterdam against Hubert Hurkacz.

4) Medvedev and Tsitsipas in action: Rotterdam 2023 champion Daniil Medvedev will try to bounce back from his fourth-round exit at the Australian Open. The 29-year-old is seeking a second trophy of the season after winning the title in Brisbane. Stefanos Tsitsipas made his eighth appearance in Rotterdam in 2022 and won the championship match.

5) Phils continues to return: Fiers made his long-awaited return last week in Montpellier, advancing to the quarter-finals. The Frenchman has been sidelined since early August with a back injury. The 21-year-old continues his comeback in Rotterdam against top seed De Minaur.

Five Things to Watch in Dallas
1) Sheldon can’t wait to go: Shelton, who reached his fifth Grand Slam quarterfinal and third at the Australian Open in Melbourne, will be looking to maintain his good form in Dallas. The 23-year-old American reached the semifinals of the 2024 event.

2) Fritz chases his first championship in 2026: Fritz will compete in his fourth ATP 500 event after losing in the fourth round in Melbourne. The 28-year-old is chasing a first title since winning at Eastbourne in June.

3) Can Foki cross the line? : Alejandro Davidovich Fokina reached four finals last year, according to the Infosys ATP Win-Loss Index. When he takes the field in Dallas, the Spaniard will be hoping to break his title run and win for the first time on tour. Grigor Dimitrov will also compete. The Bulgarian won a first-round tie in Brisbane in January and will make his debut in Dallas to regain his fitness.

4) Paul and Tien are American players in the draw: 2024 champion Tommy Paul and current Next Generation ATP Finals winner Learner Tien will join Shelton and Paul in flying the American flag. Other home hopes in the draw include Frances Tiafoe, Brandon Nakajima, Alex Michelson, Sebastian Korda and two-time champion Riley Opelka.

5) Harrison/Skupski performed well: Christian Harrison and Neil Skupski, fresh off their Australian Open titles, will seek greater success in Dallas, where Harrison won the trophy with Evan King in 2025. Marcelo Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are the top seeds.

Five Things to Watch in Buenos Aires
1) Defending champion Fonseca returns: Fonseca captured his first ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires last year and became the youngest South American champion in the ATP Tour era (since 1990). The 19-year-old returns to the top 35 players in the PIF ATP Rankings this year.

2) Can Cerundolo take the next step? Cerundolo lost to Fonseca in the final last year but hopes to lift the trophy this week. The 27-year-old Argentinian has also advanced to the title match of the 2021 ATP 250 clay court event.

3) Dudley pursues more clay-court success: Luciano Darderi has won all 4 ATP Tour titles on clay. Can the 23-year-old Italian, winner of Córdoba, Marrakech, Bastad and Umag, maintain his good clay-court record in Buenos Aires this week?

4) Baez and Berrettini match: Another home player to watch is Sebastian Baez. The 25-year-old Argentinian has won six of seven tour-level titles on clay but has yet to win at the ATP 250. Matteo Berrettini will make his Championship debut. The Italian has won six trophies on clay but is seeking his first success since July 2024.

5) Singles stars in doubles matches: Cerundolo and Dudley will also be participating in this week’s doubles draw. Serendolo will be paired with singles player Francisco Comesana, while Dadri will be paired with Tomas Martin Echeverri. Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni are the top seeds.