Previews: Aryna Sabalenka in China Open; Laver Cup stars, including Carlos Alcaraz, in Tokyo and Beijing

While the top women take a break before their season-ending championships in Fort Worth, the men begin ramping up for theirs, which starts on November 13 in Turin. That ramp-up starts with a shift from 250-level events to 500-level events in Vienna and Basel. This may not sound like much of an escalation, but it’s enough to draw a crowd. Two crowds, in fact. Between them, Vienna and Basel feature 12 of the tour’s Top 15, many of whom are still in the running for the final spots in Turin.

Erste Bank Open

Vienna

$2,365,000; ATP 500

Indoor hard court

Draw is here

The last time we saw Daniil Medvedev, he was playing a brilliant semifinal against Novak Djokovic in Astana…and then suddenly he wasn’t. After winning the first set, Medvedev lost a tight second-set tiebreaker...and then shook Djokovic’s hand and walked off, leaving the Serb wondering what had just happened. A “strange pop” in his adductor muscle was what Medvedev said happened, though there were no obvious signs of injury.

Medvedev is searching for his second title of the season (Los Cabos).

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Now he’s back, presumably healed, as the top seed in a strong Vienna draw. He and No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas have each clinched one of the eight spots in Turin, so they won’t have quite as much to play for as the guys who are still in the hunt for the three positions that remain. That includes Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz, Jannik Sinner, Cam Norrie and Matteo Berrettini.

All of them will be looking to earn as many points as they can, and get ready for the season’s last Masters 1000, which begins this coming weekend in Paris. Of the players mentioned above, Rublev is the only one currently in the Top 8 in the race, while Fritz is the closest to joining it.

First-round matches to watch:

Medvedev vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili
Sinner vs. Cristian Garin
Berrettini vs. Dan Evans
Hurkacz vs. Frances Tiafoe

A short time after each helped Team World win the Laver Cup, Fritz beat Tiafoe in Tokyo's 500-level final.

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Swiss Indoors

Basel, Switzerland

$2,244,000; ATP 500

Indoor hard court

Draw is here

Vienna has a few more Top 15 players, but Basel can boast the best of them all at the moment, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. The US Open champ has clinched a spot in Turin, but it still feels as if there’s something at stake for the Spaniard this week. He has played just one ATP match since the Open, and he lost it, to David Goffin in straight sets in Astana. Alcaraz lacked much of his trademark intensity that day, but I don’t think he’s going to want to begin a losing streak so soon after his Grand Slam breakthrough. He also won’t want to lose to his first-round opponent, Jack Draper; the 20-year-old Brit could be a rival to Alcaraz for the next decade.

Like Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed here, Casper Ruud, has also qualified for Turin. Also like Alcaraz, Ruud hasn’t done much since. He’s 1-2 in his last two events, and is coming off an opening-round loss to Jaume Munar in Tokyo. This week Ruud will start against home favorite Stan Wawrinka.

Ruud and Alcaraz during a Basel practice session.

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Felix Auger-Aliassime is the third seed, and the in-form player of the moment. He comes to Basel on an eight-match, two-tournament win streak, having won back-to-back titles in Florence and Antwerp. He’ll start against another home favorite, Swiss wild card Marc-Andrea Huesler. FAA, who is tentatively holding onto the final spot in Turin, can’t afford to rest now.

First-round matches to watch:

Alcaraz vs. Draper
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
Alex De Minaur vs. Stockholm champ Holger Rune
Ruud vs. Wawrinka

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