The WTA 125 event in Florianopolis, Brazil headlines the tennis action this week, but there are some top players out to get court time on the Challenger Tour as well.
ATP Tour regulars Hugo Gaston and Albert Ramos-Vinolas go head-to-head in Valencia.
Controversial Australian tennis star Bernard Tomic has turned up for the Brasilia Challenger event.
Here, we make some picks from the upcoming tennis action from the WTA Tour and the Challenger Tour.
WTA Florianopolis: Elizabeth Mandlik vs Martina Capurro Taborda | Pick: Mandlik
WTA Florianopolis: Sara Bejlek vs Leolia Jeanjean | Pick: Jeanjean
Challenger Brasilia: Joao Fonseca vs Roman Andres Burruchaga | Pick: Burruchaga
Challenger Brasilia: Mateus Alves vs Alejandro Tabilo | Pick: Tabilo
Challenger Brasilia: Valentin Vacherot vs Bernard Tomic | Pick: Vecherot
Challenger Yokohama: Li Tu vs Yasutaka Uchiyama | Pick: Uchiyama
Challenger Valencia: Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs Adrian Andreev | Pick: Herbert
Challenger Valencia: Hugo Gaston vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas | Pick: Ramos-Vinolas
Challenger Valencia: Roberto Bautista Agut vs Alejandro Moro Canas | Pick: Bautista Agut
WTA Florianopolis: Elizabeth Mandlik vs Martina Capurro Taborda
Elizabeth Mandlik is chasing an eighth quarter-final appearance of the season when she faces Martina Capurro Taborda.
Taborda has a considerable edge in matches played on clay this season, having racked up 66 appearances across multiple tours on the surface.
However, many of those matches have been at ITF level, while Mandlik has more high-level experience this term.
This will be the first-ever clash at any level between these players.
WTA Florianopolis: Sara Bejlek vs Leolia Jeanjean
This one is a tight call, but Leolia Jeanjean wasn’t really allowed to get out of first gear before her first round opponent retired.
Beljek earned a hard-fought upset win over Italian Sara Errani to reach this stage and is probably the form player on the two.
However, if Jeanjean can dial in her groundstrokes, this match is hers to win.
Beljek and Jeanjean have not previously crossed paths on any of the professional tours.
Challenger Brasilia: Joao Fonseca vs Roman Andres Burruchaga
Roman Andres Burruchaga is fancied in his clash with Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca.
Fonseca will take little from the hometown advantage, given the experience disparity between the players.
Burruchaga will want to progress towards the top 200 and a more stable position on the ATP Tour and cannot afford to lose to a youngster at this stage of a Challenger.
Fonseca has nothing to lose but is likely to be a bundle of nerves playing in front of friends and family, and this is a tough ask of him.
Challenger Brasilia: Mateus Alves vs Alejandro Tabilo
Alejandro Tabilo will take belief from his previous win over Mateus Alves into their showdown in Brasilia.
Their previous meeting was some time ago, having come in 2018 at an ITF event in Peru.
Since then, Tabilo has carved a path up the ATP Rankings, while Alves is really yet to establish himself.
Tabilo is likely better for having to come through a qualifier before his opening round win and should take this in straight sets.
Challenger Brasilia: Valentin Vacherot vs Bernard Tomic
Bernard Tomic will struggle to draw money at the best of times because of his temperament on court and propensity for ‘tanking’.
Valentin Vacherot has a similar ranking to Tomic, but he should know that his key to victory will be keeping the pressure on the Australian.
Tomic snapped a three-match Challenger Tour losing streak in the first round in Brasilia.
This will be the first time Vacherot has come across Tomic in competitive tennis.
Challenger Yokohama: Li Tu vs Yasutaka Uchiyama
Yasutaka Uchiyama has already beaten Li Tu twice with the most recent triumph coming in July of this year.
Uchiyama has won all four sets in those two matches, with three of them won at 6-3.
Li holds the edge in ranking and recent form, having enjoyed a run to the last four at the Drummondville Challenger in his last outing.
However, those head to head wins mean that Uchiyama has the keys to victory in his hands.
Challenger Valencia: Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs Adrian Andreev
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Adrian Andreev split a ten-year age gap but just a 12-place rankings separation.
Andreev has played one less set to reach this stage of the competition, and this match could be decided by fine margins.
In those fine margins, Herbert’s experience should bring him through, but he would likely prefer not to be taken deep by Andreev.
Andreev won’t mind a longer battle if it means that he progresses, but he will have to raise his game against the veteran.
Challenger Valencia: Hugo Gaston vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
While they are both ATP Tour regulars, Hugo Gaston and Albert Ramos-Vinolas have only met once, and that was on the Challenger Tour.
Ramos-Vinolas won that encounter and will be a difficult player to best on clay in Valencia.
Gaston is ranked higher than Ramos-Vinolas, having enjoyed a better 2023 season, but other factors come into play in a head-to-head.
Ramos-Vinolas is nearing retirement but will be motivated to prove that he can still win these kinds of clashes.
Challenger Valencia: Roberto Bautista Agut vs Alejandro Moro Canas
It is another intergenerational clash when Roberto Bautista Agut and Alejandro Moro Canas meet.
The compatriots have never met before, and facing a player of Bautista Agut’s quality will be a big moment for Canas.
However, that doesn’t mean that Bautista Agut will be out to make the young man’s day memorable.
He will instead want to dispose of the 22-year-old as quickly as possible.