Indoor Hard-Court Action Begins in Stockholm with Top Seeds Competing

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — The European indoor hard-court swing kicks off Monday at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open, featuring top seeds Alexei Popyrin and Tallon Griekspoor.

Popyrin will take on American player Sebastian Korda in the first round. This marks their fourth career matchup, with Korda leading the series 2-1, including both previous indoor meetings. Korda, currently ranked 60th, secured victories in their past two encounters in Eckental and Astana, while Popyrin claimed a win at the 2024 Montreal Masters.

After his win against Korda last year, Popyrin achieved his first Masters 1000 title. However, the 48th-ranked Aussie has struggled lately, entering the Stockholm tournament with a 17-19 season record and has not played since the U.S. Open. In contrast, Korda’s performance has been steadier, with a recent 3-3 record during the Asian swing.

In another matchup, Tallon Griekspoor faces Jake Fearnley for the second time, having previously defeated him in last year’s tournament. Griekspoor, ranked 31st, is coming off a strong performance in Shanghai, while Fearnley has struggled recently, winning only one match since June.

As the tournament progresses, both Popyrin and Griekspoor will aim to secure victories to advance further.