Stockholm opens: Rune-Bergs and Sonego-Halys in round one

The BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm, an ATP 250 event, began on Monday 9 November and gets through the first round of the main draw in two days. The first two matches are already in the books: Thiago Agustin Tirante beat Jaume Antoni Munar Clar 7-6(3) 6-3, while Juan Manuel Cerundolo got past Elias Ymer 6-1 7-6(4). Both now wait for the next round, the last 16.

According to the site's order of play, Monday brings Alex Michelsen vs Yannick Hanfmann (12:30), James Duckworth vs Cameron Norrie (13:00), Tomas Machac vs Borna Gojo (14:00), Adolfo Daniel Vallejo vs Ugo Humbert (14:30), Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Max Dahlin (18:00) and Leo Borg vs Toby Samuel (19:30). On Tuesday at 11:00 it is the turn of Arthur Rinderknech vs Miomir Kecmanovic, Holger Rune vs Zizou Bergs, Lorenzo Sonego vs Quentin Halys and Luca Van Assche vs Alexander Shevchenko.

Why does it matter? Points, first of all. In Stockholm the title is worth 250 ATP points, the final 165, the semifinal 100, the quarterfinal 50 and the last 16 25. Whoever loses in the first round collects nothing.

For several players the week is also about defending. With the 2026 edition, the 2025 points drop off: 250 for champion Casper Ruud, 165 for finalist Ugo Humbert, 100 each for semifinalists Denis Shapovalov and Holger Rune, and 50 for quarterfinalists Elias Ymer, Lorenzo Sonego, Sebastian Korda and Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Ymer has already lost in the first round, so his 50 points will not be replaced.

The roll of honour kept by the site shows a tournament where the winners often win cleanly. In 2025 Ruud beat Humbert in the final 6-2 6-3; in 2024 Tommy Paul got past Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3; in 2021 Paul again beat Shapovalov 6-4 2-6 6-4. Across three finals the champions dropped just one set.

The most interesting case is Humbert. The Frenchman, 28, is No. 38 in the live rankings with 1,345 points and returns to Stockholm as a finalist. His season, however, has lacked consistency: in his last 10 matches he has won 2 and lost 8. In Paris he beat Botic Van De Zandschulp 7-6(5) 6-7(9) 6-3 and then lost to Matteo Berrettini 7-6(3) 7-5; in Basel he lost to Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-3 6-4, in Lyon to Corentin Moutet 6-2 6-7(5) 7-6(4).

His strength remains indoor hard courts. In the completed seasons from 2021 to 2025 Humbert is 30-13 indoors, and 10-2 in 2025 alone. His opponent, Vallejo, is No. 56 with 947 points, is 22 and a half years old and has no history against the Frenchman: a first meeting that leaves every scenario open.

Tuesday's most anticipated clash is Rune vs Bergs. The Dane, 23, is No. 408 with 120 points, and in Stockholm he has 100 points to defend for last year's semifinal: almost his entire current total. In his last 10 matches he has won 4 and lost 6. In Basel he beat Quentin Halys 6-4 6-7(2) 7-6(5) and Hubert Hurkacz 3-6 6-3 7-6(7) before stopping in the quarterfinals against Valentin Vacherot, 6-3 3-6 6-3.

Rune's record shows a player who can hold his own indoors: from 2021 to 2025 he has 138 wins and 88 losses in the tournaments tracked by the site, 5 titles and 11 finals, with a 38-12 indoor record. In 2022 he won 20 of his 23 matches under a roof. In Paris, in the first round, he lost to Paul 7-5 6-4.

Across the net will be Bergs, No. 44 with 1,236 points and 26 wins and 24 losses on the main tour in 2025. The Belgian is 5-5 in his last 10: in Brussels he beat Damir Dzumhur 6-2 6-4 and Toby Samuel 6-3 7-6(3) before stopping in the quarterfinals against Jan-Lennard Struff, 6-3 7-6(6). In Paris he went out straight away, 6-2 6-4 against Ignacio Buse. There is only one previous meeting and it belongs to Rune: Marseille 2022, first round, 1-6 6-3 6-4.

Sonego vs Halys also deserves attention, for Italian reasons. The Italian is No. 105 with 581 points and on Tuesday tries to defend the 50 points from his 2025 quarterfinal. Against Halys, No. 45, the count is level at 1-1: in 2023 in Munich Sonego won 3-6 7-6(5) 7-5, in 2025 in Stuttgart Halys answered 6-7(6) 7-5 6-4. Both meetings went to a third set.

For Sonego these have been months of ups and downs: 3 wins and 7 losses in his last 10 matches. In Paris he lost to Mattia Bellucci 6-4 6-3, in Lyon to Moise Kouame 7-6(2) 6-4; in Chengdu he beat Duckworth 6-4 6-4 and stopped against Jenson Brooksby, 5-7 7-5 6-2. At the US Open he went five sets with Alexander Zverev, who prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4.

The other story of Tuesday is Van Assche. The Frenchman comes off an important week in Paris: he beat Mariano Navone 6-3 7-5, Learner Tien 7-6(4) 6-4, Lorenzo Musetti 7-5 3-6 6-4 and Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-7(4) 7-5, before stopping in the semifinal against Ben Shelton, 5-7 6-3 6-4. The run earned him 400 points: he is now No. 34 with 1,505 points.

Against Shevchenko, however, the history is not on his side: in Brisbane in 2024, in the first round, he lost 6-3 6-2. It will be a good test of how much the Paris week has changed his standing on tour.

Michelsen, No. 35 with 1,485 points, opens against a Hanfmann who is No. 58 (923 points, 35 years old, 9 wins and 13 losses in 2025). There is no head-to-head history. The American, 22, arrives with good results: in Paris he beat Jiri Lehecka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 and lost only to Carlos Alcaraz, 7-6(4) 6-3; in Brussels he knocked out Arthur Fils 6-4 7-6(12) in the quarterfinals.

Norrie, No. 47 with 1,195 points, meets Duckworth again with the past on his side: in Los Cabos this year, in the last 16, he beat him 6-4 6-4. The Briton has won only 3 of his last 10 matches, though. In Paris he got past Matteo Arnaldi 6-4 1-6 6-3 and then lost to Shelton 6-3 6-4; in Vienna he went out in the last 16 against Daniil Medvedev, 4-6 6-3 7-6(1).

Among the other Monday matches is Etcheverry, No. 29 with 1,650 points, who has 50 points to defend from the 2025 quarterfinals. In Paris the Argentine eliminated Alex de Minaur 7-6(2) 6-3 and Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-7(4) 7-6(3), before stopping in the last 16 against Hijikata, 2-6 6-3 7-5. Machac, No. 65 with 869 points, faces Gojo with no previous meetings.

And then? Whoever wins on Monday and Tuesday enters the last 16, where the draw already raises the stakes: 25 points secured, and the road to the quarterfinals and semifinals. For Humbert, Rune and Sonego this is a week of defence, for Van Assche and Michelsen a chance to confirm. The first two matches already produced two tie-breaks: we will see whether the rhythm holds. We will update the results on the site round by round.