ATP Previews: Clay Kicks Off in Quito; Cilic and French Force in Montpellier
OPEN SUD DE FRANCE
Montpellier, France; Surface: hard
ADHEREL
Seeds: Richard Gasquet, Marin Cilic, Gilles Simon, Benoit Paire, Gael Monfils, Joao Sousa, Borna Coric, Marcos Baghdatis
Floaters: Ernests Gulbis
Notes: Homecountry hope Gasquet is the lone Top 10 player in the draw…Not a lot of floating talent in the field, but Gasquet after a bye will likely start against the dangerous Gulbis…Wildcards went to the No. 8 seed Baghdatis and Frenchmen Julien Benneteau and Quentin Halys…Players pulling from the tournament were Ivan Dodig, Jerzy Janowicz, Andrey Kuznetsov and Tommy Robredo…Gasquet beat Janowicz in last year’s final when the Pole retired with illness, the second title run for the Frenchman over the last three years in Monpellier…Former champs in the field are Gasquet (2015,’13) and Monfils (2014,’10).
GARANTO KOZA SOFIA OPEN
Sofia, Bulgaria; Surface: hard
Seeds: Roberto Bautista Agut, Viktor Troicki, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Andreas Seppi, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Gilles Muller, Martin Klizan, Adrian Mannarino
Floaters: Lukas Rosol, Sergiy Stakhovsky
Notes: No Top 20 players in the field, and where is homeboy Grigor Dimitrov? Dissing your country’s first-time event? He’s going to skip Sofia but play at Delray Beach in the U.S.? Ouch…The Top 4 players receive opening-round byes…(5) Kohlschreiber a potentially tricky start against the veteran Stakhovsky…Wildcards were awarded to Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan, and Bulgarians Dimitar Kuzmanov and Alexander Lazov…Two players withdrew from the event, Simone Bolelli and Janko Tipsarevic…This year is the first edition of the event.
ECUADOR OPEN QUITO
Quito, Ecuador; Surface: clay
Seeds: Bernard “The Tank Engine” Tomic, Feliciano “F-Lo” Lopez, Thomaz Bellucci, Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco, Victor Estrella Burgos, Paolo Lorenzi, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Pablo Carreno Busta
Floaters: Al Montanes
Notes: The top-seeded Tank Engine after a bye will start against either American Austin Krajicek or Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena…Lotsa three-name players in the first claycourt outing of the year…No Top 15 players in the field…(3) Bellucci after a bye could face a tough start against veteran Al Montanes…Wildcards were awarded to Ecuador’s Gonzalo Escobar and Giovanni Lapentti, and Colombia’s Alejandro Gonzalez…Pulling from the event were Marco Cecchinato, Andreas “Don’t Be A” Haider-Maurer, and Ivo Karlovic…Quito is the first of a five-tournament claycourt swing through Latin America…Last year Estrella Burgos won his first career title in the first edition of the event, beating F-Lo in the final, and at 34 becoming the oldest first-time winner in ATP history.
You Might Like:
ATP Previews: Montpellier, Quito, Zagreb
Tomic The Tank Engine In Quito: “F This Place” [Video]
Dimitrov, Zverev, Estrella Burgos ATP Weekend Winners
ATP Weekend Wrap: No Grigor, No Problem for Sofia Debut
Estrella Burgos Magic Continues at ATP Ecuador Open