ATP tournament returns to Hong Kong after 22 years, black horse is from Spain

The ATP tennis tournament in Hong Kong has started. Among the participants we can see, for example, Russian players starting under the neutral flag Andrey Rublev or his compatriot Khachanov. These Russian tennis players are also the first two seeds. However, several other quality names such as Tiafoe, Struff, Bautista Agut and Musetti can also be seen in the tournament line-up.

The men’s tennis tournament in Hong Kong is such a sporting classic, but its last edition will probably be remembered by few. This event was founded in 1973. The tournament was played regularly in the Chinese-administered capital until 2002, when it was removed from the ATP calendar. This year’s edition is the first in twenty-two years.

Historically, Hong Kong has always had a very good line-up. Among the winners of the men’s singles we can find, for example, the legendary Australian Rod Laver, in 1979 the American stormer Jimmy Connors won, the year after him Ivan Lendl. Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras also have titles from the Chinese province in their collection.

In Hong Kong, it is played on outdoor hard courts and according to the available data from the qualification and opening matches, the courts are moderately fast. From watching the streams, the courts do look faster than they appear, but it’s always better to trust the hard data.

A pleasant climate can be expected at the tournament this week with temperatures around 17 degrees Celsius, however the humidity is around fifty to seventy percent. With more sunshine and higher temperatures, the humidity may be a factor, but if the forecast calls for something in the 20s, the players should be able to handle everything without any problems.

The tournament, like the one being played concurrently in Brisbane, Australia, belongs to the ATP 250 category, so the winner will take 250 points in the ATP rankings plus a cash prize of US$100,000.

The number one seed is the Olympic mixed doubles winner from Tokyo (won together with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) Andrey Rublev, who comes from the Moscow family of professional boxer and later restaurateur Andrey Rublev and tennis coach Marina Marenkova.

Rublev has already earned twenty-one million US dollars from tennis, his first appearance on the courts since the Tournament of Champions and the “Christmas exhibition”, which he played in two sets with Bulgarian Dimitrov with a 1:1 record.

Rublev is a very good player on the outdoor court, it is his best surface. If Rublev makes it through the opening round, the eighth seed – 19-year-old French talent Arthur Fils – will probably await him in the quarterfinals.

The second seed, on the other side of the Hong Kong field, is twenty-seven-year-old Moscow-born Karen Khachanov, who now lives in Dubai. If Khachanov eventually confirms his role as the favourite (he has already earned over 13 million US dollars from tennis), he should face the sixth seeded twenty-one year old Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals.

The number three seed is twenty-five year old American from Orlando Francis Tiafoe. The top four players of the Hong Kong tournament are rounded out by the surprisingly twenty-five-year-old Argentine Francisco Cerundolo from Buenos Aires, whose sister Maria is a well-known professional field hockey player and has won numerous medals with the Argentine national team at major events.

Tip for the semi-finals of the ATP Tour 250 Hong Kong

Rublev – Tiafoe

I expect a standard performance from Rublev from his position as the favourite and number one seed. The 19-year-old Frenchman is already storming the gates of the world’s elite top 30, winning his first ATP title in Lyon last year and finishing the year with a final appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals. There, however, he fell to Medjedovic in five sets.

Bautista Agut – Khachanov

Thirty-five year old Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut is the big dark horse of the tournament, having won ten ATP tournaments and earned fifteen million US dollars from tennis. He’s a former world No. 9 and has been upping his game a lot in recent months.

As for Khachanov, he should be 100% game ready, he won the title at the end of the year after five years and has enough quality to return to the world top ten. The tournament in Hong Kong will culminate this weekend, with the title very likely to fall into the hands of one of the two top-seeded Russians, Rublev and Khachanov. But watch out for the tournament’s dark horse from Spain, Roberto Bautista Agut.

Source: ATP Tour