Chung is 18-7 this season after ending 2017 as champion of the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals. 9) Spanish Armada: A dozen
BMW OPEN BY FWU STORYLINES MTTC Iphitos | Munich, Germany | 30 April-6 May 2018 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: €501,345 | Surface: Clay ATP World Tour Info ATPWorldTour.com Twitter: @ATPWorldTour Facebook: @ATPWorldTour
Tournament Info BMWOpen.de @BMWOpenbyFWU @BMWOpen
ATP PR & Marketing Martin Dagahs:
[email protected] Press Room:
[email protected] TV & Radio: TennisTV.com
10 THINGS TO WATCH IN MUNICH 1) Sliding into Spring: A trio of clay-court events takes place on the ATP World Tour this week in Munich, Estoril and Istanbul. At the BMW Open by FWU in Munich, defending champion and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev will join fellow German and three-time champion Philipp Kohlschreiber. 2) The Champ is Here: Zverev turned 21 on 20 April and is already making his fifth appearance in Munich. He’s improved his results each year, from the first round in 2014 and second round in 2015 to the semi-finals in 2016 and the title in 2017. Zverev has been ranked in the Top 5 each week since 11 September 2017. After winning five ATP titles last season, he’s seeking his first of 2018. 3) Right at Home: Kohlschreiber earned 30+ wins and enjoyed Top 50 finishes in each of the last 11 seasons. The key to Kohlschreiber’s success has come in Germany, where he is 116-61 (.655) compared to 314-271 elsewhere (.537). Kohlschreiber, 34, is making his 10th straight and 14th overall appearance in Munich. The five-time Munich finalist won the title in 2007, 2012 and 2016. 4) Other Germans: Yannick Hanfmann, Yannick Maden, Maximilian Marterer, Florian Mayer, Jan-Lennard Struff and Mischa Zverev will also represent Germany. Marterer had an 0-14 record entering 2018. He is 7-7 on the season, not including his sixth Challenger title at Cherbourg, FRA. 5) Steady Spaniard: Like Kohlschreiber, No. 2 seed Roberto Bautista Agut is one of the ATP World Tour’s most consistent players. He has earned 40+ wins and enjoyed Top 25 finishes in each of the last four seasons. Bautista Agut, 30, won the biggest of his eight career titles at Dubai on 3 March. 6) On the Rise: No. 3 seed Diego Schwartzman has achieved a new career-high ranking 15 times since the start of 2017, peaking at No. 15 on 2 April. Schwartzman did not drop a set en route to his first ATP World Tour 500 title at Rio de Janeiro on 25 February. The Argentine is 5-5 since then. 7) Asian Sensation: Hyeon Chung of South Korea is 18-7 this season after ending 2017 with the Next Gen ATP Finals title. Chung’s rankings rise began at 2017 Munich, where he reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final as the World No. 78. He returns to Munich this week as the No. 4 seed. 8) 300 Wins: No. 5 seed Fabio Fognini is one win from 300 for his career. The 2014 Munich finalist bids to become the fourth Italian player to win 300 matches. Retired players Corrado Barazzutti and Adriano Panatta reached the milestone, while Andreas Seppi earned his 300th win in 2016. 9) Monfils in Munich: No. 7 seed Gael Monfils comes back to the ATP World Tour this week. The Frenchman returned from a right knee injury to win his seventh ATP title at Doha in January. But Monfils hurt his back at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells and has not played since 13 March. 10) Doubles Details: Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo are co-No. 1s in the ATP Doubles Rankings but enter Munich with seven losses in their last 10 matches. They are joined in the field by Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald, who are 20-8 with three titles since debuting as a team last August. Information accurate as of Friday, 27 April at 4 pm ET. For the latest stats, facts and figures about the ATP World Tour, follow @ATPMediaInfo on Twitter.
MILLENNIUM ESTORIL OPEN STORYLINES Clube de Tenis do Estoril | Estoril, Portugal | 30 April-6 May 2018 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: €501,345 | Surface: Clay ATP World Tour Info ATPWorldTour.com Twitter: @ATPWorldTour Facebook: @ATPWorldTour
Tournament Info MillenniumEstorilOpen.com @EstorilOpen @MillenniumEstorilOpen
ATP PR & Marketing Edward La Cava:
[email protected] Press Room:
[email protected] TV & Radio: TennisTV.com
10 THINGS TO WATCH IN ESTORIL 1) Sliding into Spring: A trio of clay-court events takes place on the ATP World Tour this week in Munich, Estoril and Istanbul. At the Millennium Estoril Open, #NextGenATP stars Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe and Stefanos Tsitsipas will challenge reigning champion Pablo Carreno Busta. 2) The Champ is Here: The second-seeded Carreno Busta is 11-2 at the Millennium Estoril Open and will have appeared at all four editions of the event. He reached the semi-finals in 2015 and the final in 2016 before winning the 2017 title without dropping a set. Following a run to the ATP Masters 1000 Miami semi-finals, Carreno Busta meets Tsitsipas on Saturday in the Barcelona semi-finals. 3) Greek Freak: Tsitsipas is only 19, but he’s already the highest-ranked Greek in ATP World Tour history. This Monday, the former World No. 1 junior will achieve a new career-high ranking for the seventh time in 2018. He beat No. 7 Dominic Thiem on Friday for the biggest win of his career. 4) Big Foe on the Come Up: The 20-year-old Tiafoe is 11-6 this season after starting his career 9-29. Tiafoe followed his first semi-final and final with his first title at Delray Beach on 25 February, becoming the youngest American champion on the ATP World Tour since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston. Tiafoe earned the first clay-court win of his career in Houston on 9 April. 5) Demon Delivers: De Minaur made history on home soil in January with runs to the Brisbane semifinals and Sydney final. The Aussie, now 19, became the youngest semi-finalist in Brisbane history and the youngest semi-finalist in consecutive weeks since 18-year-old Rafael Nadal in 2005. 6) Elite Eight: No. 1 seed Kevin Anderson is ranked a career-high No. 8 after starting the year 17-5. Anderson has reached three finals in 2018, highlighted by the New York title. He beat Carreno Busta in a third-set tiebreak at Indian Wells before losing to him in a third-set tiebreak at Miami. 7) Pride of Portugal: Joao Sousa reached a career-high No. 28 in 2016 and is the highest-ranked Portuguese player in ATP World Tour history. But the 29-year-old Sousa is still seeking a maiden victory at the Millennium Estoril Open, losing his opening matches in 2015, 2016 and 2017. 8) Career Year: No. 3 seed Kyle Edmund reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open, ended Andy Murray’s 12-year reign as the No. 1 Brit on 5 March, then advanced to his first ATP World Tour final at Marrakech earlier this month. Edmund lost the final to Pablo Andujar. 9) Remarkable Comeback: Andujar used a protected ranking to enter both Marrakech and Estoril after undergoing three right elbow surgeries. As the World No. 355, Andujar won the Marrakech title to become the lowest-ranked champion on tour since No. 550 Lleyton Hewitt at 1998 Adelaide. 10) Speaking of Hewitt: De Minaur grew up idolizing Hewitt, who is travelling with the teen this season and will play doubles with him this week. Hewitt last played singles at the 2016 Australian Open, but has played doubles with countrymen John Peers, Jordan Thompson and Sam Groth since then. Information accurate as of Friday, 27 April at 4 pm ET. For the latest stats, facts and figures about the ATP World Tour, follow @ATPMediaInfo on Twitter.
TEB BNP PARIBAS ISTANBUL OPEN STORYLINES Koza World of Sports | Istanbul, Turkey | 30 April-6 May 2018 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: €426,145 | Surface: Clay ATP World Tour Info ATPWorldTour.com Twitter: @ATPWorldTour Facebook: @ATPWorldTour
Tournament Info IstOpen.net @IstanbulOpen @IstanbulOpen
ATP PR & Marketing Fabienne Benoit:
[email protected] Press Room:
[email protected] TV & Radio: TennisTV.com
10 THINGS TO WATCH IN ISTANBUL 1) Sliding into Spring: A trio of clay-court events takes place on the ATP World Tour this week in Munich, Estoril and Istanbul. At the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, reigning champion and World No. 4 Marin Cilic is joined by Bernard Tomic, who has yet to play a tour-level match this season. 2) The Champ is Here: Cilic returns to Istanbul as the No. 1 seed. He took a wild card in 2017 and did not drop a set en route to the title, including victories over this year’s No. 2 seed Damir Dzumhur, last year’s No. 1 seed Milos Raonic and 2016 champion Diego Schwartzman. The Croat has won an ATP World Tour title in 10 straight seasons and is seeking his first championship of 2018. 3) Three’s a Crowd: After reaching finals at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, Cilic achieved a career-high No. 3 in the ATP Rankings on 29 January. Cilic became the 16th World No. 3 since 25 July 2005. Only four players have been in the Top 2 since that date 13 years ago: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Alexander Zverev is the current World No. 3. 4) Momentum Stalled: Dzumhur ended 2017 on a 24-7 run, highlighted by his first two ATP World Tour titles at St. Petersburg and Moscow. But the 25-year-old Bosnian is 9-12 in 2018, including retirements in Sydney and Marseille, as well as back-to-back losses to Italian Marco Cecchinato. 5) Bernie’s Back: Tomic accepted a wild card into Istanbul and is playing at the event for the third straight season. Still only 25 years old, Tomic failed to qualify at the Australian Open and has played only one Challenger match since then. His last tour-level match came at Vienna in October. 6) Italians in Istanbul: Four Italians are in Istanbul this week: No. 3 seed Andreas Seppi, No. 5 seed Paolo Lorenzi, 22-year-old Matteo Berrettini and Thomas Fabbiano. Seppi is playing Cecchinato in the Budapest semi-finals on Saturday and trying to win his first ATP World Tour title since 2012. 7) Feet of Clay: No. 4 seed Aljaz Bedene won 16 straight clay-court matches overall in April 2017. He’s back to his best on clay in 2018 with runs to the Buenos Aires final, Rio de Janeiro quarterfinals and Budapest semi-finals. Bedene is seeking his first ATP title in Budapest this weekend. 8) 500 Wins Club: Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny is three wins from 500 for his career. Youzhny is hoping to join former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov (609 victories) as the second Russian player to win at least 500 matches. Youzhny, who turns 36 in June, has captured 10 ATP titles. 9) Two Turks: Wild cards Marsel Ilhan and Cem Ilkel will represent Turkey at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open this week. While Ilhan is a former Top 100 player, Ilkel is seeking his first ATP World Tour victory. Ilkel is 0-7 overall at this level, including Istanbul losses in 2015, 2016 and 2017. 10) International Man of Mystery: Ben McLachlan and Nicholas Monroe lead the advance doubles entries in Istanbul. Born in New Zealand and educated in California, McLachlan represents Japan. The 25-year-old won his first ATP title at Tokyo last October with countryman Yasutaka Uchiyama. Information accurate as of Friday, 27 April at 4 pm ET. For the latest stats, facts and figures about the ATP World Tour, follow @ATPMediaInfo on Twitter.
