Tennis News: Tel Aviv, Sofia & Seoul: What to watch for this week in Women's and Men's tennis
After an overwhelming but refreshing edition of the Laver Cup, where Swiss legend Roger Federer played the last match of his career, tennis fans can look forward to a busy week
Tennis This WeekBig names in tennis have now headed to Seoul, Sofia and Tel Aviv on the ATP Tour as a trio of ATP 250 hard-court events that started on September 26 to October 2, 2022.
World number two Casper Ruud is plying his trade at the Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul. At the same time, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic enter the Sofia Open and Tel Aviv Watergen Open, respectively, as top seeds.
Seoul Open: Casper Ruud top seed as ATP Tour returns to South Korean capital
Casper Ruud has eluded tour-level trophies except three clay-court titles over the season. He was a finalist in the US Open in New York this year.
As the ATP Tour returns to the South Korean capital for the first time since 1996, Rudd will be someone to watch out for besides second seed Cameron Norrie and third seed Taylor Fritz.
This season, Norrie secured the title in Delray Beach and became a finalist on hard courts in Acapulco and Los Cabos. World number 74 Soonwoo Kwon, who leads the home team, advanced to the second round after defeating fellow South Korean Yunseong Chung.
The tournament also marks the return of former Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals winner Hyeon Chung, who has paired up with Kwon in the doubles draw.
Chung was a champion in Milan in 2017 and a semi-finalist at the 2018 Australian Open.
Sofia Open: Jannik Sinner eyeing a hat-trick
Jannik Sinner, who tops the list of participants at the Sofia Open, is seeking his third straight crown at the ATP 250 indoor hard-court event. The 21-year-old cruised to victory last year without dropping a set and is currently 43-13 for the 2022 season.
Like Sinner, home favourite Grigor Dimitrov has remained undefeated in Sofia. Despite being inconsistent, he won three of his eight tour-level titles on indoor hard courts.
Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune are currently third and fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan. Meanwhile, second seed Pablo Carreno Busta returns to the court for the first time after reaching the fourth round of the US Open this year.
On the other hand, Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini are chasing their third tour-level title of the season. Second seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez, who have won three ATP Tour trophies so far, are also strong contenders.
Tel Aviv Open: Novak Djokovic's comeback
Novak Djokovic is competing in Israel this week, where the 88-time tour-level titlist is the top seed. The Serb wants to win his third tour-level crown of the year after victories in Rome and at Wimbledon.
Elsewhere, Diego Schwartzman and Marin Cilic will seek their first tour-level trophies of 2022 in Tel Aviv. The former was a finalist on clay in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro in February, while Cilic reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
17-time tour-level titlist Dominic Thiem who recently missed nine months due to a wrist injury will try to leave a mark as Tel Aviv hosts an ATP Tour event for the first time since 1996.
Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies will try to win their third ATP Tour crown of the 2022 season but could face tough competition from Rohan Bopanna and Matwe Middelkoop.
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