Montpellier Open 2020 Preview: Can Denis Shapovalov Shrug off His Australian Open Ouster?

Denis Shapovalov v Radu Albot predictions and tips
Photo Credit: Carine06 from UK

The 2020 Montpellier Open, also known as the Open Sud de France, is an ATP event which will be played on indoor hard courts at the Arena Montpellier, in Montpellier, between February 3 and 9. It forms part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2020 ATP Tour.

History of the Event

The Open de Sud, previously known as the Grand Prix de Tennis du Lyon, was held annually in Lyon from 1987 to 2009, before it was relocated to Montpellier. Previously held in October, it skipped a year in 2013, allowing the tournament to be rescheduled to early February in the tennis calendar.

Previous winners of the event include some greats of the game, including John McEnroe, and Pete Sampras who won it three times. However, it is Richard Gasquet of France who has achieved the greatest success here with four wins. In fact, since 2010, French players have dominated the event supplying all but two of the winners – Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in 2012, and Alexander Zverev of Germany three years ago – and the vast majority of finalists.

It was won by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France last year, defeating compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert in straight sets in the final.

Who is Playing at the 2020 Montpellier Open?

This year, the event has attracted a high quality field, with five men in the world’s top twenty amongst the seeds.

Number one seed is David Goffin of Belgium, the world number 11, who was a beaten finalist in the Cincinnati Masters last year, and a Wimbledon quarter-finalist. He has won 4 ATP career titles.

Denis Shapovalov of Canada is the second seed for the event, and he will be keen to show that his first round exit in Melbourne was just an aberration. Winner of his first ATP event in Stockholm last October, he beat Rafael Nadal in straight sets a few weeks ago playing for Canada in the ATP Cup.

Three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland is the number three seed. He is currently a part of the list of players but given his deep run through in the Australian Open it would be interesting to see whether he opts to participate in the Montpellier Open.

Having suffered from a series of injuries over the past few years, there were some who thought his career may have been on the wane. However, the 34 year old has shrugged off those suggestions by getting to the quarter-finals in Melbourne, coming from two sets to one down to beat Daniil Medvedev in their fourth round match.

Others in the reckoning include Lucas Pouille of France, Pablo Carreno Busta and Britain’s Dan Evans.

A dark horse for the title might have been the fifth seed Andrey Rublev of Russia but he has opted to withdraw from the competition and has been replaced by Mikhail Kukushkin.

Also having opted out of the competition is Fabio Fognini of Italy, winner of the Monte Carlo Masters last year, and a fierce competitor, as shown by his recent performances in the Australian Open.

Montpellier Open 2020 Prediction

Shapovalov to win

About Andy Dalziel 1773 Articles
Andy is English but a long time resident of Cyprus. When not writing about tennis and other sports, he is also a Chartered Accountant. In his spare moments, he spends more time than is healthy worrying about his beloved Arsenal.

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