The 2019 edition of the Sofia Open kick-starts from Monday with some of the top names in men’s tennis taking part in the competition. Here’s the 2019 Sofia Open preview, live streaming options and predictions.
Watch the 2019 Sofia Open Live Streaming Options Here
With the first Grand Slam of the year behind us, the ATP tour rolls into February, which is the busiest month on the tour. Different surfaces in different parts of the globe, indoor and not, all come into effect.
Having made its mark on the ATP World Tour through Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria hosted its first World Tour event in Sofia in 2016. Dimitrov played in 2017 for the first time and won the title. Dimitrov will be a key absentee, in the 2019 version, however.
The Sofia field boasts of a strong presence of ‘Next Gen’ stars.
2018 Paris Masters champion Karen Khachanov is the top seed, and will be hoping to rediscover some of the form he exhibited at the end of last year, after an underwhelming Australian Open.
Young Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas, fresh from a semi-final run at the Australian Open including a win over Roger Federer, will look to capitalize on his current form and confidence.
Khachanov’s fellow Russian rising star Daniil Medvedev, will look for a strong outing as well, after a reasonable Australian Open which ended in a tough fought battle at the hands of ultimate champion Novak Djokovic.
Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut, has had a very positive January and as the third seed here, will look to make a run towards the end of the tournament.
Hard hitting Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvilli, with a promising last few months can expect to do well here with a somewhat favorable draw.
Swiss former world number three, Stanislas Wawrinka, continues his return from injury and will like to use a deep-run here to move up the rankings and further his match confidence.
With veterans like Gael Monfils, Fernando Verdasco, and Andreas Seppi, the Sofia draw has some exciting match-ups in prospect, and will bode well for the start of the next leg of the season.
Tsitsipas, high on confidence from having beaten Roger Federer at the Australian Open, may edge all out as a slight favorite; but as mentioned above there are a number of equally legitimate contenders for the title. As the action begins next week, we look forward to an exciting week of tennis, and its associated unpredictability.
2019 Sofia Open Draw:
Top four seeds, Karen Khachanov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Roberto Bautista Agut have a first round bye. Khachanov, the top seed, faces the winner of the Denis Istomin v Matteo Berretini and could later be up against Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-final.
Fourth seeded Bautista Agut, who is in the top half of the draw as well, takes on either local wild-card Adrian Andreev or Matthew Ebden in his second round match before potentially facing Andreas Seppi in the quarter-finals.
The bottom half has the second and third seeds, Tsitsipas and Medvedev. Tsitsipas will be up against either Jan-Lennard Struff or a qualifier while Gael Monfils could be a potential quarter-final opponent.
On the other hand, Medvedev will be up against either Dimitar Kuzmanov or Robin Haase in the second round and Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarter-finals.
Be the first to comment