POPRAD TATRY, June 15, 2017
The ATP Challenger Tour will return to northern Slovakia next week for the third edition of the €64,000 Poprad Tatry Challenger held at the Mestské tenisové kurty from 19 to 24 June 2017. The city of Poprad is located at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the 10th largest city of the country, with a population of about 55,000.
The official player’s acceptance list is led by defending champion Horacio Zeballos from Argentina. Earlier in the week, the organizers of the tournament announced that World No. 47 and local hero Martin Klizan will receive a wild card into the main draw.
“I always enjoy playing on home soil. It would be nice to gain some points before I will soon lose some from the Hamburg tournament,” told Klizan, who clinched the ATP 500 German Open title at the Rothenbaum last July. The 27-year-old from Bratislava made it into the semi-finals last year, falling to Austria’s Gerald Melzer.
Poprad Tatry Challenger
Klizan will be joined in Poprad by fellow countryman Andrej Martin.
“Every tournament in Slovakia is something special to me. It’s always an extra motivation for me to play in front of home fans and the people I know. In addition, tournament director Braň Stankovič is always in good mood and the atmosphere is great. Last year I lost in the semi-finals, so this time I will try to get even further,” Martin said.
Local players Peter Vajda, nephew of tournament manager Marián Vajda, and Dominik Šproch as well as Alex Molčan will also receive main draw wild cards. The tournament’s champion will earn €9,200 in prize money as well as 90 ATP ranking points.
Entry List (as of 30 May 2017)
Zeballos, Horacio ARG 65
Pavlasek, Adam CZE 97
Martin, Andrej SVK 106
Giraldo, Santiago COL 107
Melzer, Gerald AUT 112
Carballes Baena, Roberto ESP 134
Djere, Laslo SRB 135
Ignatik, Uladzimir BLR 149
Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP 153
Popko, Dmitry KAZ 190
Safranek, Vaclav CZE 200
Bellotti, Riccardo ITA 204
Krajinovic, Filip SRB 206
Balazs, Attila HUN 211
Otte, Oscar GER 223
Ofner, Sebastian AUT 225
Ymer, Elias SWE 241
Michnev, Petr CZE 242
Coria, Federico ARG 244
Velotti, Agustin ARG 247
O’Connell, Christopher AUS 257
Stebe, Cedrik-Marcel GER 258
