STARNBERG, February 25, 2019
Seven-time champion Roger Federer makes his return to action at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The Swiss will be joined by seven fellow members of the Top 15 in the ATP Rankings at the ATP 500 event, where he is bidding to lift his 100th tour-level trophy.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov, Borna Coric, Milos Raonic and Daniil Medvedev complete the group of seeded players in Dubai. Tsitsipas, who could meet Nishikori in the quarter-finals, defeated Mikhail Kukushkin in Marseille to lift his second ATP Tour title on Sunday.
Zverev to make Acapulco debut
Three Top 10 players in the ATP Rankings will be in action this week at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, an ATP 500 event held in Acapulco, Mexico.
Second seed Alexander Zverev, still carrying the momentum of his victory at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals, hopes to win his first ATP Tour title of 2019. The German competed in Acapulco for the first time in 2018, advancing to the semi-finals.
Rafael Nadal, the top seed, is pursuing his third trophy at this event. The Spaniard previously triumphed in Acapulco in 2005 and 2013. The left-hander, like Zverev, is competing for the first time since the Australian Open.
Other players to look out for include 2018 Nitto ATP Finals qualifier John Isner, fourth seed Diego Schwartzman, and #NextGenATP stars Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe.
Sousa top seed in Sao Paulo
The Brasil Open celebrates its 19th year overall and eighth in Sao Paulo. It’s one of the final events of the four-week “Golden Swing” in Latin America. Past champions include Rafael Nadal, Gustavo Kuerten and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Joao Sousa of Portugal is the top seed and Malek Jaziri of Tunisia holds the second seed. Guido Pella, runner-up earlier this month at the Argentina Open, is the third seed, while fellow Argentine Leonardo Mayer is the fourth seed.
Both participants in the championship match at the Rio Open presented by Claro, Laslo Djere of Serbia and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, are in the bottom quarter of the draw.
