GENOVA, September 7, 2015
City of arts and metropolis overlooking the Ligurian Sea, Genova is the capital of Liguria, as well as with about 600,000 inhabitants the sixth most populated city in Italy.
Part of the Milan-Turin-Genova industrial triangle, Genova has grown around the most important Italian port, a natural inlet always site of great commercial trade. Its medieval centre, the largest in Europe, is crossed by a dense network of narrow alleys, where the multicultural soul becomes evident, which has always characterized the history of the city.
The AON Open Challenger with a total prize money of € 106,500 is of the highest category on the ATP Challenger Tour. The tournament was awarded “ATP Challenger of the year 2014” along with the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig and was first held in 2003.
It is played at the Valletta Cambiaso, within one of the largest green areas in Genova, in the Albaro district. The venue provides four clay courts including the Centre Court (named after Beppe Croce), which has a capacity of nearly 3,000 seats. Inside there is also a gym and the players’ lounge. The club also hosted Davis Cup matches in the past.
Centre Court ATP Challenger Genova
This year’s 13th edition feature three top 100-players led by defending champion and world number 58 Albert Ramos-Viῆolas. The 27-year-old Spaniard will face Marton Fucsovics in his opening match. The only previous meeting between the two players took place in Genova’s semi-finals last year, when Ramos emerged victorious in straight sets.
Second seed Robin Haase will take on Italian Matteo Donati for the first time. The tournament’s number three and local favourite Paolo Lorenzi will face Mate Delic from Croatia for their first tour meeting.
Former world number 9 Nicolas Almagro continues his comeback trail in Genova, taking on Jan Satral in his opening match. The 30-year-old Spaniard, who dropped in rankings to 137th position due to injury, reached the semi-finals in Kitzbühel ahead of the US-Open, where he eventually failed to qualify. Almagro, who is seeded seventh in Genova, is playing his first ATP Challenger event since Naples 2006.
Further read “Braunschweig and Genova-ATP Challengers of the year” 2014: href=”https://www.tennistourtalk.com/?p=1568
