CHENGDU, September 16, 2019 (Press Release)
The US$1,213,295 Chengdu Open, held from 21 to 29 September 2019 at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre, is very pleased to announce that the first two wild cards into the singles main draw have been awarded to recent US Open semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov and exciting young Swede Mikael Ymer.
“We are very happy to have Grigor and Mikael in the main draw for this year’s Chengdu Open,” Tournament Director Luiz Carvalho said. “Grigor’s run to the final four at the US Open was really fantastic with his five set quarterfinal win over Roger Federer really being one of the highlights matches of this year’s Open.
“Mikael is such a terrific prospect in men’s tennis. He is only 21 years old and has been enjoying great success on the Challenger Tour as he continues to build up his experience.
“Our doubles line-up is also interesting with a great combination of experienced players such as major winners and finalists like Ivan Dodig, Rohan Bopanna, Jonathan Erlich, Robert Lindstedt and Santiago Gonzalez along with young and exciting players like Denis Shapovalov, Taylor Fritz and Alexander Bublik.”
The last time Grigor Dimitrov played the Chengdu Open was in 2016 and he reached the semi-finals. A winner of eight career titles including the season-ending ATP Finals, the 28-year-old has previously reached a career high ranking of three. Earlier this year, he was a quarterfinalist in Brisbane and made the last 16 at the Australian Open but due to injuries his ranking slipped during the year to 78.
His outstanding run at the US Open has seen him bounce right back to now be ranked 25.
Mikael Ymer recently turned 21 and is currently ranked 106, just one shy of his career best. He has enjoyed superb consistency on the Challenger Tour, which is such an important stepping stone for a young career. He won Challengers at Tampere and Noumea, reached finals at Bordeaux and Murica and the quarters or better at another three events.
The doubles field is solid once again. Former Roland Garros winner and Wimbledon finalist Ivan Dodig won the Chengdu Open doubles last year and this year returns with a different partner, Filip Polasek. Together they won the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, beating Wimbledon and US Open champions Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal in the final, and along the way accounting for the Bryan Brothers as well as Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski.
Experienced doubles player Rohan Bopanna has been teaming with Denis Shapovalov. Bopanna, a former US Open finalist, has been a great “guide” for the young Canadian. Together they were finalists at Stuttgart, made the semis in Montreal, the quarters in Miami and the last 16 at the US Open.
Radu Albot and Joao Sousa have had success on the singles court as well as the doubles court with different partners, while Dominic Inglot and Austin Krajicek were winners at Atlanta, where they defeated the Bryans, and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, while also making the finals at Los Cabos and the semis in Eastbourne.
Cristian Garin and Juan Ignacio Londero also had positive results in singles, while in doubles they made the quarters in Geneva and Munich. Alexander Bublik and Benoit Paire are among the most unpredictable players on the tour – you never know what to expect so their partnership is expected to be highly entertaining.
Santiago Gonzalez, a French Open doubles finalist in 2017, and Robert Lindstedt, an Australian Open winner and three-time Wimbledon finalist, are highly seasoned doubles players and their partnership could be one of the threats for the title. Roman Jebavy and Igor Zelenay are another tandem who have had success with other partners but are teaming up for the Chengdu Open.
Taylor Fritz is enjoying his best singles year and also reached the doubles quarters in Atlanta and Houston. At the Chengdu Open, he will partner Nicholas Monroe who is a doubles specialist and was a finalist in Winston-Salem.
Jonathan Erlich, a past winner of the Australian Open and winner of the Chengdu Open in 2017, is joining up with Fabrice Martin who has been tremendous this year in doubles – he won Estoril and Marseille and was a finalist at the French Open and made the last 16 at the US Open.
There will be free admission to qualifying round matches, Court 1 and 2 matches. Tickets for the Chengdu Open Main Draw Center Court matches through to the finals are available through www.damai.cn or via the national hotline at 10103721. The tournament continues to offer promotions to the fans, with a 30% discount applied on all ticket sales (except VIP suite) from now until September 20.
