The Key Things To Watch In St. Petersburg & Metz

16 September 2019 11:02
ATP Tour action returns this week with the St. Petersburg Open and the Moselle Open in Metz. The ATP 250 tournaments provide players with the opportunity to earn crucial points in the ATP Race To London and the ATP Race To Milan. Four Top 15 stars headline a packed draw in St. Petersburg, led by home favourites Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov. In Metz, 2014 winner David Goffin leads the way in an exciting field which features eight Top 40 players. St. Petersburg Talking Points Two former St. Petersburg Open champions received direct entry into the main draw: Mikhail Kukushkin (2010) and Martin Klizan (2012). However, 2013 champion Ernests Gulbis can join them in the main draw if he wins his final-round qualifying match on Monday. Top seed Daniil Medvedev is the ATP Tour leader in match wins this season. His US Open semi-final victory against Grigor Dimitrov made him the first player to hit 50 tour-level singles wins in 2019. World No. 4 Medvedev also has the most hard-court match wins this season. His 37 victories on this surface give him a clear lead against Roger Federer and Gael Monfils, who are tied for second place with 23 hard-court wins in 2019 to date. The team of Roman Jebavy and Matwe Middelkoop own a 7-1 record in St. Petersburg over the past two editions, claiming the title in 2017 and reaching the final last year. However, they will team with different partners in 2019. Jebavy enters alongside Philipp Oswald, while Middelkoop partners Marcelo Demoliner. Metz Talking Points Every Moselle Open singles champion since 2010 is in the 2019 field: Gilles Simon (2010, 2013, 2018), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2011-‘12, 2015), David Goffin (2014), Lucas Pouille (2016) and Peter Gojowczyk (2017). No. 1 seed Goffin was 12-13 on the season and fell outside of the Top 30 in the ATP Rankings on 10 June. Since then, the 28-year-old Belgian is 20-7 with final appearances at the NOVENTI OPEN and the Western & Southern Open. Read Goffin's Quest For Confidence Goffin will rise from No. 11 to No. 8 in the ATP Race to London if he reaches the Metz final and No. 9 Matteo Berrettini does not advance to the St. Petersburg semi-finals, or if he wins a title on Sunday and Berrettini does not. A Frenchman has won the Moselle Open singles title in 10 of 16 years since the tournament debuted in 2003. Still seeking his first title here is Richard Gasquet, who reached his first of 31 ATP Tour finals at this event in 2004. Three-time singles champions Simon and Tsonga return alongside four-time doubles champions Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The Frenchmen have won two Metz titles as a team and two separately. .videoWrapper { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; /* 16:9 */ padding-top: 25px; height: 0; } .videoWrapper iframe { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }.readfullarticle

Source: Atpworldtour