The 2017 Hungarian Open is the first edition in the event’s history. Budapest joins the ATP Tour rotation of stops during the clay-court season. The big names in tennis will be at Barcelona next week, giving the players who enter Budapest a chance at a workable draw and a path to some rankings points. We won’t see too many big names here but the locals will be happy to see the action.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, April 24.
Event Details
Event: Hungarian Open
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: April 24-30, 2017
Location: Nemzeti Edzes Kozpont – Budapest, Hungary
The 2017 Hungarian Open isn’t a prize bonanza, but with an allotment of 482,000 Euros, this event has a financial commitment one should expect from a 28-player tournament in which the top four seeds get first-round byes. The event is not insufficiently supported. This event replaces the Romanian Open, which had been held in Bucharest, Romania, the previous few decades.
Points
Champion – 250
Runner-up – 150
Semifinal – 90
Quarterfinal – 45
Player Info:
After a breakthrough 2016, Lucas Pouille was expected to rise even higher in 2017. Pouille picked up momentum in Dubai, where he made the semifinals. Then in his home tournament in Marseille, he reached the finals where lost to the French No. 1, Jo -Wilfred Tsonga. However, he couldn’t take that form into the American hardcourt swing, where he was beaten by Donald Young on both occasions in Indian Wells and Miami. His season has been somewhat affected by the foot injury he suffered at the start of the year, but he now seems fully fit and has made an immediate impact in the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters, where he has made the semifinals. Whether or not he carries the momentum to Budapest remains to be seen.
Gilles Simon did all he could to beat world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters but couldn’t finish him. He served for the match but fell short. Simon has only won seven matches this year and has lost seven times already. The real highlight of his season came in Marseille, where he made the quarterfinals (lost to Tsonga in straight sets). Although he lost to Djokovic, he pushed him hard and showed he can compete against the best. Simon needs to build on such losses and not get heartbroken. How he responds to that loss in Budapest will influence his clay swing.
Diego Schwartzman loves plying his trade on clay. He is diminutive but his feel for the ball is incredible. At 5-foot-7 he isn’t the biggest server on tour but is an excellent shotmaker. He has been in good form in the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters, where he has reached the quarterfinals beating Bernard Tomic, Roberta Bautista Agut and Grigor Dimitrov conquerer Jan-Lennard Struff, all in straight sets. The plucky Argentine is a more than decent 12-9 on the season and is only improving. The way he is playing, he should consider himself one of the contenders for the Budapest title.
Borna Coric claimed his maiden ATP World Tour title in Marrakech. Coric overcame Philip Kohlschreiber, surging back from a break down in both the second and third sets and saving five championship points. Last year, Coric was denied the title by Federico Delbonis, but it wasn’t too long before ATP’s next generation star finally won the title. Also, with that breakthrough victory, he has stormed to second place in the ATP race to Milan. The Croatian couldn’t back up his victory in Marrakech and left Monte Carlo without any wins. He looked visibly burnt out in his match against Jeremy Chardy, and it wasn’t a surprise to see him lose in three sets. Coric will come to Budapest with relative rest and will mount a serious challenge to his opponents. He is a confident young player but next week we’ll find out if Coric can really remain consistent.
Nemzeti Edzes Kozpont
A small facility tucked into a scenic enclave of Budapest, the facility had hosted ITF events in previous years, serving as a warm-up for this ATP event. Several clay courts exist in close proximity to each other in what is an outdoor facility.
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