The 2017 Swedish Open is a clay event in the grass season, preceding the summer hard court swing. It is an out of the way event in a Scandinavian seaside town, but the locals are excited to see the ATP come their way.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, July 17.
Event Details
Event: Swedish Open
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: July 17-23, 2017
Location: Bastad Tennis Stadium – Bastad, Sweden
With a prize money allotment of just over 482,000 Euros, this is a tournament with a standard purse for an ATP 250 event. It’s not going to attract a huge or dazzling field, but the players who enter here are hungry for match play and a chance to begin to create momentum in the summer, heading toward North America in August.
Points
Champion – 250
Runner-up – 150
Semifinal – 90
Quarterfinal – 45
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016: Albert Ramos-Vinolas def. Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4
2015: Benoit Paire def. Tommy Robredo 7-6(9-7), 6-3
2014: Pablo Cuevas def. Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-1
2013: Carlos Berlocq def. Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-1
2012: David Ferrer def. Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-2
Player Info:
Pablo Carreno Busta decided to skip the whole grass court season including Wimbledon due to the abdominal injury he suffered during his quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal at the French Open. Carreno Busta is 10th in the race to London so it’s notable that he had to miss out at such an important juncture. The Spaniard is marked to return in Bastad. Clay has brought him a lot of success and he is an impressive 27-14 for the season with a title in Estoril to his name.
Bastad is a clay court event so undoubtedly there are lot of dirt ballers in the draw. Carreno Busta’s challenge will be to prove he is the best of them all.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas reached his first Masters final this year in Monte Carlo, then he matched his best result at Wimbledon by advancing to the third round. The Spaniard is 22-18 for the season but he hasn’t won any titles this year. The tournament in Bastad provides him a perfect opportunity to defend his crown. In last year’s final, Ramos-Vinolas took care of Fernando Verdasco in straights sets. He knows he can beat tough guys.
Also, some players in the draw are returning from injury, some are out of form, and some are way past their prime. Of them all, Pablo Cuevas is the most dangerous clay courter. All six career titles have come on clay and one of them came earlier this year in Sao Paolo. Cuevas is 18-11 for the season and is still working to find more consistency.
The Uruguayan missed the entire grass swing including Wimbledon due to a knee injury but will be back in Bastad. Cuevas has been injured before but he did come back successfully. Whether he can win the title remains to be seen but he is surely one of the title contenders.
David Ferrer played his best match in a long time knocking out Richard Gasquet in four sets in the opening round of Wimbledon. Although he beat the Frenchman in convincing fashion, Ferrer’s stay at SW19 was short lived. The Spaniard got thrashed by Tomas Berdych in the third round. His victory over Gasquet on grass, his least favored surface, indicates that he might find his best form on clay.
When the tournament in Bastad starts on Monday, Ferrer won’t be the favorite. However, the man who has won 26 titles and two of them here in 2007 and 2012 should never be discounted. Yes, he is 8-13 for the season and is in rapid decline, but his will to win has remained exactly the same.
Also here: Richard Gasquet, who is going through a bad time with his back and thigh injuries, young generation star Karen Khachanov, who lost in the third round of Wimbledon, little pocket rocket Diego Schwartzman, and floater Dusan Lajovic.
Bastad Tennis Stadium
The ATP hosts a tournament this week in the stadium, which holds 5,000 seats in addition to its outside courts. Next week, the WTA will play its tournament, creating a two-week festival of tennis in this seaside locale in Sweden.
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