The 2017 Open de Sud tennis tournament comes right after Davis Cup and only one week after the end of the Australian Open, which means you’re not going to find too many high-end players in Montpellier, the suburban area where this event is held. Nevertheless, it’s part of the winter indoor season in the new calendar year. A few more events will be held indoors in Europe before the emergence into outdoor hardcourts with Indian Wells in March, which leads into the rest of the tennis season.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, February 6.
Event Details
Event: Open de Sud France
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: February 6-12, 2017
Location: Montpellier Park & Suites Arena – Montpellier, France
The 2017 Open de Sud event is not as lucrative as it was last year, but with a prize money allotment of 482,000 Euros, this is still good bang for the buck as far as pros are concerned. With 28 players, there are four byes for the four top seeds. That means the top four seeds are guaranteed a higher paycheck than the various first-round match losers.
Points
Champion – 250
Runner-up – 150
Semifinal – 90
Quarterfinal – 45
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016: Richard Gasquet def. Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 6-4
2015: Richard Gasquet def. Jerzy Janowicz 3-0, ret.
2014: Gael Monfils def. Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4
2013: Richard Gasquet def. Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-3
2012: Tomas Berdych def. Gael Monfils 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Player Info:
Marin Cilic comes to Montpellier as the top seed but he hasn’t started the year as he would’ve liked. The world No. 7 suffered an early loss in Chennai and checked out early from Melbourne. Cilic was one of the dark horse picks of some experts at the 2017 Australian Open but that never materialized. Even with so many upsets that would have seemingly set up a good run for him, it didn’t happen. He’ll have a tough time finding a better opportunity than the one that was in front of him Down Under where Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and a host of other quality players lost early. At any rate, the indoor conditions favor his style of play as evident in his victory in Basel and his semifinal finish in the Paris Masters late last year. The Croatian could use this as a springboard to kick-start his season.
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga is the second seed but he would like to believe he is the best bet given the form he is in. Tsonga continued his good run in Australia (his best slam), where he made the quarterfinals, but he is known to be inconsistent. An early exit won’t be surprising if it happens, but with the locals willing him on, he could be the one holding the trophy. It should help that the fans will be raucously cheering him on. There is rarely home-field advantage in tennis as we see in the other major North American sports but this is one instance where a player should get a boost.
Richard Gasquet looked horribly out of form in his straight-set third-round loss to Grigor Dimitrov in Melbourne. He may not be at his very best but this place brings the best out of him. Of all the Frenchmen, he has enjoyed the most success in Montpellier. Gasquet is the two-time defending champion in his home tourney and he’ll hope to regain his old touch as soon as he lands in the arena.
Alexander Zverev is only 19 but is already considered by many as a future World No. 1. There were shades of this ability in his brutal five-set loss against Rafael Nadal in Australia. He knows that the opponent didn’t beat him. His own body did. The tall Sascha Zverev has the game to bully his opponents into submission and he’ll try to do just that when the event gets underway.
Montpellier Park and Suites Arena
A building which began to be constructed less than 10 years ago and which opened to the public this decade, the Park and Suites Arena will be a cozy long-term home for this tournament. Its central stadium court seats 7,500 for tennis and holds more for basketball, still more for other public events. It’s a good venue to watch tennis.
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