The 2017 Grand Prix Hassan tournament is the ATP’s tour stop in Marrakech, Morocco. It’s the start of the clay season for a lot of players. Regaining clay form and reacquainting oneself to the nuances of moving on clay and hitting certain kinds of shots on clay are all valuable in this tournament. Making a deep run would be great if possible, but the main thing is to establish comfort on the surface, with plenty of additional clay events looming in the following weeks. For a few players in the field, trying to qualify for the Monte Carlo Masters later in April will be of primary importance.
The competition in the 28-player main draw began on Monday, April 10.
Event Details
Event: Grand Prix Hassan II
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: April 10 – 16, 2017
Location: Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech – Marrakech, Morocco
With a prize money allotment of 482,000 Euros, this tournament has received a small but genuine purse increase, rising by a few tens of thousands of Euros relative to last year. This suggests growth for the tournament in the second year at its new location in Marrakech.
Points
Champion – 250
Runner-up – 150
Semifinal – 90
Quarterfinal – 45
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Federico Delbonis def. Borna Coric – 6-2, 6-4
2015 – Martin Klizan def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver – 6-2, 6-2
2014 – Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Marcel Granollers – 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
2013 – Tommy Robredo def. Kevin Anderson – 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
2012 – Pablo Andujar def. Albert Ramos – 6-1, 7-6
Player Info:
In a 28-player tournament, the top four seeds get byes into the round of 16 and therefore maximize both earnings and a chance to win the tournament. Grigor Dimitrov is the top seed, aiming for a rebound after a terrible Indian Wells-Miami swing on hardcourts. The form of January and early February has given way to uninspired play. This is a time for Dimitrov to bounce back and regain momentum while also polishing his clay game in the run-up to Monte Carlo. He didn’t do so well on clay last year, though, which is a concern. He was just 4-5. However, he did go 9-5 on clay the year before.
Albert Ramos, a former finalist at this event, is the second seed. Spaniards are famously strong on clay, so this is a chance for Ramos to put his foot down and make a statement about his legitimacy on the surface, possibly to the point that he can reach a Masters semifinal or Roland Garros quarterfinal before the clay season runs its course. What’s also important to note is that he’s played on clay quite a bit already this year whereas many of the other top seeds have not. Ramos is already 10-4 on clay and was 19-13 last year. He could very well have a leg up on the competition because of that.
Philipp Kohlschreiber is the third seed. Kohlschreiber had match points on Andy Murray in Dubai but came up short. His talent for tennis is well known, but his failure to compete with vigor and composure is just as evident. Can he catch fire in this tournament and show a new dimension of himself during the clay season? He does OK on clay as he was 11-7 on the surface last year. That’s not bad. He was 17-8 on clay the year before. Compared to his hard court numbers, this would appear to be a much better setup for him.
Mischa Zverev is the fourth seed. His serve-and-volley game doesn’t translate naturally to clay, so Zverev will need to use topspin shots to the corners and get opponents on the run, side to side. He will have to beef up his groundstrokes in order to have a realistic chance on clay in Morocco. Taking a look at his historical numbers, he doesn’t do well on clay in the main tour draws. He was just 1-4 last year and 1-1 the year before.
Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech
The club began hosting this tournament last year after it resided at a previous site since the mid-1980s. There are nine outer courts at this facility, plus a 3,000-seat stadium court. A lot of people on tour will be interested in seeing how the second year at this venue differs from the first one, if at all.
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