The 2017 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open is entering its third year. Istanbul is a growing tennis market, with WTA and ATP Tour events. This is the ATP Tour stop, and it’s an important one for players trying to qualify for Roland Garros. The money is secondary to the rankings points and the chance to gain clay-court form before bigger tournaments that lie ahead.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, May 1.
Event Details
Event: Istanbul Open
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: May 1 – 7, 2017
Location: Koza World of Sport Complex – Istanbul, Turkey
The 2017 Istanbul Open . With a prize money allotment of 463,520 Euros, this is a standard purse
Points
Champion – 250
Runner-up – 150
Semifinal – 90
Quarterfinal – 45
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Diego Schwartzman def. Grigor Dimitrov – 6-7, 7-6, 6-0
2015 – Roger Federer def. Pablo Cuevas – 6-3, 7-6
Player Info:
Milos Raonic has not been around for quite some time. He is coming back from a hamstring injury having not played any form of competitive tennis since Indian Wells. Raonic’s frustration will finally end when he steps on the court in Istanbul. Although clay isn’t his pet surface, he has the game to beat the Istanbul field. Has he fully recovered from his injury? If he has, he’ll pose a formidable challenge. However, till then, doubts will linger about his fitness.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the hard courts and grass is where he does the most damage. Last year, he was 27-7 on the hard courts (this year he’s 11-2) and he was 10-2 on grass. He was just 10-4 on clay last year and 4-2 the year before that.
When Marin Cilic is at his best, there aren’t many who can compete at the same level. Cilic has the special ability to take the racquet from his opponents. Unfortunately for the Croatian, that doesn’t happen too often. He is highly unreliable and is currently in turmoil. Cilic is 7-8 on the year. In Monte Carlo, he beat Tomas Berdych in convincing fashion, but after Andy Murray’s earlier than expected exit, he went down to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the quarterfinals. Cilic may be the second seed in Istanbul, but you can’t trust the Croatian to live up to his seeding, especially on his least favored surface.
Last year, Diego Schwartzman was on the verge of losing the final to Grigor Dimitrov but somehow pulled it out. The Argentine was down a set and a break but showed grit and concentration to snatch the title. Schwartzman is diminutive in stature but can belt his forehand and do significant damage with his backhand. In Monte Carlo, he made a Masters quarterfinal defeating Bernard Tomic and Roberto Bautista-Agut, who is ranked way higher than him. Schwartzman couldn’t do much in Budapest losing to Robin Haase in the first round. He’ll have some time off before he gets on the road again to Istanbul but he’ll have to re-fuel the engine.
Bernard Tomic won a match after a long time without a victory, but withdrew against Andy Murray in Barcelona. That puts his participation in Istanbul in serious doubt. Tomic has been losing matches consistently and has little confidence at the moment. If he plays in Istanbul, he’ll face a hard road.
Borna Coric has a great opportunity to add another title in Istanbul. Coric didn’t have a fruitful time in Monte Carlo but that’s largely due to the brief recovery period he had after winning his maiden ATP title in Marrakech. He has a perfect game for clay, and in an event where the top seed is just coming back from injury and the second seed is fighting to regain form, he has to believe he can win the whole thing.
Koza World of Sport Complex
The Koza World of Sport Complex is the largest tennis facility in the world, with 64 courts. It is a sprawling facility, and it has accompanied Istanbul’s rise as a more prominent tennis destination. Istanbul hosted a women’s tennis tournament which started, was discontinued, and then returned after the city hosted the year-ending WTA Finals from 2011 through 2013. Istanbul made inroads in the world of global tennis and was able to establish a companion ATP event, which is held after the WTA event within the calendar year. The Koza complex’s central stadium court seats 7,500 people.
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