The 2018 ASB Classic is the ATP Tour stop in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s one more warm-up in the two-week lead-in to the Australian Open, the first major tournament of the tennis season. Defending champion Jack Sock will enter this event with a different profile compared to 12 months ago. This will add a level of intrigue the tournament did not have in 2017.
The top seed at this event is American Jack Sock. Him and fellow countryman, Sam Querrey, will look to make some noise while another hard court star, Juan Martin Del Potro, will try to get in rhythm before the first grand slam of the season.
The competition in the 28-player main draw will begin on Monday, January 8. Let’s take a closer look at what to expect at the 2018 ASB Classic in New Zealand.
Event Details
Event: ASB Classic
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: January 8-13, 2018
Location: ASB Tennis Centre – Auckland, New Zealand
With a prize money allotment of nearly $502,000, there’s a reasonable amount of prize money to be pursued in a 28-player tournament. The purse also marks a raise of roughly $52,000 compared to last year, a sign of the event’s commitment to the tour and its players. The top four seeds get a bye to the second round, so they’re already in a good position to make this tournament worth their while.
The points structure under the ATP system:
250 – champion
150 – runner-up
90 – semifinal
45 – quarterfinal
20 – round of 16
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2017: Jack Sock def. Joao Sousa, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
2016: Roberto Bautista Agut d. Jack Sock, 6-1, 1-0, ret.
2015: Jiri Vesely d. Adrian Mannarino, 6-3, 6-2
2014: John Isner d. Lu Yen-hsun, 7-6, 7-6
2013: David Ferrer d. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6, 6-1
Player Info:
Jack Sock, the top seed and defending champion, has changed the way he is seen, but he still offers some cause for skepticism. Sock made a very late run on the ATP Tour last fall, winning the Paris-Bercy Masters tournament and surprisingly getting the eighth and final spot in the ATP Finals. Many people thought Sock would just be happy to make the year-end tournament, but instead, he continued to play at a high level and made the semifinals, where he pushed eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov into a third set. Sock came within one set of making the final. He has given people reason to think that he can become a consistent top-10 player, but it will be hard for him to do that this year. Sock has now registered at least 33 wins on the main tour draw in three straight seasons while boasting a healthy 22-11 record on the hard courts last year.
Juan Martin del Potro made the semifinals of the U.S. Open, once again playing well in New York. Del Potro finally made a push up the rankings list so that he will not have to play top-five players early in tournaments. Del Potro struggled for much of 2017, but his strong finish to the year gives him hope that he can crack the top 10 once again and contend for a second Grand Slam title.
Sam Querrey is the third seed here. He had his best year as a pro in 2017, making the Wimbledon semifinals and then the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Querrey improved his defense and court coverage and looked like a much more complete player. He will try to take that level of form into 2018.
Roberto Bautista Agut is a very consistent player over the course of the year, but he is not an elite player. Can the Spaniard find the extra degree of quality he often lacks against the best players on tour? That is what he is searching for at the start of 2018.
ASB Tennis Centre
The facility was created in 1920 and has been renovated at different points along the way in its history. A particularly expansive and significant renovation occurred in 2010. This hotbed of sport, a magnet community for tennis in Auckland and New Zealand, has indoor and outdoor courts, but this event is played on seven outdoor courts with a Rebound Ace playing surface.
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