The 2017 Argentina Open will have some fresh faces. Dominic Thiem, who is the defending champion, won’t be competing this year. He has opted to play in Rotterdam instead. The tournament will be boosted with the presence of Kei Nishikori, who is world No. 5 and has played in Memphis in past years. The field also boasts David Ferrer, who has won this tourney multiple times; Fabio Fognini, a former finalist; and some fine clay courters in Pablo Cuevas, Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Pablo Carreno Busta.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, February 13.
Event Details
Event: Argentina Open
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: February 13-19, 2017
Location: Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club – Buenos Aires, Argentina
The 2017 Argentina Open begins a small slice of the calendar in which “dirt devils” can clean up and relish the chance to play on red clay.
With a prize money allotment of just over $546,000, this is a tournament with a smaller purse than the other ATP 250 event occurring during the same week in Memphis. However, this is a clay-court departure from the hardcourt indoor events which populate the calendar in February. It makes sense that the available money is not as big, because the heart of the clay season doesn’t begin until April. This tournament is for the clay specialists who want to be comfortable on their own surface. This is the trade-off with the hardcourt events which carry a larger prize.
Points
Champion – 250
Runner-up – 150
Semifinal – 90
Quarterfinal – 45
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 Dominic Thiem def. Nicolas Almagro 7-6(7-2), 3-6, 7-6(7-4)
2015: Rafael Nadal def. Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-1
2014: David Ferrer def. Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3
2013: David Ferrer def. Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
2012: David Ferrer def. Nicolas Almagro 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Player Info:
Kei Nishikori loves playing on clay but with twin hardcourt Masters coming up next month, this move could be questioned. Nishikori has started the 2017 season with tough losses to Grigor Dimitrov in the Brisbane finals and to Roger Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open. On both occasions, the match went the distance but he fell short by small margins. Nishikori is the top seed, but will he do justice to his seeding this time?
Pablo Cuevas knows this is his time to shine. A major chunk of his points comes from the South American clay-court swing and it helps him stay inside top 25 for the rest of the season. Cuevas is the No. 2 seed but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he beat Nishikori for the title.
At 34, David Ferrer still makes opponents earn every point. He’ll continue to do so in Buenos Aires, where he has been crowned champion three times in the last five years. He lost to what many believe his younger version is — Roberto Bautista-Agut — in the third round of the Australian Open. Ferrer becomes a different animal on clay, though, and although he is in the final leg of his career, beating him on dirt still remains difficult.
Pablo Carreno Busta is slowly growing as a player and competitor. The Spaniards are naturally good on clay and Carreno Busta is getting better. He had a decent outing in Melbourne, where he reached round three for the first time. In a field with high-quality clay-courters, this tournament will be a good test for Carreno-Busta.
Fabio Fognini was trailing two sets to love and was down in the dumps against Argentina’s Guido Pella in a decisive Davis Cup singles rubber. What happened next is still hard to imagine. Fognini fought valiantly and snatched the win from the jaws of defeat for Italy. His talent is never questioned but his temperament and will to fight have always held him back. Maybe the win will change the negative image Fognini has been carrying all his career. The mercurial Italian plays his best tennis on clay and his fans hope he translates his morale-boosting victory over Pella into a title run in Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club
Opened in 1892, this institution in Argentine tennis owns a long history built on an enduring association with the Davis Cup. This facility has hosted a great many Davis Cup ties over the years, and after Argentina won its first Davis Cup last year, the club and its longstanding members can take extra pride in their role as nurturing one of South America’s foremost tennis nations. The center stadium court for the club holds 5,500 people. The club puts on a exhibition late in the year each year (in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer), which involves the use of a hardcourt and not clay.
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