The 2017 Delray Beach ATP Tour stop will feature Milos Raonic and Juan Martin del Potro, in addition to American hopeful Jack Sock. For a 250-point event, this field is well above average. Of course, the Florida crowd would love to see someone like Roger Federer or Andy Murray in the field but that’s not the case. Those guys won’t be participating this week while the likes of Kei Nishikori and Dominic Thiem – other Top 10 players – will be taking part in the tennis event in Rio de Janeiro instead.
The competition in the 32-player main draw begins on Monday, February 20.
Event Details
Event: Delray Beach Tennis Championships
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: February 20-26, 2017
Location: Delray Beach Tennis Center – Delray Beach, Florida
The 2017 Delray Beach Open has something of an in-between identity on the ATP Tour.
With a prize money allotment of just over $534,000, this is a tournament with a purse that ever so slightly dropped from last year, when it was at $546,000. Nevertheless, for an ATP 250 event, it’s a competitive purse for the field gathered in Florida. It’s an event which is huge for some players, since they won’t go to Dubai the following week, but for those that will make the trans-oceanic flight to Dubai, this week serves as preparation time for the bigger tournaments that lie ahead.
Points
Champion – 250
Runner-up – 150
Semifinal – 90
Quarterfinal – 45
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016: Sam Querrey def. Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 7-6
2015: Ivo Karlovic def. Donald Young, 6-3, 6-3
2014: Marin Cilic def. Kevin Anderson, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
2013: Ernests Gulbis def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 7-6, 6-3
2012: Kevin Anderson def. Marinko Matosevic, 6-4, 7-6
Player Info:
Milos Raonic stands out at this event. He is the only player in the top 19 who has bothered to come to Florida to play in a 250-point tournament. Every other player is ranked no higher than No. 20. (Ivo Karlovic is at 20, the second seed behind Raonic.) Everyone knows Raonic can play extremely well, but he keeps suffering minor injuries. It seems this tournament is an attempt for him to test his body and see if he can play with 80-percent speed, enabling him to determine how hard he can push himself at upcoming tournaments which have far more point value.
Karlovic lost early in Memphis. He would love to bounce back as the second seed. He knows if he faces Raonic in the final, he would have a good chance of holding his own serve. He will need to win tiebreakers at this event.
Jack Sock, the third seed, is in search of a breakthrough season which will push him toward the top 10. He has the serve and forehand, but the backhand and court coverage need to hold up. We’ll see how much information this tournament gives him.
The fourth seed is defending champion Sam Querrey. The American has to defend points here, and he knows later this summer he’ll have to defend points at Wimbledon, where he reached the quarterfinals. This is an important tournament for him.
Also of note: Juan Martin del Potro, who sat out the Australian Open to rest his wrist and his body after winning the 2016 Davis Cup title, is back in this event as the No. 7 seed. He is 36th in the ATP rankings.
Delray Beach Tennis Center
Delray Beach Tennis Center features an 8,200-seat stadium court for the featured matches in the tournament. There are five other hard courts in the facility, which also has 14 clay courts used for recreation and for USTA development programs which want to get American tennis players to become more proficient on clay. That surface has been historically weak for American players over the years.
The Delray Beach Tennis Center opened its doors in 1992. It has hosted Fed Cup and Davis Cup matches, making it a prominent tennis facility in the United States, something of a magnet for people in all circumstances – on vacation, intending to train, and those wanting to watch professional tennis in different circumstances. The ATP Delray Beach Tour stop is unique compared to most of the other tour events in that it holds an ATP Tour event and a Champions Tour event (with legends over 35 who have retired as main-draw participants).
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