The ATP500 in Hamburg is about to start, and the organization can rely on the participation of 3 stars such as Sascha Zverev, Dominic Thiem, and Fabio Fognini.
Sascha Zverev
The German is back to Hamburg after 3 years as the last time he competed in this tournament was in 2016 where he lost in the 1st round to Inigo Cervantes. Hamburg like the other few ATP tournaments that are played on the dirt after Wimbledon is scheduled in a weird time. In fact, after the little stint on grass, usually top player like to take a break before preparing to compete again on hard court that is the leading surface for the 2nd part of the season. Therefore coming back to play on clay after grass makes little sense except for clay-court specialists.
Sascha decided not to play this ATP600 in the last few years to get ready for the North American swing. However, he chose not to play the upcoming ATP500 in Washington as he doesn’t have a great “feeling” with the new management. Therefore, he will compete in Hamburg to take back some of his lost confidence.
Dominic Thiem
Currently ranked no.4, Dominic is having a fantastic season after he conquered the title in Indian Wells and Barcelona before reaching the final at the French Open. Dominic has played only 1 match in 1 month and a half after his Roland Garros final (1st round vs. Sam Querrey in Wimbledon). Therefore he is expected to be eager to get back to competitions and also on clay in Hamburg where he will be the top seed and favorite for the title.
Fabio Fognini
The Italian didn’t shine as expected after his outstanding win in Monte Carlo also because struggling with injuries. Fognini had to withdraw from Umag when he was down 1-6 1-2 down against Stefano Travaglia, and that did cast some doubts about his participation in Hamburg. Fabio has a great history in Hamburg where he won the title in 2013 and he lost in the final in 2015 to Rafael Nadal.
| ZVEREV AND THIEM |
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