ATP: Kuala Lumpur kicks off Asia tour - UBITENNIS

ATP: Kuala Lumpur kicks off Asia tour

By Alex Burton
3 Min Read
Nicolas Almagro rejoins the ATP Tour in Kuala Lumpur
Nicolas Almagro rejoins the ATP Tour in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur kicks off the final Asian tour of the season, as players prepare for the Shanghai Masters next month.

David Ferrer is the top seed, and the thirty-three year old is seeking to earn his place in the ATP World Tour Finals once again. He played in last year’s tournament as an alternate, but is currently in position to qualify. He will open against Radek Stepanek or a qualifier in the second round, enjoying a bye in the first.

Other potential challengers for the title include Nick Kyrgios. The twenty year old, who recently confirmed his inclusion in the Kooyong Classic for next season, still have plenty of opportunities to do well this.

Another star name is fourth seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who is looking add a positive note to 2015 after an underwhelming campaign to date. He will also start in the second round against either last week’s St Petersburg runner-up Joao Sousa, or a qualifier.

Feliciano Lopez, Ivo Karlovic, Jeremy Chardy, Viktor Troicki, and Vasek Pospisil account for the rest of the seeded draw in Malaysia.

The most highly anticipated round one encounter is the clash between former Grand Slam quarter-finalist Nicolas Almagro and former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. Almagro has done well to regain his top 100 ranking after a lengthy spell out with injury saw him slide outside the top 150 for a time. Baghdatis is, as always, the most unpredictable opponent. He reached the finals of Atlanta, but has won just once since then, against Ernests Gulbis in St Petersburg. Given Baghdatis’ recent poor record, Almagro has to be considered the favourite. Having dropped down to the challenger circuit, Almagro has gained some much needed match time, winning a challenger in Italy, before rejoining the ATP World Tour in Kuala Lumpur.

Other first round ties include Alexander Zverev against Jeremy Chardy, and Sam Groth taking on Benjamin Becker.

Leave a comment