Alex De Minaur leads the line-up at the Moselle Open in Metz, which also features defending champion Lorenzo Sonego, Karen Khachanov and Stan Wawrinka.
De Minaur won his seventh overall and first ATP 500 of his career at the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco beating Tommy Paul in the final last March. The Australian player also reached the final at the Queen’s Club Championships, losing to world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz. Last August De Minaur finished runner-up to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the ATP 250 in Los Cabos before losing to Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the first Masters 1000 final of his career in Toronto.
De Minaur’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin ended when he lost to Andrey Rublev in three sets at the Paris Rolex Masters. In the French capital the Aussie player beat Andy Murray in three sets in the first round after saving a match point, becoming the first player to beat the British star in clay, grass, indoor and outdoor hard court.
De Minaur will face either Pierre Hugues Herbert or French wild card Arthur Cazaux.
Fourth seed Ugo Humbert is aiming to win his first match at the Moselle Open since 2018.
Nineteen-year-old French rising star Luca Van Asssche will take on Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp in his main draw debut in Metz.
Third seed Karen Khachanov won his first title of the season in Zhuhai Open beating Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets and reached two quarter finals in Vienna and in Paris Bercy. Earlier this year the Russian player advanced to the semifinals at the Australian Open and Miami and the quarter finals at Roland Garros, but he missed 2023 Wimbledon due to a partial stress fracture in his sacrum bone.
Stan Wawrinka will be aiming to play his second final of the season after finishing runner-up to Alexei Popyrin in Umag last July. Wawrinka also reached two quarter finals in Rotterdam and Marseille last February.
Dominic Thiem will also seek a return to a championship match after losing to Sebastian Baez in Kitzbuhel. Thiem reached quarter finals in Estoril, Munich and Astana.
Lorenzo Sonego claimed the third ATP Tour title of his career at last year’s edition of the Moselle Open and will defend his title in Metz. The Italian player has a 6-5 win-loss record in hard-court tournaments and reached two quarter finals in Montpellier and Dubai.
