Fabio Fognini, Grigor Dimitrov and Feliciano Lopez sign to play Los Cabos
The ATP 250 event in Los Cabos, the sixth strongest in the calendar in this category in terms of the Total Financial Commitment serves as the last preparation for the North American Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati. Established in 2016, the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex have seen three editions so far, with Ivo Karlovic, Sam Querrey and Fabio Fognini taking places on the title winners list. A year ago, Fognini managed to overcome a slow start of the tournament and go all the way to lift the eighth ATP title and the first outside clay, toppling Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-2 in 80 minutes to become the third champion of this attractive event.
The fourth edition takes place between July 29 - August 3 and the organizers have announced the first four names that will compete for the title, revealing Diego Schwartzman first and adding three more players on Tuesday. The defending champion Fabio Fognini will try to go all the way once again, challenged by Grigor Dimitrov and Feliciano Lopez. After a career-best 2018 season that saw him winning three ATP titles, Fognini has slowed down a little bit in the first three months of the new year, winning just four matches in 2019 and only one out of the last seven encounters on the Tour. Fabio will try to boost his game during the clay season and stay in the top-20 before Los Cabos where he has to defend 250 points.
After being at the top of the world when he won the ATP Finals in November 2017, Grigor Dimitrov has never found the same form again, winning only 30 of 52 matches in 2018-19 and barely standing in the top-30. Struggling with a shoulder injury in recent months, Grigor is eager to get back on track during clay and grass season, improving his form and ranking before American hard court swing that will include Los Cabos for the first time. The 37-year-old Feliciano Lopez is among the oldest players left in the rankings, keeping himself in the top-100 and heading to Los Cabos for the fourth year, losing in the title match against Ivo Karlovic at the first edition in 2016.
Madrid Open director is probably competing at his last season on the Tour, hoping to pass Fabrice Santoro's record of 441 ATP tournaments played (he is on 430) and giving himself a chance to enjoy this beautiful event one more time.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2UdW5EK
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