ATP Tokyo - DRAW: Novak Djokovic seeks 500 points against mediocre field
The Japan Open in the capital of Tokyo staged the first ATP tournament in 1972, standing as the oldest running tennis tournament in Asia. Ariake Colosseum complex is one of the most impressive tennis facilities in this part of the world, with over 50 courts and a retractable roof on the Center court. The list of champions is also a notable one, containing Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Manuel Orantes, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Juan Martin del Potro and Stan Wawrinka.
Next week, world no. 1 Novak Djokovic will try to join them, returning to action for the first time after the US Open and that shoulder injury that should be o.k now. Novak will make his debut in Tokyo and he is the clear favorite to win the title if his body is at 100%, with only three other top-20 stars set to challenge him. The Serb plays against a qualifier Alexei Popyrin in the first round before another easy test versus Jan-Lennard Struff or Go Soeda in the second round. Lucas Pouille, Hubert Hurkacz, Yoshihito Nishioka and Joao Sousa are the remaining players in the top quarter and they will all try to stun Novak and advance into the semis from there.
In the second quarter, 2017 champion David Goffin leads the action against Chengdu winner Pablo Carreno Busta, Denis Shapovalov, Miomir Kecmanovic, Lorenzo Sonego, Hyeon Chung, Marin Cilic and Yuichi Sugita, with the expected clash between David and Marin for the spot in the last four. Taylor Fritz faces his good friend Reilly Opelka in the first round, with Benoit Paire, Filip Krajinovic and Gilles Simon as other contenders for the semi-final in the third quarter. In the bottom part of the draw, Alex de Minaur plays against another youngster Lloyd Harris, with the winner of that one probably facing the 2nd seed Borna Coric in the quarter-final clash.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2mMhzcc
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