Paire, Struff, Musetti and Co. - sometimes it can also be a challenger
Before the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami, some well-known players gathered at the Challenger in Phoenix, Arizona.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Mar 16, 2022, 12:38 pm
Imagine an ATP Tour 250 tournament where Benoit Paire leads the seed list ahead of Lorenzo Musetti , Arthur Rinderknech and Jan-Lennard Struff. That almost reads like big tennis - and that's taking place in Phoenix, Arizona, on the Challenger Tour. Because those named - and a few more colleagues - had to say goodbye rather early in Indian Wells. And now we're just trying to playfully bridge the time until the next 1000m in Miami.
Paire, for example, gave up a very comfortable lead against Dominik Koepfer in Indian Wells, in Phoenix the Frenchman started against Emilio Nava, a qualifier. Musetti had failed in Tennis Paradise due to Reilly Opelka, but this week the Italian started against Alexei Popyrin with a convincing 6: 2 and 6: 2.
Struff leads German contingent
With David Goffin and Richard Gasquet, two former top ten pros have also entered, both of whom are trying to catch up with the world's best after a long break.
Of course, a look at the tableau also reveals that some players canceled late, which resulted in a total of seven (!) Alternates slipping into the field. Among them was Oscar Otte, who had just tormented Hubert Hurkacz in Indian Wells. From a German point of view, in addition to Otte and Struff, Daniel Altmaier and Mats Moraing, who slipped into the field as a lucky loser, are also trying.