Fils and Gasquet to meet in first round of Auckland Open
The draw has been announced for the ATP 250 event in Auckland next week, where Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Richard Gasquet will clash in the opening round
Rising star Arthur Fils and veteran Richard Gasquet will face each other in an all-French clash in the opening round of the ASB Classic in Auckland next week.
With an age difference of 18 years between the pair, this will be the second meeting between the two compatriots. Fils won their first clash in Montpellier last year, in what was his first ever win on the ATP Tour. He went on to storm his way to the semi-finals at the ATP 250 event.
Gasquet heads to Auckland as the defending champion, having won the event this time last year with a comeback victory over Cameron Norrie in the final.
As one of the last opportunities for players to gain form ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne on the 14th of January, the ATP 250 event in New Zealand will see Ben Shelton as the top seed. The American began his year by losing in Brisbane this week, falling to Russian Roman Safiullin in three tight sets.
The top seed begins with a bye, before he is slated to meet either Fabian Marozsan or Frenchman Gael Monfils in the second round.
Other exciting clashes early on in Auckland include Sebastian Ofner coming up against Denis Shapovalov in the first round. Shapovalov, former Wimbledon semi-finalist, received a wildcard into the main draw at the ASB Classic, while Ofner is currently making a deep run at the Hong Kong Open where he faces Emil Ruusuvuori in the semi-finals on Saturday night.
Play begins on Monday in Auckland, at the same venue as the WTA 250 event occurring this week.
