Three Top 20 players and Sinner to play in Antalya to start 2021
The ATP Antalya 250 event in the first week of the new season is taking shape. It will feature Top 10 Italian Matteo Berrettini plus David Goffin, Fabio Fognini and Jannik Sinner.
Matteo Berrettini, Davis Cup, 2019
After a year away, Antalya is back on the ATP calendar and also happens to be one of the opening events of the 2021 season (January 7-13). From 2017 to 2019, the Turkish tournament took place on grass at the end of June right before Wimbledon. But ahead of the Australian Open, the playing surface this time, unsurprisingly, is hard courts. Organisers have managed to attract a strong field.
Matteo Berrettini leads the field in 🇹🇷 during Week 1 of the 2021 season!#AntalyaOpen
— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 23, 2020
The headliner is Matteo Berrettini. The 10th-ranked Italian seeks the fourth title of his career and first on hard. David Goffin, 15th in the world, and Fabio Fognini, 17th, are also on the entry list. The pair — who changed coaches in the offseason — will be seeded second and third in their first appearance in Antalya.
Second straight title for Sinner?
Jannik Sinner, 19 years old and 37th in the rankings, will also be present in Turkey. The Italian ended 2020 with his first ATP title in Sofia and will look to continue his momentum. Other young players will soon fly to Turkey in the hopes of a good start to the 2021 season.
They include Alex de Minaur, 21 years old and 23rd in the world, and Emil Ruusuvuori, aged 21 and ranked 86th. The more experienced Borna Coric, 24th in both age and ranking, bids for a third title.
Paire hopes for turnaround
After a tough conclusion to 2020, where he won only one match in six tournaments, Benoit Paire attempts to turn around his fortunes. The world No 28 will be accompanied by two other Frenchmen, Jérémy Chardy, 75th, and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 83rd.
The potential seedings (as of December 24, 2020)
Matteo Berrettini (10th)
David Goffin (15th)
Fabio Fognini (17th)
Alex de Minaur (23rd)
Borna Coric (24th)
Benoît Paire (28th)
Jan-Lennard Struff (36th)
Jannik Sinner (37th)
The other players : Radu Albot (93rd), Nikoloz Basilashvili (40th), Alexander Bublik (50th), Salvatore Caruso (76th), Marco Cecchinato (80th), Jeremy Chardy (75th), Laslo Djere (57th), Egor Gerasimov (78th), Lloyd Harris (87th), Pierre-Hugues Herbert (83rd), Emil Ruusuvuori (86th), Joao Sousa (90th), Stefano Travaglia (74th) and Jiri Vesely (68th).
