The 2023 Moselle Open will be the final ATP tournament of the regular tennis season, and the draw for this year's event has been released.
Main draw action begins on Sunday, November 5, where a 28-player singles field will have the opportunity to fight for the right to become ATP champion. Some of the ATP's big names are not resting on their laurels and still have their eyes on the prize.
One of them is top seed Holger Rune, a surprise entrant in Metz. The Dane will be encouraged by his form at his last two tournaments, notably at the Paris Masters where he ran Novak Djokovic very close in the quarterfinal.
Rune will get the chance to bounce back in the second round against one of Fabio Fognini or Brazilian clay court specialist Thiago Seyboth Wild. The 20-year-old sealed his qualification for the ATP Finals and should play without any added pressure.
All the top four seeds in the draw have a bye in the first round. Aside from Rune, the likes of Alex de Minaur, Karen Khachanov, and Ugo Humbert will also start their campaign at the Moselle Open a round late.
Australia's de Minaur fell will await the winner of the all-French clash between Arthur Cazaux and Pierre-Hugues Hebert. The veteran Herbert will be playing in the main draw of a Tour-level match for the first time since April 2022.
Khachanov, meanwhile, will face one of Constant Lestienne or a qualifier. Lestienne memorably held a two-sets-to-love lead against the Russian in the first round of this year's French Open, but lost in five. He'll be eyeing to make it right should their rematch happen.
As for Ugo Humbert, he'll have Top 20 in his sights. The French lefty is up to a career-high No. 22 in the live ranking and will begin his Metz journey against one of Dominic Thiem or a qualifier.
Stan Wawrinka recently fell outside the Top 50 and doesn't have the luxury of a bye. He'll start his campaign in the first round against Spain's Bernanbe Zapata Miralles. The Swiss one-hander was a semifinalist at this event last year, coming through qualifying before running out of gas.
Reigning champion Lorenzo Sonego has a tough start to his title defense against Marcos Giron. Although French players have dominated the winners' podium in the past, Richard Gasquet has never won this tournament.
The 37-year-old's best finish was a runner-up in 2004 as an 18-year-old. He'll have the 12th bite of the cherry next week taking on Japan's Yosuke Watanuki. For a comprehensive breakdown of the 2023 Moselle Open draw, be sure to check it out below.
2023 Moselle Open Metz ATP Draw:
| 1. Holger Rune (1) |
| 2. BYE |
| 3. Thiago Seyboth Wild |
| 4. Fabio Fognini |
| 5. Daniel Altmaier |
| 6. Hugo Gaston |
| 7. Marcos Giron |
| 8. Lorenzo Sonego (6) |
| 9. Ugo Humbert (4) |
| 10. BYE |
| 11. Qualifier |
| 12. Dominic Thiem |
| 13. Richard Gasquet |
| 14. Yosuke Watanuki |
| 15. Gregoire Barrere |
| 16. Yannick Hanfmann (7) |
| 17. Alexander Bublik (5) |
| 18. Qualifier |
| 19. Alexander Shevchenko |
| 20. Qualifier |
| 21. Constant Lestienne |
| 22. Qualifier |
| 23. BYE |
| 24. Karen Khachanov (3) |
| 25. Stan Wawrinka (8) |
| 26. Bernabe Zapata Miralles |
| 27. Luca Van Assche |
| 28. Botic van de Zandschulp |
| 29. Pierre-Hugues Herbert |
| 30. Arthur Cazaux |
| 31. BYE |
| 32. Alex de Minaur (2) |
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