The much-anticipated draw for the 2023 Stockholm Open has been released, with a slew of interesting matches on offer right from the first round.
The 28-player draw is led by Holger Rune, the reigning champion and the sole Top 10 player in the field. There is also a Grand Slam winner in the fold, with Wawrinka making a rare foray in Scandinavia - his first visit to Stockholm since 2011.
The three wild cards at the tournament have been awarded to home players including Leo Borg, son of 11-time major champion Bjorn Bjorg. The top four seeds at the tournament will each receive a bye in the first round. On that note, let us take an in-depth look at the draw.
Holger Rune's title defense will begin in the second round against one of Miomir Kecmanovic or home wild card Karl Friberg. After a hard-court summer to forget in North America, Rune will be keen to atone for a dreadful set of results that yielded just one win in his last 10 matches in all competitions in familiar surroundings.
Roberto Bautista Agut marked his return to competition for the first time since late July at the Malaga Challenger this week. But the veteran's last match on the ATP Tour was in Gstaad where he lost to Pedro Cachin in straight sets. Bautista Agut will have his hands full when he takes on Elias Ymer, who is in the confines of his home territory.
The 35-year-old is certainly short on match sharpness, which could mean that Jiri Lehecka might be the favorite to win this little section and potentially face defending champion Rune in the quarterfinal. Sixth seed Lehecka will face a qualifier in his opener and is slated to meet one of Bautista Agut or Ymer in his next round.
The third seed Tallon Griekspoor is a player to keep an eye on in this second section of the top half. The Dutch player has a bye in the first round and is projected to meet Emil Ruusuvuori for starters. But the Finn will need to take down a qualifier in his opener and is 0-3 in the head-to-head against Griekspoor.
Seventh seed Christopher Eubanks is another player facing a qualifier to kick off his campaign before the level goes up a notch in his subsequent round. There are a handful of intriguing matches in the bottom half of the draw.
One of those features fifth seed Sebastian Baez facing power-hitting J.J. Wolf, while three-time Grand Slam champion will meet big-serving Borna Gojo. As 38-year-old Wawrinka pursues his first title since surgery, it has not been a problem winning silver for Daniel Evans and Adrian Mannarino.
The two seasoned campaigners have played some scintillating tennis at times this year, and are projected to face each other in the last eight, but both could be upset earlier. Evans will await the winner of the match between Gael Monfils and Marton Fucsovics. As for Mannarino, he'll most likely face an in-form Roman Safiullin who is the favorite to beat Thiago Seyboth Wild.
2023 Stockholm Open ATP Draw:
| 1. Holger Rune (1) |
| 2. BYE |
| 3. Miomir Kecmanovic |
| 4. Karl Frieberg |
| 5. Elias Ymer |
| 6. Roberto Bautista Agut |
| 7. Qualifier |
| 8. Jiri Lehecka (6) |
| 9. Tallon Griekspoor (3) |
| 10. BYE |
| 11. Emil Ruusuvuori |
| 12. Qualifier |
| 13. Dusan Lajovic |
| 14. Lorenzo Soengo |
| 15. Qualifier |
| 16. Christopher Eubanks (7) |
| 17. Sebastian Baez (5) |
| 18. J.J. Wolf |
| 19. Laslo Djere |
| 20. Leo Borg |
| 21. Borna Gojo |
| 22. Stan Wawrinka |
| 23. BYE |
| 24. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (4) |
| 25. Daniel Evans (8) |
| 26. Qualifier |
| 27. Gael Monfils |
| 28. Marton Fucsovics |
| 29. Thiago Seyboth Wild |
| 30. Roman Safiullin |
| 31. BYE |
| 32. Adrian Mannarino (2) |
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