Running from January 1st to 7th, the Hong Kong Open returns to the ATP Tour after a 21-year absence, and the draw for the 2024 edition has been released.
With three Top 20 players in the field, one of whom is a top tenner, this ATP 250 event is not bereft of star power. World No.5 Andrey Rublev is the biggest name at Victoria Park as he looks to refine his game ahead of the year's first Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
The Russian tends to play at a very decent level in the season's opening week and has a very nice draw on his Hong Kong debut. Rublev has a bye in the opening round as the top seed and doesn't know his second-round opponent yet.
He'll await the winner of the match between Pedro Cachin and a qualifier. Rublev could have his hands full by the quarterfinal stage should he get there. He is projected to meet Next Gen star, Arthur Fils.
But the French teenager, who is seeded at No. 8, has a daunting opening match against Croatia's Borna Gojo, who is sitting at a career-high ranking of World No. 72.
Frances Tiafoe is the No. 3 seed and features in the top half of the draw. The energetic American will start his journey in the second round against one of Miomir Kecmanovic or a qualifier.
"Big Foe" is slated to meet Laslo Djere in the quarterfinal, but do not be surprised to see anyone from this list getting there: Shang Juncheng, Botic van de Zandschulp, or Shintaro Mochizuki.
The bottom half of the draw is the most intriguing with the return of 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic. The big-hitting Croat is using a Protected Ranking after an injury-riddled 2023 campaign where he played only three ATP matches.
Cilic has been thrown to wolves judging by the look of the draw. He has an opening match against fifth seed Jan-Lennard Struff, a player very much in his mold. If he is successful, he will play Mackenzie McDonald or Austrian No. 1 Sebastian Ofner.
Fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo is Cilic's projected semifinal opponent. But the Argentine has to take care of the winner of the clash between Roberto Bautista Agut and Fabian Marozsan.
In the second section of the bottom half is another Russian - Karen Khachanov. He is the second seed and gets a bye in the first round. He is set to face either Emil Ruusuvuori or Benjamin Bonzi in the second round. Be sure to check out the full draw of the 2024 Hong Kong Open below.
2024 Hong Kong Open ATP Draw:
| 1. Andrey Rublev (1) |
| 2. BYE |
| 3. Qualifier |
| 4. Pedro Cachin |
| 5. Qualifier |
| 6. Qualifier |
| 7. Borna Gojo |
| 8. Arthur Fils (8) |
| 9. Frances Tiafoe (3) |
| 10. BYE |
| 11. Miomir Kecmanovic |
| 12. Qualifier |
| 13. Shintaro Mochizuki |
| 14. Botic van de Zandschulp |
| 15. Juncheng Shang |
| 16. Laslo Djere (7) |
| 17. Jan-Lennard Struff (5) |
| 18. Marin Cilic |
| 19. Sebastian Ofner |
| 20. Mackenzie McDonald |
| 21. Fabian Marozsan |
| 22. Roberto Bautista Agut |
| 23. BYE |
| 24. Francisco Cerundolo (4) |
| 25. Lorenzo Musetti (6) |
| 26. Chak Lam Coleman Wong |
| 27. Pavel Kotov |
| 28. Nuno Borges |
| 29. Emil Ruusuvuori |
| 30. Benjamin Bonzi |
| 31. BYE |
| 32. Karen Khachanov (2) |
0 Comments