Week in Preview: Canadians lead in Sofia; Sabalenka top seed in Linz
The WTA returns in Linz, while the ATP stages its final 250 in Sofia. Here’s a look ahead at both draws.
The WTA returns in Linz, while the ATP stages its final 250 in Sofia. Here’s a look ahead at both draws.
You never know who or what you might see from one week to the next in 2020. On Monday, after nearly a month away, the women will return in Linz. On the men’s side, while top men get a week of rest between the ATP’s big, season-ending events in Paris and London, there’s still one last 250 for the road in Sofia. We look ahead at both draws.
Sofia, Bulgaria
$500,000; ATP 250
Indoor hard court
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With the eight-man field at the ATP year-end championships set, Sofia will serve no greater purpose that to crown a champion for the week. Not that the players are complaining; after six months on the sidelines in 2020, they’ll take any chance they can get to compete for money and ranking points.
Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur lead a 28-player field. Shapovalov, the top seed, had a semi-breakthrough 2020, and nearly qualified for London for the first time. Can he finish strong and go into 2021 on a high note?
First-round match to watch: Jannik Sinner vs. Marton Fucsovics
Linz, Austria
$225,000; WTA International
Indoor hard court
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Nobody likes fall tennis quite like Aryna Sabalenka. Whether the tour is in China or Europe, she tends to find her A game when the Grand Slams are over. So it makes sense that she’s the top seed in Linz, followed by her doubles partner Elise Mertens, Dayana Yastremska, and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
First-round matches to watch: Sabalenka vs. Jasmine Paolini, Marta Kostyuk vs. Vera Zvonareva