Nikoloz Basilashvili and Fernando Verdasco will face each other in the round of 32 of the 2022 ATP Sofia Open on Wednesday, September 28.
Over the past two weeks, Fernando Verdasco has spent more time travelling than practising tennis. He travelled all the way to San Diego only to lose in straight sets to Denis Kudla in the first round after suffering one of the worst losses of his career against Koray Kirci in the second round of the Istanbul Challenger. The seasoned Spaniard is now on a four-match losing streak in main-draw matches on the main tour and also suffered two consecutive losses at the just-completed US Open (as a lucky loser). Given his age and skill level in prior years, the low performances this year and eventual slide in ranks for the former world #7 are not particularly shocking.
In the opening round of the ATP Metz tournament last week, Nikoloz Basilashvili was fortunate because his opponent, Zizou Bergs, was forced to retire due to an injury while leading by a set and a break. That outcome put a stop to his troubling six-match losing streak on the main tour, but he was unable to capitalise on it and fell to Arthur Rinderknech in his following encounter in straight sets. The top-ranked Georgian player in 2017 overcame Adrian Mannarino, Dominic Thiem, and Martin Klizan to reach his first semifinal on indoor hard courts in Sofia. Then, in 2019 and 2020, he participated in the competition twice but was eliminated without recording a victory each time.
Fernando Verdasco and Nikoloz Basilashvili are scheduled to face each other in the round of 32 of the 2022 ATP Sofia Open on Wednesday, September 28. The tournament is scheduled to begin on September 26 and end on October 2.
The ATP Sofia Open 2022 will feature five rounds of competition apart from the qualifying matches. These are the round of 32, round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final. The tournament is scheduled to start on Monday, September 26 and conclude on Sunday, October 2.
Date | Competition Stage |
---|---|
September 26 | Round of 32 |
September 27 | Round of 32 |
September 28 | Round of 16 |
September 30 | Quarter-final |
October 1 | Semi-final |
October 2 | Final |
Player | Seed |
---|---|
Jannik Sinner | 1 |
Pablo Carreno Busta | 2 |
Grigor Dimitrov | 3 |
Lorenzo Musetti | 4 |
Holger Rune | 5 |
Nikoloz Basilashvili | 6 |
Jack Draper | 7 |
Oscar Otte | 8 |
For this year’s edition, the total prize money is €534,555. The winner will receive €81,310 in cash as well as 250 ranking points.
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