World No. 2 Zverev to play at ATP Tour event in Seoul

All News 10:57 August 31, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- World No. 2 Alexander Zverev will be among three top-10 players taking the court at an ATP Tour event in Seoul next month, the tournament organizers said Wednesday.

The organizing committee for the Korea Open said Zverev will be the top seed. As the first ATP tournament in South Korea since 1996, the Korea Open will run from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2 at Olympic Park Tennis Center in the nation's capital.

In this UPI file photo from June 3, 2022, Alexander Zverev of Germany returns a shot to Rafael Nadal of Spain during their men's singles semifinal match at the French Open at Roland-Garros in Paris. (Yonhap)

Zverev, 25, has 19 career titles, including at the ATP Finals in 2018 and 2021. He is also the reigning Olympic men's singles gold medalist.

Zverev is currently nursing an ankle injury that he sustained during the French Open in June. He is not playing at the ongoing U.S. Open but is expected to be ready for the Davis Cup for his native Germany next month and also for the Korea Open.

The two other top-10 players in Seoul will be Casper Ruud of Norway (No. 7) and Cameron Norrie of Britain (No. 9).

Ruud has won three times this year and finished as the runner-up to Rafael Nadal at this year's French Open. Norrie is the top Briton in the world rankings with four career titles.

Other notable names include Taylor Fritz, the top American at No. 12; Denis Shapovalov of Canada, ranked 21st; and Borna Coric of Croatia, who recently jumped from 152nd to 29th in the rankings after winning the ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati.

In this USA Today Sports photo via Reuters, Casper Rudd of Norway hits a shot to Kyle Edmund of Britain during their men's singles first round match at the U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Aug. 30, 2022. (Yonhap)

Kwon Soon-woo, the highest-ranked South Korean at No. 81, will be the lone local player at the Korea Open.

The champion will be awarded US$170,035 and 250 ATP points.

Seoul had hosted an ATP-level event from 1987 to 1996. The city had since staged only tournaments on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour.

The ATP said last month that the Korea Open is one of six single-year events for this season, along with tournaments in the United States, Israel, Italy and Spain, among other places. The tour canceled four tournaments scheduled in China due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Prior to the men's tournament, Olympic Park Tennis Center will stage the WTA Hana Bank Korea Open from Sept. 19 to 25.