Tomas Berdych will be making his first appearance in an ATP match since losing in the Wimbledon semifinals earlier this month to Roger Federer. The Czech player will contest the Los Cabos draw in Mexico over the next week, a tournament that is at the 250-level on the ATP Tour. Played from July 31st to August 5th, the event offers less than $800,000 in prize money. While there aren't any top-ten players in the draw, Sam Querrey, the other player that lost in the Wimbledon semifinals, will join Berdych in the field.
ATP Los Cabos 2017 previewed
ATP Los Cabos, which has a corporate name of "Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel Presentado Por Cinemex," is in just its second year on tour.
Last year was the event's inaugural season, one that saw Ivo Karlovic defeat Feliciano Lopez in the final. Both of those two players are back in this season's draw and they pose threats. However, the summer of 2016 was much different than the summer of 2017 will be. Last year most players were more preoccupied with winning a medal at the Rio Olympics than playing in an unknown tournament. Additionally, numerous players expressed concern over the Zika virus last year, including Berdych. This season there are no Olympics to rest up for and there are no widely-reported Zika fears. That has helped beef up the Los Cabos draw just a little.
The top-four seeds in the tournament will all get a bye through the first round.
Besides Berdych, that's good news for Querrey, Lopez, and Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Each of those players is into the round of sixteen by virtue of their bye. Defending-champion Karlovic, who is seeded 5th, will have to toil with a yet-to-be-determined qualifier in the first round. The next-seeded players are Fernando Verdasco and Adrian Mannarino.
The latter did well in the Wimbledon draw earlier this month, making that tournament's fourth round. After Verdasco and Mannarino, the rankings for the entrants dip as the last seed is Frances Tiafoe, the World No. 60.
Non-seeded players not threatening
There are not many interesting non-seeded players in the draw. But Australian-player Thanasi Kokkinakis is a wild card as he continues his comeback efforts.
American Taylor Fritz represents the ATP's teenagers in the draw as he is about 3 months ahead of turning 20. Other than that, the tournament is loaded with peripheral players, including one Jason Jung of Taipei.
The players with the byes promise to dominate this event, especially Berdych, Querrey, and Lopez. Not only do they have the advantage of not having to play in the first round, but the tournament is loaded with unknown players. Surely, if Berdych and Querrey are able to play at the level that they were at during the Wimbledon fortnight they will be tough to beat. But Lopez has a recent title on tour and he was in the final last season. In 2017, the players aged 35 years old and older have done quite well. That means that the veteran Spaniard can't be discounted.
