Three FedEx ATP Rankings Top 20 players and a couple of former champions have entered the sixth edition of Sofia Open. The ATP 250 tournament will be held from September 26th to October 3rd at the “Arena Armeec”.
Jannik Sinner is the defending Sofia Open champion. Last year the talented Italian won his first ATP singles title and this year he added another two. Sinner climbed on September 13th to a career-high ranking of #14 and is sitting at #10 in the Singles Race. In August the 20-year old Italian became the youngest ever ATP 500 champion winning the title in Washington and in April reached his first ATP 1000 in Miami (l. to Hurkacz).
Alex de Minaur will play for the second consecutive year at Sofia Open. The Australian is a five-time ATP singles title winner including two in 2021 – in Anta;ya and Eastbourne. Raised in Spain, De Minaur, called The Demon, is mentored by the former world #1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt.
Gael Monfils will also play for the second time at Sofia Open. One of the biggest showmen in the tennis world reentered the world Top 20 a month ago. The Frenchman is a 14-time ATP singles title winner and in his debut at “Arena Armeec” in 2019 reached the semifinals.
Roberto Bautista Agut is the inaugural Sofia Open champion. The Spaniard lifted the trophy in 2016 and reached semifinals in 2017 and quarterfinals in 2019. He’s a nine-time ATP singles title winner and former world #9. In 2021 Bautista Agut reached the final in Doha and Montpellier and a semifinal at the ATP 1000 tournament in Miami.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is having the best season of his career. In June the Spaniard reached quarterfinals of the French Open and climbed to #32 in the FedEx ATP singles ranking. Davidovich Fokina, whose father is a former professional boxer, reached the quarterfinals of the ATP-1000 Monte Carlo.
Marin Cilic will come back to the tournament he reached the semifinals in doubles a year ago. In June this year on the grass courts in Stuttgart Cilic won his 19th ATP singles titles and a month later won silver in doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics tournament.
