The ATP Tour returns to Florence for the first time since 1994. Felix Auger Aliassime will lead the field at the UniCredit Firenze Open. The Canadian player won his first ATP Tour title in Rotterdam on indoor hard-court last February and reached the final in Marseille one week later. He also reached the quarter finals in Barcelona, Estoril, Madrid, Rome, Halle, Montreal, Cincinnati, and two semifinals in S’Hertogenbosch and Los Cabos.
Auger Aliassime beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets at the Laver Cup in London last September, but he lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round at the Astana Open last week. The Canadian player will open his Florence campaign against either Marton Fucsovics or Oscar Otte.
Auger Aliassime is currently eighth in the ATP Race to Turin and could boost his chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin with a win in Florence.
Matteo Berrettini carries the hopes of the Italian fans at the Pala Wanny in Florence. The 2021 Wimbledon finalist won two consecutive grass titles in Stuttgart and at Queens and holds a record of 29 wins and 10 defeats this season. The Italian player also reached the final in Gstaad losing to Casper Ruud in the title match. He was defeated again by Ruud in the quarter final of the US Open He is currently ranked 15th in the ATP Race to Turin.
Lorenzo Musetti leads a strong line-up of four Italian Next Gen players. Musetti made a major breakthrough last summer when he won his first ATP title in Hamburg beating current world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the final. The Italian player also reached the semifinal in Sofia losing to eventual champion Marc Andrea Huesler and reached the quarter finals in Rotterdam and Marrakesh, the Round of 16 in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid. is the third seed in Florence.
Lorenzo Sonego is chasing his second title this season after liftiing the trophy at the indoor ATP 250 tournament in Metz.
The other Italian players, who are looking to impress in front of their home fans, are Gianluca Passaro, Giulio Zeppieri and Francesco Maestrelli. World number 123 Passaro has reached five finals and won one title in the ATP Challenger Tour in Trieste. He is currently ranked ninth in the ATP Race to the Next Gen Finals. Zeppieri lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal in Umag.
The US trio formed by Brandon Nakashima, Maxime Cressy and Jenson Brooksby are looking to make a strong impact in Florence after enjoying a good season on the ATP Tour. Cressy and Nakashima have won their first ATP titles in Newport and San Diego respectively. Brooksby reached two finals in Dallas and Atlanta. Cressy also reached the final in Eastbourne losing to Taylor Fritz and two quarter finals in Winston Salem and Tel Aviv.
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupsky will chase their seventh ATP Tour title in the doubles tournament. The strong line-up also features this year’s Astana Open champions Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic, who won the Olympic gold medal and the Wimbledon title in 2021, Max Purcell and Matthew Ebden, who won at Wimbledon this year, Ivan Dodig and Austin Kraijcek.
