Khachanov to lead strong Hamburg European Open qualifying field

Karen Khachanov of Russia will lead a ferociously strong qualifying line-up at the 2020 Hamburg European Open. The World No. 16, who did not enter the tournament’s main draw, signed up at short notice for the entry list of the qualification, which closed on Monday. Khachanov, who reached a career-high ranking of World No. 8 in summer 2019, will be joined by Croatia’s young gun Borna Coric (ATP No. 32), big-serving US-American Reilly Opelka (ATP No. 35), who stands officially at 6ft 11in (2.11 m), and Next-Gen-Norwegian Casper Ruud (ATP No. 37) who has clinched a historical first ATP tour title for his country in Buenos Aires in February.

“This qualifying entry list is outstanding. Every organizer would normally love to see a top star like Karen Khachanov in their main draw,” tournament director Sandra Reichel said. “There are also some new faces on the list, who have never played in Hamburg,” she added.

Opelka will come to the Rothenbaum tennis tournament for the first time. His countryman Sam Querrey (ATP World No. 45) and Briton Kyle Edmund (World No. 44) will also make their Hamburg debut. Khachanov will return to the prestigious ATP 500 clay-court event for the second time after he advanced to the quarterfinals in 2017. At the age of 18, Coric played in Hamburg five years ago and fell in the opening round. World No. 47 Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia is currently the last player, who has made the cut into the 16-man qualifying. Three wild cards can still be awarded. First German player on the alternate list is Dominik Koepfer (ATP No. 91) on position 30. French veterans Richard Gasquet (ATP No. 51) and former Rothenbaum champion Gilles Simon (ATP No. 52), as well as reigning Next-Gen-ATP-Finals champion Jannik Sinner of Italy (ATP No. 74) and US-American Frances Tiafoe (ATP No. 82) are also part of the list.

The Hamburg European Open will be held on September 19 to 27, one week ahead of the French Open at Roland Garros.