Damien Kayat previews the ATP Tour’s Lyon Open which is set to take place between 20 and 27 May at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone Alpes.
The city of Lyon previously hosted an indoor-hardcourt event between the years of 1987 and 2009. While that event disappeared into the ether, the ATP saw fit to return to the beautiful city again for last year’s inaugural Lyon Open on the ATP 250 Series.
The event is now an outdoor clay-court event and gives the players the opportunity to fine-tune their games in preparation for next week’s Roland Garros odyssey. Lyon is now one of five French cities to host an ATP event. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won last year’s edition and will not be in attendance to defend his title. Dominic Thiem overcame Rafael Nadal in Madrid and is clearly the favourite this week. The top four seeds each receive a bye into the Round of 32 in what is a 28-man single’s draw.
Past Winners
2017: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
First Quarter- Projected Quarterfinalists- Dominic Thiem, Adrian Mannarino
Dominic Thiem may have lost the final to Zverev in Madrid, but that victory over Nadal was the most telling pre-tournament wobble as we enter the French Open. The capacity to beat Nadal on clay proved Thiem’s undisputed clay-court credentials. He did lose to Fognini in Italy, but I expect the Austrian to be back to his best this week. In reality, this entire quarter is desperately weak, with Adrian Mannarino in dismal form of late. He lost in consecutive opening rounds in Madrid and Istanbul and it seems as if his uncharacteristically slice-based game has been exposed recently by more aggressive players. In actual fact I could easily see him losing to Garcia-Lopez in the opening round this week.
Player to Advance: Dominic Thiem
Second Quarter- Projected Quarterfinalists- Jack Sock, Joao Sousa
I would argue that the second quarter has far more depth- outside of Thiem of course- with the unpredictable third seed Jack Sock the headliner. Sock has ridden high off of that inconceivable victory at the Paris Masters last year and he will be desperate to get some momentum going this week. His year has really gone nowhere, with recent early exits from both Madrid and Rome solidifying my opinion that the temperamental Sock could be an early exit here. Joao Sousa has been solid on clay and may be something of a dark horse this week. Having said that, my pick to potentially come through this section is young gun Taylor Fritz. Fritz broke through with a Round of 16 run in Indian Wells, but it was his semi-final run on clay in Houston that gives me optimism. He beat Jack Sock and Ryan Harrison en route to that semi and should be good value this week.
Player to Advance: Taylor Fritz
Third Quarter- Projected Quarterfinalists- Hyeon Chung, John Millman
Aussie Open semi-finalist Chung has been the epitome of consistency this season, with four quarterfinal appearances prior to that semi-final run in the Bavarian International. He went on to lose to eventual champion Alex Zverev and looks in decent shape ahead of the French Open. John Millman has twice won on the Challenger Series this year and more importantly reached the final of the Hungarian Open. While he lost to Cecchinato in the final, that victory over Lucas Pouille in the opening round showed what the Aussie is capable of. Kicker may prove a tough first round opponent for Millman while Gilles Simon provides some local frisson. But I can’t really look past the indefatigable Chung in this quarter.
Player to Advance: Hyeon Chung
Fourth Quarter- Projected Quarterfinalists- John Isner, Gael Monfils
John Isner revitalized his season with a remarkable victory in Miami, which really lurched his season from the stagnation of mediocrity. He has shown some respectable clay-court form thus far this season, with a quarter-final appearance in Houston followed by an even more impressive quarterfinal in Madrid. He doesn’t have Alex Zverev to deal with this week and will feel extremely confident of progressing from this quarter. Gael Monfils will look to draw from fanatical home support, but the lanky Frenchman seems to be in a state of regression. He fared alright in during the South American clay-court escape- with a semi-final appearance in Argentina the highlight- but he has been in poor form since then, losing opening round matches in Munich and Rome. Isner has to be the man to progress in another weak quarter.
Player to Progress: John Isner
