THE ATP Tour will return to Chile for the first time since the Vina Del Mar in 2014, with the Chilean Open to be held in Santiago which also staged a tour event as recent as 2011. With rising Chilean player Cristian Garin in good form on the clay, there will be plenty to cheer about for the home crowd.

FAVOURITE:

Cristian Garin (CHI)

As has been the case with all the clay court tournaments thus far, the field is fairly open without a clear standout. Diego Schwartzman arguably could have been except for the world number 14 is still out with an adductor tear. Garin has already beaten the Argentinian this year though, winning in Argentina and claiming his third ATP Tour title at Cordoba, and then fourth title in Rio last week. Now back on home soil, Garin will have the crowd on his side as he tries to win in Chile’s first ATP Tour in such a long time. His form leading up to Cordoba was terrible, but the 23-year-old is suited to clay and there is no better time for him to strike than in front of his home fans coming off the two titles.

CONTENDERS:

Borna Coric (CRO)

The 23-year-old Croatian won a tournament on clay back in 2017, but has only won the one since (Halle, 2018) which was on grass. Currently ranked 32nd in the world, Coric is a big game player who is massively out of form and needs a lift here. He went down to Thiago Monteiro in the first round of the Argentina Open and but reached the Rio Open semi-finals. As recently as 12 months ago, Coric looked like naturally progressing through as a top 10 player, but has instead slipped back after not winning a title in 2019. A victory here would put him back on track and he should be seeded in the top three for the tournament.

Casper Ruud (NOR)

Like Garin, Ruud already has success on clay this season, winning in Buenos Aires a couple of weeks ago. The Norwegian moved up the rankings 13 places with victory, having to beat a number of known clay courters along the way, including Dusan Lajovic and Juan Ignacio Londero. He barely had a hiccup during the tournament, dropping just one set. But a week is a long time in tennis and a week later, he was bundled out in straight sets to Italian qualifier, Gianluca Mager at Rio in the opening round. It was shades of Garin previously, with the pair no doubt following a similar trajectory to the top. Each success is met with disappointment soon after, so if either can break though for some consistent results, then they could develop into a top 20 player and begin making waves on tour.

Laslo Djere (SRB)

The current world number 36 is another clay courter who won his maiden title about 12 months ago at Rio. Not playing in 2020, he knocked off number one seed Dominic Thiem, Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime on his way to the title so he can beat the best of the best on clay when he gets his game going. Remarkably he did not drop a set during that 2019 tournament and if he rekindles that form, he will be one to watch here. His dominance on clay is clear with his 60 per cent winning record on the surface far superior to hard court (22.6 per cent) and it showed with a disappointing start to the year on hard court, winning just two matches from five. Djere beat Londero at Cordoba and took a set off Schwartzman there so can bring form with him. The only problem is by not competing at Rio, Djere drops 500 points and 30 ranking spots so needs to go deep.

ROUGHIE:

Marco Cecchinato (ITA)

Ranked outside the top 100 now, Cecchinato can still never be discounted when it comes to clay. He copped a real raw deal in his three clay court tournaments thus far, with first round matches against Londero, Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena and most recently, Lajovic who are all strong performers on the circuit. It is almost hard to believe he won a tournament here 12 months ago at Buenos Aires – his third clay title in two years – but has slipped outside top 100 after being top 20 as late as May last year. He needs a confidence booster and while he is a roughie based on recent results, the 27-year-old has been getting better with each match.

DARK HORSE:

Alejandro Tabilo (CHI)

No-one would suggest Tabilo will take out the title, given the 166th ranked 22-year-old has only played two ATP Tour matches in his career. Despite turning professional in 2015, Tabilo only played his first main draw matches at this year’s Australian Open. After negotiating qualifying, Tabilio defeated Colombian, Daniel Elahi Galan in five epic sets, before running into John Isner and going out in the second round. The second ranked Chilean was actually born in Canada, but given this is his home court – he resides in Santiago – then he will know it better than anyone else and have the crowds up and about. Hopefully for their sake, he does not run into Garin early in the draw and he could double his ATP Tour wins here.