BOASTING an open field with plenty of potential winners, the 2020 Qatar Open will almost certainly have a first-time title holder. The most recent winner was Roberto Bautista Agut, with Gael Monfils winning in 2018, ending the run of back-to-back victories by Novak Djokovic, and triumphs to David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal. In fact, the only past winner who has nominated to play at Doha is France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The world number 29 is likely to be third seed at the tournament in a field that will honestly be down on top-end quality from previous years due to the introduction of the ATP Cup. With the ATP Cup attracting all the big names for the major nations, Tsonga opted to play at Doha with France having no troubles filling out a competitive side at the nation’s tournament. Also in the top handful are Russia’s Andrey Rublev and Canada’s Milos Raonic who chose not to represent their nation given the relative strength of their countrymen.

Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka will head in as the number one seed given Switzerland was removed from the ATP Cup after Roger Federer chose to withdraw. It opens the door for Wawrinka to claim the Doha title and become the first Swiss player since Federer in 2011 to hold up the Qatar Open trophy. Federer is the only three time winner of the event, with Tsonga hoping to join Djokovic, Andy Murray, Petr Korda and Stefan Edberg as the only two-time winners since it began in 1993.

Other players who have committed to the tournament are Serbia’s Laslo Djere and Filip Krajinovic, France’s Adrian Mannarino and United States’ Frances Tiafoe. The impact of the ATP Cup has certainly been profound on the Qatar Open, with just eight players committed who are ranked inside the top 50 at this stage, where as last year, the names of Djokovic, Bautista Agut and Dominic Thiem were drawcards.

2019 REVIEW:

Final: [7] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) defeated [WC] Tomas Berdych (CZE) 6-4 3-6 6-3

In one of the most memorable tournament runs in history, Bautista Agut stunned the field with wins over Matteo Berrettini, Wawrinka, Djokovic and Berdych as well as Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, on the way to the title. Bautisa Agut dropped just two sets for the tournament, while Berdych – coming all the way from earning a wildcard and returning to the circuit from injury – had dropped the one set heading into the final. The tournament provided plenty of first round upsets, with Thiem bundled out in straight sets by Frenchman, Pierre Hugues-Herbert, sixth seed David Goffin was knocked out by Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis, and Wawrinka – also coming back after injury in 2018 and ranked 66th in the world – toppled Russian third seed, Karen Khachanov in straight sets.

PREDICTION:

Andrey Rublev to defeat Stan Wawrinka in the final. The Russian showed he is on the up and expected to be a potential top 10 player by year’s end. Wawrinka is building nicely but Rublev has the more recent touch, while Tsonga still has some inconsistencies. Raonic is also coming back from injury which ruled him out of the Davis Cup, and with the Australian Open on the horizon, no player wants to miss the chance to play at a Grand Slam.