IT is not often that one player has held a monopoly on the title of a Challenger event, but that is the scenario in which American, Taylor Fritz has done with Newport Beach. In only its third year in 2020, the ATP Challenger event will feature Fritz as the number one seed, having won both in 2018 and 2019.

FAVOURITE:

Taylor Fritz (USA)

The top seed and back-to-back title holder is deservingly favourite here at Newport Beach, having reached a third round of the Australian Open before going down to fifth seed, Dominic Thiem. He dropped back to 36th in the world after the loss, but will not face anyone of Thiem’s quality back in his home nation. His form in 2020 prior to the Australian Open was not great, going down in losses to 84th ranked Stefano Travaglia and 55th ranked Alexander Bublik, both of whom lost in the first round at Melbourne Park. This tournament is the only Challenger event Fritz plays and with his recent success, it is hard to look past him as the clear favourite.

CONTENDERS:

Frances Tiafoe (USA)

Fritz’s biggest challenger to the title is fellow American and 50th ranked Frances Tiafoe, who had the unfortunate result of running into Russian Daniil Medvedev in the first round of the Australian Open. He was far from disgraced against the world number four, taking a set off him on his way to a four-set loss. His form in 2020 has been poor though, yielding three consecutive first round losses, with Medvedev, as well as Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and Sweden’s Mikael Ymer – both who showed great signs at Melbourne Park. Tiafoe did not play at Newport Beach in 2019, and went down to Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic back in 2018 in the first round, when Tiafoe was ranked 81st and Kecmanovic was ranked 212th.

Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB)

The third seed at Newport Beach, Kecmanovic is now ranked 54th in the world and at 20-years-old is a rising star on the ATP Tour. Kecmanovic met Fritz in the quarter finals here last year, going down in three sets, an effort repeated from 2018, where he went down to another American in Bradley Klahn in the final eight. Fast forward to 2020, and the young star is a much improved player from 12 months ago, downing Jordan Thompson – who pushed Fabio Fognini to five sets – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fucsovics in Doha on his way to a semi-finals loss to Andrey Rublev. Unfortunately, Kecmanovic went down to the experienced Andreas Seppi – who joins him here in Newport Beach – in the first round of the Australian Open.

Andreas Seppi (ITA)

The Italian would be pleased with his Melbourne Park run, having downed an in-form Kecmanovic in the opening round, before pushing former Aus Open winner, Stan Wawrinka to five sets in the second round in a match he could have won. He enters Newport Beach as the fifth seed with a potential quarter final matchup looming against Fritz. The fifth seed might be towards the end of his career, but he is still damaging against the world’s best, and he beat top 50 player, Adrian Mannarino in three sets at the ASB Classic. Consistency is the question mark for Seppi, having lost to Li Zhe at the last Challenger event in Bendigo.

ROUGHIE:

Denis Istomin (UZB)

It seems a lifetime ago since the Uzbekistan talent upset Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open back in 2017 in the second round. He reached a career high of 33rd in the world way back in 2012, but is now ranked 170th and is almost exclusively playing Challenger events. He missed out on qualifying for the Australian Open main draw which was a bitter blow, and at 33-years-old it is far to say his best is beyond him. In saying that, Istomin is seeded 15th in Newport Beach and a potential third round clash with Tiafoe could be a beauty if Istomin can rekindle some of his past form.

DARK HORSE:

Daniel Elahi Galan (COL)

The 23-year-old seems like he has been around for ages, having gone professional as a teenager back in 2015. He reached the main draw of the Australian Open after qualifying, and while he lost first round in a tight five setter, Galan is always someone who can surprise against highly rated opponents. He pushed David Goffin in three sets back at the Davis Cup, and has notched up wins against the likes of Alex Bolt, Steven Johnson, Jordan Thompson and Paolo Lorenzi (twice), reaching the semi-finals at Houston last year before going down to Casper Ruud. His Newport Beach experience in 2019 was not a pleasant one though, going down to 282nd ranked Danilo Petrovic.