The field is set for the second edition of the tournament Garanti Koza Sofia Open. The ATP 250 edition will be held at the “Arena Armeec” in the Bulgarian capital between 5 and 12 of February 2017.
Eleven top 50 players to enter the field
21 players will enter the tournament at the main draw stage. Three players will come from qualification while the other four will be granted wildcards. The tournament organizers are expecting a strong lineup in February with 11 of the players being ranked inside the top 50. Dominic Thiem will lead the field being ranked world number eight. David Goffin and Roberto Bautista Agut complete the lineup as players inside the top 20. The other top 50 players include runner-up Viktor Troicki, Phillipp Kohlschreiber, Gilles Muller, Martin Klizan, Marcos Baghdatis, Nicolas Almagro and Andrey Kuznetsov.
So all participants in the semi-finals at the inaugural Garanti Koza Sofia Open this year – Klizan, Muller, Troicki and Bautista Agut, will come back for the second edition.
"There are 11 players in Top 50 and four in Top 20. Three of the participants are in Top 15, one – in Top ten. It will be a high-level tournament and the fans will enjoy great tennis the whole week in Sofia,” said the tournament director Paul McNamee.
Marcos Baghdatis and Nicolas Almagro to make their debuts
Former top ten players Marcos Baghdatis and Nicolas Almagro will be making their debut in Bulgaria in 2017.
In 2006 Baghdatis reached the Australian Open final. Later that year in August, the Cypriot reached his career-high of world number eight. The 31-year-old has won four ATP trophies along with making the final on 13 occasions throughout his career.
Almagro made it to world number nine in the ATP rankings in May 2011. The 31-year-old Murcia native captured 13 career titles.
Jerzy Janowicz joins strong lineup via protected ranking
Jerzy Janowicz will use his protected ranking to enter the strong tournament. After a 2016 season blighted by non-stop injury, he has fallen down the rankings to world number 280, whereas in 2013 he was ranked inside the top 20 at number 14, his highest rank to date.
