ATP stars Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini have both joined the field for the St. Petersburg Open later this year, with 2016 runner-up Stan Wawrinka already having been confirmed for the tournament.
Neither of the two were in action at the tournament last year, though Fognini is a former finalist at the tournament, losing to Martin Klizan back in the final in 2012. It will be Monfils’ debut at the Indoor Hard tournament, which will take place in mid September.
Only Wawrinka, Fognini, and Monfils have entered the tournament so far, though it seems likely that several other notable players will enter, such as defending champion Alexander Zverev.
Stellar field being set up
The tournament does potentially face the risk of a slightly weakened draw, being held just after the US Open and Davis Cup semifinals, though it has not been affected by this in the past and the early signs suggest that it will not be affected this year, with two notable players joining three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka in the field.
Monfils may well be in action for France in their home Davis Cup semifinal against Serbia the weekend before action begins in St. Petersburg, though the ever-entertaining Frenchman will likely be a big contender for the title. The Frenchman hasn’t necessarily had the best season to date, being ranked at a fairly low 37th in the Race To London and not making a final to date, though he has reached an impressive 11 indoor finals in his career and will certainly be a huge draw for the tournament.
Meanwhile, Fognini has been having a slightly better year, being ranked inside the top 30 on the Race To London and recording an impressive victory over world number one Andy Murray at his home tournament at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The Italian is extremely inconsistent, though he has previous experience of doing well at the tournament and could well go far once again.