The 2016 Shenzhen Open tries to build some history for an event that is trying to find its footing. The ATP version of this tournament began in 2014 after winning a pursuit for ownership rights after the Thailand Open ceased to exist. There is a WTA version of this event which began in 2013, only one year earlier. There are fall tournaments in Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai, making Shenzhen a lead-in event for the Asian Swing. Players who didn’t do much at the U.S. Open or in the summer months in general are likely the players who find this tournament worth contesting.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, September 26.
Event Details
Event: Shenzhen Open
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: September 26 – October 2, 2016
Location: Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center – Shenzhen, China
The 2016 Shenzhen Open title will be a handsome prize. With a prize money allotment of $641,000, this is a good-sized pot of money for an ATP 250 tournament. The earnings are valuable, but momentum for the rest of the fall Asian Swing, before the Paris Masters and the World Tour Finals, is what many players are looking toward.
The points structure in a 250-point tournament offers 250 points towards the winner’s ranking. A runner-up finish is worth 150 points. A semifinal result is 90 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 45 points.
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Tomas Berdych def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez – 6-3, 7-6
2014 – Andy Murray def. Tommy Robredo – 5-7, 7-6, 6-1
Player Info:
The 30-year-old Tomas Berdych made a winning returning to the tour after he had to miss the U.S. Open due to appendicitis. Berdych had played in the last 13 editions of the U.S. Open. The long streak finally came to an unfortunate end this year.
Berdych is also the defending champion at the Shenzhen Open. Last year he pocketed 250 points by beating Guillermo Garcia Lopez 6-3, 7-6(7) in the final. The field is more competitive this season and he’ll have to be at his best to defend his crown. Berdych is 32-15 in 2016 and the hard court has been his best surface. He’s 16-7 on hard courts.
David Goffin, who double bagelled Berdych this year will also be present at the third edition of the Shenzhen Open. The Belgian has been inconsistent in Grand Slams but he is respectable 36-17 this season. At the U.S. Open, Goffin was stunned by American teenage qualifier Jared Donaldson, ranked 122 in the world. On the year, Goffin has been 35-18. The surface that’s produced the most wins for him has been the hard surface as he’s 16-8 on it. He’s also 10-5 on clay and 5-2 on grass.
Richard Gasquet has had a miserable season: back injury forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon during his fourth round match against fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. The back injury also kept him out of the Olympic Games in Rio. The woes continued–Kyle Edmund, ranked 84th, gave him a thumping in the first round in New York, Marin Cilic swatted him aside in straight sets in the live singles rubber of the Davis Cup semifinal last week. On the year, Gasquet is 24-12 overall but his best surface has been the indoor hard courts and the clay. On indoor hard courts, he’s 5-1 and he’s 9-4 on clay. He’s only 3-2 on grass and 7-5 on regular hard court matches.
Alexander Sascha Zverev was perilously close to the biggest win of his career in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open against Rafael Nadal but he crashed the forehand volley into net on his match point at 5-3 in the third set and surrendered the break and eventually lost the match. The teenager is ranked 27 in the world but hasn’t done much in Grand Slams and is yet to win an ATP title. Zverev has shown flashes of brilliance but now it’s time to show the results. He has a chance in St. Petersburg. He’ll get his chance in Shenzhen. But will be grab it?
Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center
The facility has 32 outdoor courts and a stadium court which holds 4,000 people. This is an intimate facility that is trying to make a name for itself as a world-class tennis center on both the ATP and WTA Tours.
