The man who beat David Goffin and Gael Mofiles will lead the strongest field the Canberra International has seen when the tournament kicks off in January.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Tennis ACT unveiled world No.57 Ugo Humbert as the headline player for the revamped tournament on Thursday, with eight top 100 players to compete in the Challenger 125 event.
Humbert will be the highest ranked male to compete in the Canberra International's history, following a breakthrough year for the Frenchman.
The 21-year-old reached the fourth round in Wimbledon earlier this year, beating countryman Gael Monfils on his tournament debut.
Tennis ACT boss Kim Kachel says the strength of the field led by Humbert has the ultimate mix between rising stars and seasoned veterans.
MORE CANBERRA SPORT
"It's the first time we've had someone in the top 60 and Humbert is the highest ranked male player to ever play in Canberra," Kachel said.
"He'll be leading the charge from the Next Gen perspective, then there's Jannick Sinner as well who just won the finals in Milan.
"He's widely regarded as a future top-ten player. Hyeon Chung also won the Next Gen finals a couple of years ago before going on that famous run to the Australian Open in 2018, beating Djokovic and Medvedev.
"To have those three international superstars is just excellent, and that's complemented by some seasoned veterans as well."
World No.78 Sinner will be joined by countryman and former Canberra International winner Andreas Seppi.
The Italian is the second highest ranked player behind Humbert at No.72, and famously defeated Roger Federer at the Australian Open in 2015.
Israeli Dudi Sela, who won the Canberra Challenger in 2017, returns to the revamped tournament, as well as former finalists Taro Daniel and Ilya Ivanshka.
"It's a testament to the quality of the facilities and the event that these types of players are choosing to come back and start their season in Canberra," Kachel said.
The men's competition has been elevated to the highest level ATP Challenger event, with the winner earning over $160,000 US and 125 ranking points.
The Canberra International will be held alongside the inaugural ATP Cup and the Qatar Open, giving players another opportunity to bolster their preparations for the Australian Open.
South Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis will be eyeing the chance to qualify for the Australian Open in Canberra after skipping the wild-card playoff event in Melbourne last week.
He'll be joined by fellow countrymen Marc Polmans, Andrew Harris and Alex Bolt, who reached the third round of the Australian Open last year.
"it's vital preparation for all the players but really important for the Australians to play in these events in the lead up to the Open in their own backyard," Kachel said.
"They're really knocking on the door of the top 100, they're the next crop of Australians pushing to jump into it.
"It's really important for them to get practice and points prior to the Australian open. We've got a host of wildcards which will be announced to join them in the field as well."
Tennis ACT will soon announce a number of confirmed female players with entry deadline set to close next week.
TENNIS IN CANBERRA
Canberra International: January 6-12 at Lyneham Tennis Centre
Tickets on sale at tennis.com.au/act/tickets
TOP 100 PLAYERS
No.57 Ugo Humbert
No.72 Andreas Seppi
No. 78 Jannik Sinner
No.79 Philipp Kohslchreiber
No.85 Steve Johnson
No.86 Jaume Munar
No.88 Soonwoo Kwon
No.94 Dominik Koepfer
Lucie Bertoldo
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
