Five names to watch at the Stockholm Open

© Mark J. Terrill/AP/TT
Andy Murray is the biggest name to start at this year’s Stockholm Open. Photo gallery.

The Stockholm Open tennis tournament kicks off on Monday, which this year has managed to attract many strong players.

Here are five names to watch for in the classic Swedish tennis game.

+Andy Murray, 34, UK

Certainly, the shots are only 144th in the world rankings. But Murray remained for several years at the same level as dominant Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – and he returned home to the 2012 US Open and Wimbledon in both 2013 and 2016. He was also the world number one for 41 weeks 2016-2017. However, in recent years he has suffered major injuries to both the hip and the groin. But this summer he reached the third round of Wimbledon and received a wildcard at the Stockholm Open.

+Alexander Zverev, 24, Germany

The four-year-old 198cm tall emerged as a super talent and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon when he was 20 years old. Last year, he reached the US Open final, but fell to Dominic Thiem in a five-set thriller. This year, Zverev reached the semi-finals in both the French Championships and the US Open – and also took the Olympic gold in Tokyo. They thrive well on hard courts and could be considered a favorite to return to the Stockholm Open.

+ Jannik Sinner, 20, Italy

The super talented Italian pressured Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of last year’s French Championship. He has now won five ATP titles last year, after winning his first in Sofia in November last year. Including two addresses in October – first in Sofia (again) and then in Antwerp. This made Sinner climb into the top ten (ninth place) for the first time ever. If the name sounds German rather than Italian, it is because it comes from the North Tyrol province of South Tyrol, where about 70 percent of the German language is spoken.

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+Hubert Hurkacz, 24, Poland

We really barked at Wimbledon this summer. Hurkacz knocked out second seed Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round and then crushed Roger Federer in three straight sets in the quarter-finals. However, it was interrupted in the semi-finals, but it was rumored that there was something interesting in Hurkacz, whose height is 196 cm. In October, he entered the top ten for the first time in his career – thus touching the best rating of Polish legend Wojciech Fibak in the late seventies.

+ Elias Yammer, 25, Sweden

He qualified for all four Grand Slams in 2015. Sure, he made it to the second round of France 2018, but the last few years have been tough otherwise. However, he qualified for the Australian Open this year, and in June reached his first Challenge Tour final since 2019. Now he has a wildcard to the Stockholm Open, where he became a double champion with his little brother Mikael Ymir in 2016.