The If Stockholm Open, an Indoor Hard Court tournament held in the Swedish capital, has managed to secure three former champions for this year’s event.
Gael Monfils, Grigor Dimitrov, and Ivo Karlovic will all be looking to regain the title, though will face stiff competition from likes of American trio of Steve Johnson, John Isner, and Jack Sock.
Furthermore, Juan Martin del Potro, Alexander Zverev, and Dustin Brown are all set to compete in what should be a highly competitive tournament.
Three looking to regain title
Of the past champions in the field, it is Dimitrov who has appeared at the tournament the most over the past few years. The Bulgarian won the title in 2013, defeating David Ferrer in the final, though he has lost to Tomas Berdych the past two years; in the final in 2014, and the last eight in 2015.
In contrast, Monfils has only appeared once at the tournament since winning the title in 2011, suffering a surprise first-round defeat in 2012. The Frenchman beating Jarkko Nieminen in the final five years ago, and his recent form will mean he is one of the favorites for the title coming in.
It has been almost ten years since Ivo Karlovic took the title, beating Thomas Johansson in the 2007 final, though the Croatian has been in good form of late and will be tricky to beat on Indoor Hard.
Sock looking to match final appearance, Isner and Johnson make debuts
The top three American men will all be in action, though Sock is the only one who has played at the tournament in the past. Seeded seventh last year, he made the final, and will be aiming to go one further this time around.
Though there is only one spot between them in the rankings, Johnson will be far happier with this season than Isner will. The latter will be aiming to take his first title of the year after a fairly disappointing season by his standards, whilst the former will be looking to end his season on a high after a generally strong second half of the season.
Del Potro looks to continue strong form
Since his return from injury in February, del Potro has been in solid form and he will certainly be a strong factor in this tournament.
Also in action will be the German duo of Alexander Zverev and Dustin Brown. Both, particularly Zverev, have been in encouraging form this season and could do well in Stockholm.