With Atlanta Open beginning this week, the hardcourt season officially begins in Los Cabos, Mexico - Los Cabos Open. In the tournament's third edition of the tournament, plenty of top names have chosen to start their road to the US Open her next week.
Juan Martin Del Potro comes here as the number one seed while Fabio Fognini enters as the second seed following his previous two weeks on clay. Damir Dzumhur and Adrian Mannarino are the third and fourth seeds respectively.
First Quarter
The Argentine debuts here in Mexico this year and will play his first match in more than two weeks following his quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal. The world number four is the only top ten player here this week and has been given a bye to the second round where he will face either a qualifier or El Salvador's Marcelo Arevalo where he will be playing in his second ATP main draw event this year.
Australian Bernard Tomic has had an up and down season following his loss in the Australian Open qualification. He took three months out and since then has participated in just nine tournaments, six of them being on the main tour. He came back with an intent and could well send a message to Querrey, should both meet in round two.
He faces Egor Gerasimov of Belarus with the winner facing either the only Mexican in the draw Lucas Gomez or the ever-dangerous fifth seed Sam Querrey. The 30-year-old American has had to endure a pretty tough season as he reached just one tour final this year and will be hoping to kickstart his hardcourt season with a much-needed victory.
Querrey should advance but based on form this year, he could be made to work for a quarterfinal place. Meanwhile, Del Potro should have no problems at all in advancing to the quarters and beyond.
Quarterfinal: Juan Martin Del Potro-Bernard Tomic
Semifinalist: Juan Martin Del Potro
Second quarter
Bosnian Damir Dzumhur comes in as the third seed this week after two disappointing opening round losses in Croatia and Germany, both on clay. The 26-year-old has been given a bye and faces either Italian Thomas Fabbiano or a qualifier. Two American players go head-to-head in this quarter as wildcarded Ernesto Escobedo faces Michael Mmoh.
The 22-year-old promises a lot of potential but recently has just slipped in the rankings outside the top 200. He will look to continue his success on the hardcourts of Mexico while Mmoh has come on leaps and bounds this year with his first win on the ATP main circuit coming in January but since has struggled to notch up many wins.
At the bottom of this second quarter, lies Peter Polansky who faces another American in sixth seed Ryan Harrison. The 26-year-old enjoys playing in Mexico but will come in fatigued from Atlanta as he participates in the final, giving the Canadian some much-needed confidence ahead of their meeting.
The Bosnian should come through as the favorite in this top half of the second quarter but as far as the bottom half of this section is concerned, it is anyone's game to advance but Escobedo will fancy his chances.
Quarterfinal: Damir Dzumhur-Ernesto Escobedo
Semifinalist: Damir Dzumhur
Third Quarter
Feliciano Lopez headlines this third quarter and begins this bottom half of the draw. He's been given a bye in this third quarter but could come across the dangerous youngster Cameron Norrie in the second round should he also come through his match against a qualifier.
The 22-year-old Brit made his second ATP semifinal this year and has established himself inside the world's top 100, making this match tough to call. Fourth seed Adrian Mannarino has already been given a bye into the second round as the fourth seed.
The Frenchman has had another decent year on the tour but nothing spectacular. He faces either the oldest man left on the tour in Ivo Karlovic or 22-year-old Elias Ymer of Sweden. The Swedish youngster despite many tour-level tournaments has yet to make his mark in the top 100.
The 39-year-old Croatian may not have had the best year on tour thus far but he has been defying age, playing his 18th full year as a professional on the circuit. The Frenchman Mannarino will have no problems in making the quarterfinals but the top half of this section is by no means easy to judge.
Quarterfinal: Cameron Norrie-Adrian Mannarino
Semifinalist: Cameron Norrie
Fourth Quarter
In a packed fourth quarter, second seed Fabio Fognini headlines and has been given a bye into the second round. He awaits the winner of Gilles Muller and the 21-year-old Frenchman Quentin Halys.
The Luxembourg tennis star has announced his retirement on the circuit at the end of the year and will look to end his career with his third ATP title and is still a dangerous opposition. At the top of this final section lies Taylor Fritz who plays wildcard Thanasi Kokkinakis, who has yet to make his mark on the tour as of yet.
The Australian has shown signs of potential but has largely struggled with injury hampering his chances while Fritz has made a name for himself in the top 100 and is a contender for the ATP Next Gen awards in Milan, Italy.
The winner has Gastao Elias or Yoshihito Nishioka. The Japanese potential has been hampered by a nasty knee injury which caused him to miss the best part of a year in 2017 and has yet to fulfill his potential before the injury. Expect Fritz to come through along with Fognini but don't be surprised if Muller comes up trumps.
Quarterfinal: Thanasi Kokkinakis-Gilles Muller
Semifinalist: Gilles Muller
Semifinals: Del Potro def. Dzumhur, Muller def. Norrie
Final: Del Potro def. Muller